Echo is the latest MCU show to drop on Disney+ featuring one of the least-known characters from Marvel’s lineup of superheroes, supervillains and, in the case of this who, antiheroes.
At least, that’s how Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) has been framed both in the first three episodes of Echo (the number of screeners I was sent) and during her debut in Hawkeye, which aired way back in 2021.
Lopez is a member of the Choctaw tribe. When we first met her in Hawkeye, she was the leader of the Tracksuit Mafia and one of Kingpin’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) top cronies. In the first episode of Echo we get a mixture of her tragic backstory and a bit of a recap of her part in Hawkeye, which saw her face off against the titular hero of that show who she blamed for her father’s death.
We get a bit more of her dad—William Lopez—in Echo, but not much, which is a shame because Zahn McClarnon is always great. Mostly, after the backstory is out of the way and viewers who might have missed Hawkeye have been brought up to speed, we return to the present day as Maya flees New York City and Kingpin’s goons.
The majority of the story takes place in Oklahoma among Maya’s old friends and remaining family on the Choctaw reservation. I’m an avid viewer of many shows that feature Native American casts—Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds are both great, but shows like Resident Alien, Stumptown, Dexter: New Blood and Yellowstone also have a lot of Native American actors and story beats. The best part about Echo is seeing a lot of the cast members from these shows brought together.
Graham Greene plays the good-natured Skully. Tantoo Cardinal plays Maya’s grandmother, Chula. Chaske Spencer, Cody Lightning and K. Devery Jacobs all play Maya’s cousins—though when it comes to the precise nature of blood relatives in Native culture, it’s not always that clear (a running gag in Reservation Dogs, where people are often referred to as a string of various titles like “cousin-uncle-brother” and so forth).
Much to my delight, I even spotted Dallas Goldtooth, the actor who plays the absolutely hilarious William “Spirit” Knifeman on Reservation Dogs.
I won’t spoil the actual story beyond what I’ve said already and what previews have already spoiled. Suffice to say, Maya returns home and receives a lukewarm welcome. People here know she’s been mixed up in trouble and are worried she’ll bring it with her—which, of course, she does. Daredevil (Charlie Cox) makes one appearance and we get what I thought was a pretty exciting fight scene between the two, though it’s not particularly consequential (I know people were unhappy with a leaked fight scene but the one I saw was perfectly fine, though there were better fights in Daredevil on Netflix). I’m not sure if Daredevil will appear in the final two episodes or not.
All five episodes of the show are out tonight. I’ve seen three so I obviously can’t issue a verdict in this review. I’ll have a second review up for the final two episodes and the limited series as a whole later. For now, here are a few final thoughts:
- I enjoy Alaqua Cox’s performance. Cox, like Maya, is deaf. There is a lot of American Sign Language in this show, which I know will bug some people but which I enjoy. I like characters who have weaknesses—like Daredevil/Matt Murdock and his blindness—and being deaf is a good handicap for an otherwise ruthless fighter.
- It’s funny that Alaqua Cox plays Maya/Echo and Charlie Cox plays Daredevil. Just a weird coincidence!
- Like I said earlier, my favorite parts of these episodes have been about the tribal characters themselves. The Marvel stuff has fallen a little flat for me. The bad guys are more of Kingpin’s goons and are about as exciting as Stormtroopers—which is to say, not very.
- I am curious to see where Maya is headed. She wants to take over Kingpin’s empire (we even see her say this in the trailers, that it’s time for a queen) but this just reminds me of The Book Of Boba Fett and Boba Fett trying to take over Jabba’s empire. We all know how well that went.
- Echo is rated TV-MA because it’s violent but in three episodes nothing I’ve seen justifies that rating. Yes, it’s violent. So was Hawkeye and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This is nowhere near as dark and gritty as Daredevil, Punisher or Jessica Jones. Maybe that changes in the last two episodes, but so far this doesn’t feel like an extension of the Hell’s Kitchen Netflix Marvel stuff.
- I’m not really sure what the point of this show is yet, to be honest. It’s not bad by any means but it seems like such a niche character and plot. And the problem with it being so niche is compounded by the fact that you probably should watch Hawkeye first and before you watch Hawkeye you should probably watch Daredevil, so that’s um, let me see, four seasons of TV you should watch before Echo . . . and that’s not counting the various other spots where Daredevil has popped up like Spider-Man: No Way Home and the egregiously bad She-Hulk or the other Hell’s Kitchen shows, of which there were quite a few!
- People will argue that the point of this show is largely representation. It’s good to have indigenous representation in the MCU. I agree that’s a good thing! But I’m not sure what the point of the actual story is. Again, maybe the last two episodes will answer that question.
- You know what, just go watch Reservation Dogs. That’s a fantastic show. Truly. I am begging you to watch it (but also Dark Winds, Resident Alien, Stumptown etc.)!
All told, Echo is fine. I enjoyed the first three episodes well enough, even if it’s a bit slow for a show that’s only five episodes long. All five episodes drop tonight, which also feels like a bad decision, not giving the series enough time to build up any hype.
Maya Lopez is a likeable enough antihero with cool fighting skills and plenty of personality. I enjoy the supporting cast and there’s some good action. Still, I’m left feeling like this is just another late-stage MCU project that’s at once too tethered to the rest of the sprawling story and too far off the beaten track for many fans to really care about.
I have this lingering sense that a story about a criminal on the run, fleeing the mob, returning to her roots on her reservation without all the superhero stuff would be a better story, and probably make for a better TV show. A character-driven crime drama that takes place on the Rez but also involves New York mafia types sounds great—better than whatever this is so far. There’s also the House of Mouse hanging over it all, which makes the TV-MA rating feel a little forced, like Echo is pulling a lot of punches that a truly MATURE show wouldn’t pull. Maybe I’m just numb to violence on TV but it seems like the rating is much more about generating buzz than anything.
“Did you hear about the new Marvel show on Disney+ Maude?” “No Helen, what about it?” “They gave it a TV-MA rating!” “No!” “Yes! Don’t let your little Jack and Jill watch that show! Who knows what kind of sex and violence they put in it!” “Oh Helen, gosh, why that’s scandalous!” “I know!” Buzz buzz buzz. But there’s no nudity and nothing else so far that would keep me from letting my kids watch, or even kids much younger than mine.
Still, I have two episodes left and I could whistle a different ditty by the time this is over. Stay tuned—and let me know what you think of Echo on on Twitter and Facebook.
