Echo REVIEW: A Unique MCU Entry with a bland Protagonist
Echo is the first ever MCU series which leans into a more grounded story as its Netflix counterparts. With that, this series was able to stand on its own without over relying on any cameos or information from its bloated universe. However, despite this, the series is unfortunately still mixed in terms of its story.
The biggest problem of the series would be Maya not being a well-rounded character we care for. The first character issue would be her introduction. Nearly the entire first episode feels like a giant recap of her life. The whole segment could have easily been a season in of itself but by rushing through the whole thing, the audience is unable to fully grasp on who Maya is as a person. Those scenes are just stuff happening then more stuff happening. The whole gist of her going into the mafia business is because she wants to let out her rage from the death of her father. She is mad so she goes ahead and murder and steals stuff but this never suits her character. We never established her character as having a hint of being evil. There has to be a gradual transformation or a hint of her inner demons. Just because one terrible thing happens does not mean it will cause a person to go crazy and start murdering people. Something traumatic which happened could be the main reason for a character’s change but the buildup from it must be present.
The series also tries to make her have this emotional decision to choose between family and empire. The problem is like her rage, the film never shows why she wants to have an empire. She said that there must be a new queen, but her actions never showed her motive or why she wants to be the queen. Just because she said so it does not necessarily mean that is why she did it. This ultimately caused her following actions to destroy Kingpin’s kingdom to feel boring or insignificant. We simply don’t care about her getting her empire because we never knew why she wanted it or what makes her have such a need for it.
Admittedly her not choosing her family over empire actually has some level of complexity. It was her decision which cause Kingpin’s people to find and attack her. This causes the innocent people around her to be hurt like her best friend. Throughout the series it was her decision which gradually pushes her to discover the extent of her mistake. The kidnapping of her best friend was what woke her up. Kingpin’s offering was the penultimate of all the buildup of the emotional dilemma. Kingpin was her family but what he did and how he treated her was not what a real family would do.
Maya also has this subplot regarding her powers. Unfortunately, the series tries so hard to make it seem appealing and surreal, but it ultimately feels out of place. The fantastical elements here just did not match with the thriller elements which the series focused on. It tries to build up on Maya’s tribe with a different representation of it. However, I simply did not care about it at all. It is detached from the whole story itself. Whenever she uses her powers, this causes it to feel as if it were just a plot convenience for her to easily get out of. The finale would have made it tough for her to defeat Kingpin, but her powers ultimately solved it in a flash. Maybe not including something that just did not fit this story at all is a better idea.
On the supporting characters’ side, each of them was able to represent something in Maya’s life which allows them to have a thematic purpose.
Henry represents the goodness of family as he is willing to sacrifice himself for the people he loves.
Bonnie represents the love of family which snaps her out of her dark path.
Biscuits represent the innocence of family.
Chula represents the acceptance of family as to no matter how good or bad a member is we should still accept them as our own.
Wilson Fisk represents the abusive and toxic nature of family. How he would push Maya towards her most violent and toxic nature.
Unfortunately, despite having these thematic purposes on each character, a lot of them lack the development needed to feel individually compelling. They have their moments of purpose but with the exception of Ben and Wilson Fisk the rest were only developed beyond what they represent. They are still good enough though.
Speaking of Wilson Fisk, I do want to highlight how his relationship with Maya remains to be one of the most compelling aspects of the series. Eps 4 was where the show really highlights the toxic nature of their relationship. Kingpin indeed does care for her, but his way of caring is not healthy at all. He shows her the ways of violence and that was all she had known; violence. By the time it came, Maya had already realized the toxicity of his ideals and no longer wants to be with him. The irony of all this is how Wilson truly does care for her but because of him never experiencing the goodness of love he only instils the cruelty of the world into her. You can both sympathize and hate him all the same which makes him more compelling than any of the other characters here.
Visually the series looks and feels way better than even most recently released MCU projects so that is a highlight. The tone of a dreadful and suspenseful thriller is felt throughout. The score is also pitch perfect.
The action though was definitely a highlight. The ups and downs of an action sequence is executed very well. The one shot takes of an action especially with the Daredevil cameo is one which will stick in your mind for a while.
In conclusion, Echo tries to do something different with new characters, cultures and tone but the series fails to capture a great protagonist and tackle a useless subplot but visually the series does get saved with its action and the menacing presence of Kingpin.
Echo is now streaming on Disney Plus
