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Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Review, TV | Tagged: Alaqua Cox, charlie cox, Cody Lightning, devery jacobs, disney, Echo, graham greene, Marvel Studios, Review, Tantoo Cardinal, vincent d'onofrio
Echo: Well-Intentioned But Too Much Like Daredevil: Born Again Prequel
Marvel Studios' Echo is more compelling as a crime drama than a superhero series, but felt too much like a Daredevil: Born Again prequel.
As Disney+ first original TV-MA TV series, there were some lofty expectations for Echo and that's a lot of pressure to put on star Alaqua Cox, who plays the title character, and her alter ego Maya Lopez. The build-up to make her character fully realized becomes something of an excruciating exercise, like the way the producers of Smallville wanted to spend the entire series avoiding showing Tom Welling as Superman until the very end. While you might be upset at that kind of spoiler, it's atypical of a superhero origin story or, in this case, an anti-hero that isn't really. The story follows Maya, who flees to her hometown in Oklahoma after shooting her "uncle" Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), aka The Kingpin, after discovering the truth behind her father's (Zahn McClarnon) death during the events of Hawkeye. His former number-one henchwoman shoots him in the head after their scuffle, but we discover he survives with a scar over his left eye. It's a good thing, too, since we wouldn't have much of a Daredevil: Born Again if Fisk was only a character in flashbacks, but I digress.
Echo Is a More Well-Intended Crime Drama Than Superhero Series
As Maya comes home, naturally, it's met with mixed reactions from warm to resentfulness depending on if they're aware of her dark past and ties with Fisk and his shady activity. Henry Black Crow Lopez (Chaske Spencer) is as cautious as he is street-smart, knowing how far deep Fisk's influence is, including a local shipping facility he owns. Chula (Tantoo Cardinal) is Maya's estranged grandmother. Also affected by Maya's departure was Bonnie (Devery Jacobs), her cousin, hopeful to rekindle that relationship once finding out she returned. Those who welcomed her back with open arms are Skully (Graham Greene), a grandfather-type figure to Maya, and Biscuits (Cody Lightning), Maya's most welcoming cousin upon her return and comic relief. Between the extensive narrative and exposition of channeling Maya's roots and heritage and spinning it into a journey of destiny, it's Greene and Lightning who drive the story the most and make the best of their screen time. The more tension-filled parts with Maya's relationship with Chula, Bonnie, and especially, Kingpin felt a bit half-baked while it's also trying to become an action, crime, and superhero story.
The biggest waste from this five-episode stretch was Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil who was the biggest example of Marvel's egregious stunt casting that served no purpose. He served a far better purpose in his two MCU returns in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home and 2022's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, moving those stories along or at least be more humorous than anything he did in Echo other than to remind MCU fans he can still fight. It's a disgrace that he's even mentioned to help sell the series. It's not the first time Disney's pulled this either, as they credited Benedict Cumberbatch in the main credits of a Marvel's What If…? episode when he's only in the final scene.
The other most egregious thing about Echo is for Disney's first original TV-MA series, it felt tame compared to what the Netflix Defenders shows got away with. There's nothing excessive about it at all. It's not excessively violent or graphic by any stretch of the imagination. The most colorful word is "shit," and that's only uttered a handful of times throughout the series. So, it's not even "fuck"-worthy, not to mention zero nudity. Disney's definition of TV-MA is loose at best, and it's nowhere near as hard as what you'd see most on basic cable. If there's one thing Echo does well and Disney is the meticulous nature of embracing the multiethnic culture and weaving it into the storytelling because it served her by providing a layer of nuance into the character the way her interactions throughout the series never have. The fight choreography is on brand, but not really on par with what their other shows like Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, or even Falcon and the Winter Soldier are, and certainly not of the level of the Netflix shows like Daredevil or Punisher. It doesn't help that the only protagonist fighters are the main character herself and the "glorified cameo" in episode one that fought said main character.
It also seemed like the five episodes did far more harm to undercut Cox's Echo than anything else because, by the time it comes to its natural conclusion, it feels unremarkable. It's just thrown in there and rushed like 99 percent of Echo is Maya trying to come to terms with embracing her future, but anything related to the mystical was thrown in there just to fulfill some checklist. It's trying to be everything at once when it didn't have to be. It's a crime drama that also happened to be some superhero origin story. It never does just one thing well – even a scene-chewer like D'Onofrio felt underused because we're never given proper time to appreciate the psychology between Kingpin and Maya. More flashbacks beyond the two bonding over beating up an ice cream vendor would have been nice.
The biggest knocks against Echo are certainly not due to the talent involved, because they make the most of what they're given, but it seems criminal that they're only allowed to tell their story in five episodes and the wide net of relationships it established. Cox is a natural talent and has a bright future ahead and I can especially appreciate her point of view scene in the fifth episode "Maya" during her epic standoff with Fisk as a deaf actress and character. Showrunner Sydney Freeland planted a ton of seeds on Echo, but the only thing we saw properly sprout was the one that leads into Daredevil: Born Again.
Echo
4/10
Echo shows promise, but gets lost in its identity crisis as a crime drama that happens to also be an anti-superhero origin story. Alaqua Cox shows amazing promise and develops an amazing range as the title character. Most of the characters felt underdeveloped, even Vincent D'Onofrio and Charlie Cox's established Kingpin and Daredevil. Graham Greene and Cody Lighting are the unsung heroes that help drive a series that felt less like its own and more like a prequel to Daredevil: Born Again.
Credits
Director
Sydney Freeland
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