After a first episode that laid down the concept of Eyes Of Wakanda, it seemed fair to say that even though the show had its obvious merits (handsome visuals, plentiful action, impressive world building), there was some obvious room for improvement. It’s not that there was anything disastrously wrong with it, it’s just that the show’s opening gambit felt a little light and inessential considering it was supposed to immerse us fully in the history of Wakanda. However, things perk up noticeably in episode two that still continues the anthology tone of hopping through time and focusing on how the secret agents of the incredibly private nation (aka. War Dogs) have subtly altered history while performing the will of Wakanda.
Set around 60 years after the first episode, it’s time for a new War Dog to interject himself in the Trojan War thanks to his nation’s desire to reclaim that what was taken from them, only to discover the true toll a War Dog pays.
Troy: 1200 BC. The Trojan War had heated up big time as the Greeks have laid seige to the city that holds the “abducted” Helen after her lover, Paris, threw the world into chaos by shooting his shot. But while all the familiar faces from Homer’s Odyssey are present and correct such as Achilles, Odysseus and Hector, one such player is actually not who he seems. Greek commander Memnon may be a solider of Greece and loyal friend to Achilles, but in reality he is B’Kai, a War Dog in service to Wakanda whose real mission is to retrieve a necklace from Helen that is made of pure Vibranium no matter the cost.
After ten years of seige, Memnon has long desired to bring his mission to an end and return to his homeland and with the order given by Odysseus to attack, it seems like he’ll finally get his chance, but after the big push is revealed as a feint by the tricksy strategist, it is time for one of military histories most famous acts of deception to be carried out in the form of the legendary Trojan horse. However, while other colleagues express mistrust with Memnon due to the colour of his skin, Achilles defiantly backs his friend, claiming that he would give his life for him. Of course, once the infiltration and invasion of Troy is underway, we’ll tragically get to see played out for real when, during a vital moment in battle, Memnon has to choose finishing his true mission over help his friend when he’s overwhelmed in battle.
With victory in sight for both Greece and Memnon, a wounded Achilles mistakes his friend’s true motive for treachery and when he discovers the powers within that Vibranium trinket, he vows to avenge himself and take it for the glory of Greece. Caught between a rock and a hard place, B’Kai discovers that there are far more devastating sacrifices for a War Dog to make other than just home sickness.
Where the previous episode reminded us what a War Dog is and the mindset it requires to leave your country in order to selflessly carry out its wishes, Legends And Lies not only doubles down on what exactly that can mean and does it by using one of the most famous military campaigns in all of history and literature as a backdrop to a surprisingly intimate tale. The main order of business here – other than once again displaying some gorgeous visuals that all look like moving paintings – is to boil down the true emotional cost of being a War Dog and how it effects not only friendships, but the psychological toll of living such a dual life. The majority of the episode, like the first, is mostly taken up with nimble action sequences that show our heroes fighting off Trojan guards in surprisingly violent ways and displaying acts of formidable animated core strength as the climb, leap, hack, and sprint their way through the Battle of Troy like psychotic practitioners of Parkour. It seems like most of Marvel’s animated ventures seems to carry a stipulation that at least 70% of its run time has to be devoted to some sort of acrobatic brawling, but while it’s always easy on the eye, this episode manages to get a bit more meat between it’s teeth once Troy burns and Memnon has to show his true intent. The whole basis of the episode seems to be to show how merciless being a War Dog can be on those chosen to protect Wakanda’s interests while rarely stepping foot on its soil. We’ve seen the effects its had on the like of others throughout the Black Panther movies such as the restlessness of Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia and how others, such as Sterling K. Brown’s N’Jobu can even find their outlook changed by how deep undercover they are forced to get. However, with B’Kai things are a lot more personal.
Despite forging a friendship throughout a war that’s lasted for nearly a decade, when the time comes for B’Kai to make his move, he has to discard Achilles with barely a thought to accomplish what he’s really there for and worse yet, actually has to later fight his friend to the death in order to ensure that the Vibranium doesn’t simply just shift over to other hands. Of course, this lead to yet another extravagant fight, but unlike the action sequences before, this one carries much more significant weight, not only resulting in the use of some cool Wakandan tech, but ends in the ankle based death of B’Kai’s friend.
However, it’s in its epilogue where episode 2 finds its true purpose as the scenes where B’Kai confesses his now altered perception of his homeland to a much older Noni draws parallels with other people forced to do terrible things for their country. Be it soldiers who fought in a protracted war or spies who have had to jettison their entire sense of self to fit a fake persona, the real tragedy of B’Kai is that after finally fulfilling his mission and returning to the bosom of Wakanda, he ultimately no longer feels that he belongs there and pleads for another mission to take him back out into the world where he ironically feels more at home.
It’s exactly this kind of weighty material the previous episode was missing as even though we saw Nomi get inducted into the War Dogs, the episode didn’t really give us an indication of what that truly meant and what the ramifications of it could be, but while we’re still in the dark when it actually comes to the actual mechanics of the War Dogs (training, selection, deployment), at least we get to delve into the psychology of it.
Anyone tuning in to this series expecting to see the secrets of ancient Wakanda laid bare might still be feeling a little cheated by the fact that the show is more of a mission of the week show. However with the fall of Troy, we find an important dose of gravitas injected into proceedings that might not give you the exact kind of Wakanda-based fix you were looking for, but at least it’s now starting to mean something as we witness the wreckage absolute loyalty to your nation demands.
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