Posted by Echo, the first show to be released under Marvel’s “Spotlight Series” banner, releases all five episodes today, January 9th. Last week, I got the privilege of an early look at the first three episodes in the series. So let’s take a look at what you can expect!
What Is Echo About?
The majority of the story of Echo takes place after the events of the first season of Hawkeye. Having learned that her father’s death was the result of one of Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) men tipping off Ronan (Clint Barton’s alias after Thanos won), Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) was last seen shooting the Kingpin and near-point-blank range to get her revenge.
Perhaps aware of Fisk’s tenacity and tendency to survive even under the worst of circumstances though, Maya returns to her home in the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. She doesn’t seem to have much interest in reaching out to everyone in her remaining family, though. Maya has other plans to further hurt the Kingpin of Crime.
What Works in Echo
The biggest strength in Echo is the show’s cast of characters. Though she is hesitant to reach out to many of them, Maya’s family is a great joy to watch.
Her relationship with Skully (Graham Greene), a grandfather-like figure to Maya, in particular was one of my favorite dynamics to watch in the show. Though Maya is often very straight-laced, determined, and focused on her goals, she is able to relax a little more around Skully and even crack a few jokes with him. Skully is a bright and hilarious light in the show. One scene in particular with him dealing with a few out-of-town customers in his pawn shop had me laughing a lot.
Maya’s cousin Biscuits (Cody Lightning) is also a highlight. Though he’s perhaps not who Maya would’ve chosen to help her, he’s who she’s got. He’s loyal, if not great at keeping secrets, and willing to help in whatever way he can.
Of course, it’s not just the good relationships that are a joy to watch. There’s Chula (Tantoo Cardinal), Maya’s grandmother. The two don’t interact much in the first three episodes, but the tension and care despite what happened in the past is clearly there. And, of course, there’s Wilson Fisk- Maya’s “uncle”.
Something that hit me over the first three episodes was something so simple yet so indicative of Maya’s relationships: Maya’s family learned American Sign Language to communicate with her. They even remember it well enough to talk with her over twenty years after she and her father left their hometown. Fisk however? He relies on interpreters.
Though Wilson Fisk may care for Maya in some way, he doesn’t take the time to learn how to communicate directly with her. He can use her rage. He made her rage.
Plus, pretty much any time a business is made out to be a family? Huge red flag.
Maya’s Identity in Echo
Outside of the characters that make up Echo’s cast, though, I also greatly enjoyed the clear effort that was made to centralize Maya’s identities as a Native American woman, someone who is deaf, and an amputee. Though I do not personally have any connections to either of these identities, I knew how important it was that creatives behind the show get these things right.
Behind the scenes, Marvel made sure to educate the cast and crew in American Sign Language. Doug Ridloff, an ASL master and consulting producer, provided translations and training for the cast. Meanwhile, the crew and others involved in the production also took ASL classes before production started.
Echo also makes a noticeable effort to keep any actor who is using ASL completely in frame while they are talking- showing their hands and their face and not often cutting to another character for their reaction in the middle of someone else’s lines.
I also really appreciated how scenes will occasionally shift to show viewers the world as Maya interacts with it. In particular, there’s a fight scene in the first episode that uses limited sound to convey what Maya can feel very impactfully.
I also greatly enjoyed how Maya’s culture and heritage are worked into her story as well. The show’s creatives did a great job of portraying her home in a way that instantly lets you know exactly who all of these people are and what their lives are like. Far removed from what she’s been through in NYC, of course, but still connected.
Echo also gives a few small lessons on Native American history, culture, and mythology as well which I really liked learning more about. There’s a sequence at the start of episode three that I found particularly interesting. Though of course some elements are changed, it’s still great to see aspects of Native American and Choctaw culture and history incorporated into this story.
What Doesn’t Quite Work
Though Echo has been talked about as a more “grounded” series for Marvel- focusing on street-level crime rather than the grander, cosmic, multiverse stakes that other projects highlight, there is some cosmic-esque material in the show. Not wanting to spoil things for viewers, it’s difficult to explain exactly what I mean here. And with only the first three episodes, it’s perhaps a touch early for me to pass judgment on as I do not yet have the full story or explanation for this choice in the show.
The inclusion of this element does feel a touch odd and out of place. But then again, a major part of the “grounded” and “street-level” Daredevil series was an ancient cult of humans who have made themselves immortal and had the power to resurrect and re-condition Matt Murdock’s old girlfriend Elektra with the remains of dragons. Among other things. So there is some precedent for those more “out there” elements being a part of a series like this.
Though I am unsure about how I fully feel about this element in the show, especially without its full context, I am interested to see where they go with it. It’s worth noting, too, that it does have some connections with Choctaw myth. It is a nice touch that the creatives behind the show are making sure that Maya and her story stays connected to her roots in all aspects.
My Overall Thoughts
Echo is the first MCU project that I have watched where I was already familiar with the character from another source. Though I’ve only recently gotten into reading the comics more, I first met Maya Lopez through a book. Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover is the prequel novel to Insomniac Games’ 2018 Marvel’s Spider-Man video game and heavily features Maya. In the novel, she has a bit of a different skill set than this show but her journey is similar.
There’s a few changes to her story that make me worry people will dismiss the show. There’s a little bit of rough CGI, too, which certain factions of Marvel fans love to complain about. And honestly it is frustrating when some of the projects are less polished in that aspect than others. It almost makes it feel like Marvel doesn’t believe in certain projects enough to provide a budget that would provide the same level of CGI across all shows and movies.
But overall, though Echo does have a few rough edges, the show is very enjoyable. If you like seeing and exploring relationships between characters- both positive and decidedly toxic- this show is great at that. All aspects of Maya’s culture and identity are well respected. And this feels like the start of Marvel putting more of the street-level heroes and characters back in the spotlight.
Just please remember that this is Maya Lopez’s show. Not Matt Murdock’s. He can wait.
Echo is well worth the watch.
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