With episode 2 of Echo, it already looks like the vengeful Native American gangster is already flying solo as Lowak features precious little support from it’s two more famous supporting stars. Obviously there’s no Daredevil (and, if I’m being honest, I’m not really expecting him for the rest of the season) and there’s surprisingly little Kingpin too, even though the last episode ended with the husky gangster awaking from the coma Maya Lopez put him in.
It was inevitable, of course, and it shows that Marvel obviously has faith in the Choctaw anti-hero, but it also adds fuel to those complaining that the existence of an Echo miniseries is proof that the MCU has spread itself too thin. The best way to avoid this, of course, is to make the epidode an utter banger, and so Maya now has two intimidating tasks ahead of her: try and bring down Kingpin in the show while justifying the show’s very existence to the haters by being awesome. Does she succeed in episode 2? Not quite yet, but the show is certainly building some momentum.
After an initially bewildering prologue set in Alabama back in 1200 A.D., we rejoin Maya Lopez as she takes her vendetta against Wilson Fisk back to her hometown. After solely reconnecting with the members of her family who still either have connections to Fisk Enterprises (Uncle Henry) or who are simply really impressionable (say hello, cousin Biscuits), Lopez chooses to avoid her grandmother, Chula and her other cousin, Bonnie – but as careful as she is at espionage, it ultimately proves utterly ineffectual against small town gossip.
However, Maya has no time for this as she enlists Biscuits to help her with a spot of that criminal espionage is just mentioned and after sending out her cousin to snag a whole lot of equipment from her gadget-savvy grandfatherly friend of the family, Skully, she’s off to the races to sabotage a special delivery for Fisk Enterprises that’s headed through town on its way to New York City.
What exactly she intercepts on her dangerous, train-hopping heist, is left unclear, but what we do know is that she leaves a rather potent explosive in its place that reduces Fisk’s property holding down by one; but during the mission, something strange and rather Marvel Universe-y happens after she gets a bit stuck After her prosthetic leg gets stuck and mangled between two train cars, she starts having visions of other Choctaw women throughout history – namely the woman we saw in the prologue who is engaging in a violent team sport in order to save her tribespeople from banishment. The vision gives her strength and glowy hands and she manages to save herself, but what does this phenomenon mean, and what will the pushback of her explosive indiscretion be?
While the lack of a primary villain (and they don’t get much more primary than Kingpin) is unavoidably noticable, Lowak takes great pains to belatedly lay out what Echo is actually going to be about after a first episode that spent most of it’s time filling in the blanks for anyone who was unfamiliar with either the Daredevil Netflix show or Echo’s debut in the Hawkeye miniseries. With all that backstory out of the way, episode 2 proves to be a noticable improvement for the series in both focus, pace and tone as we focus fully on Maya as she sets about her grim task while trying to avoid any uncomfortable reunions with estranged family members.
Yes, watching her elderly grandmother accidently discover that Maya’s back in town or seeing Biscuits desperately try to hock his Playstation in order to pay to the damage incurred to Chula’s truck during the train heist, may not sound as initially exciting as watching Matt Murdock clout someone with his billy club, but the episode gives us ample time to properly get to know her family and thus raise some much needed personal stakes.
You see, even though Maya is a stone-faced badass whose communication via sign language makes her even more taciturn than the likes of a Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson, it does unfortunately prohibit her from opening up and being vunerable in a way that audiences are usually used too. However, in her interactions with Biscuits (comic relief), Henry (reluctant informant) and Skully (who seems to be acting like her own, personal Q after she needs an upgrade on her metal leg), we get a better understanding of a character who usually expresses herself with her hands – be it signing or merely punching a goon in the face.
However, those who are worried that Marvel may have forgotten that this is an action-based show needn’t worry as the central train heist proves to be slick and exciting.
Arguably the best action sequence of the two episodes so far, we follow Maya and Buscuits as she boards the train with some flashy Ethan Hunt, swinging shit and then works her way to the car she needs by leaping from section to section like an outlaw in the old West. For a show that’s going to predominantly feature set pieces of the gritty, urban, fist fight genre, a swift (if slightly greenscreeny) train robbery is a refreshing change and it also clues us in to some latent super powers that Lopez suddenly acquires. Avoiding her comic book abilities of being able to duplicate other fighting styles on sight (à la Taskmaster in Black Widow), the show seems to be going down the route of Maya being able to draw on the talents of various ancestors to enhance her own capabilities and finally the titles of the various episodes make sense. The first episode, Chafa, referred to the very first Choctaw who legend states brought her people out from the caves, while Lowak is the tenacious woman we see in battling in the prologue here and as the show progresses, Maya’s “echoing” down through her ancestors will no doubt provide more.
Also pretty apparent is the fact that once Fisk finally gmgets himself back up and running, there’s a very good chance that all these family members we’ve now been introduced to probably won’t make it to the final episode and so far its either Henry or the innocent Biscuits who is most likely in the firing line.
Still, with Kingpin yet to make his indomitable presence properly felt, an awkward reunion with the estranged Bonnie on the cards and yet more powers from her ancestors to draw from, Echo still has plenty of places to go and improve. All in all – it’s a good sign.
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