The fourth episode of Echo kicks off with a flashback to 2008, with Maya returning from school. She wants a snack from a stand but the man won’t give it to her unless she uses her words. Fisk sees this encounter, and once Maya returns to the car Fisk tells her to stay there. He gets out, walks up behind the man who degraded Maya and beats him senselessly. Fisk turns to see young Maya standing there watching. He starts to worry that she’ll become afraid of him but much to his surprise, Maya runs up to the man and kicks him a few times. Fisk smirks as his violence begins to rub off on Maya.
Returning to the present day, Fisk gives Maya a contact lens that allows her to understand what fisk is saying and vice versa. He says he simply wants to have dinner with Maya like they used to. Much to Maya’s surprise, Fisk doesn’t seem too displeased with Maya, in fact he is proud of her. He tells her that he understands that she did what she felt she had to do. He also tells her that she can have his empire, but must return to New York with him first.
After this encounter, Maya and Chula begin to have visions at the same time, but this time they’re more extreme. Maya seemingly freezes in the moment. This prompts her to return to her grandmother at last. Maya starts describing the visions to Chula in great detail, and Chula reveals to her that these same visions happened to her on the day she gave birth to Maya’s mother. Chula also reveals something much greater, saying that Maya’s mom was born with a gift, she was a healer.
Chula also says that the generations before are “echoing” or reaching out to the current generation when they need it the most. Chula and Maya share an emotional, intimate moment where they share their feelings. Maya is still angry as she felt abandoned by her, and she leaves. This is a moment where the strong acting and writing in this series are on full display.
Maya goes back to confront Fisk, and she threatens to kill him. This is when Fisk tells her the story of how and why he killed his father. He even shows her the murder weapon. Fisk tells Maya to free herself the same way that he freed himself from his father. Maya chooses not to kill Fisk, and she walks away. She then reminisces on her past with Fisk and her family, and she chooses to leave Tamaha, but it’s not with Fisk. Once he learns of this he becomes extremely angry.
Overall, this episode was definitely a step up from the previous. While it does have its moments of lazy writing, it also has its moments of strong writing, more so than the weak. Alaqua Cox really shines in this episode as does Vincent D’Onofrio, and this episode also delivers good characterization for Maya.
Rating: 7/10