All the way back in 2021, Marvel released their TV series Hawkeye, starring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld. That series followed the titular character and Kate Bishop as they try to take down New York City criminals. The show introduced us to Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), also known as Echo in Marvel comics. That was Marvel’s way of setting up Echo, as they look to take a dive into her character, with new and old street level friends and foes in this new Disney Plus series.
The series begins with a vibrantly colored sequence where we see a group of indigenous people discover new land. The leader of this group connects with some power, and the setting changes to make things look more like the Earth we know. Potentially setting up what’s to come in this show.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE ONE OF “ECHO” BELOW
The opening of the episode shows us Maya’s (Darnell Besaw) backstory, in rural Oklahoma where she and her parents lived. Maya and her friend Bonnie (Wren Zhawenim Gotts) want to have hot chocolate, but they don’t have any so Maya and her mom (Dannie McCallum) go out to the store. On the drive to the store they get into a car accident, and a shard of glass from the windshield pierces Maya’s leg. However, Maya’s mother unfortunately passed away due to the accident. Maya felt responsible for this, and we see these emotions pour out of Maya in an emotional scene between her and her father (Zahn McClarnon) in the hospital bed.
The episode then jumps to the present day in New York City, where Maya and her father are living. Maya’s father is a criminal working for Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), and we see the events of Hawkeye, when he is killed by Hawkeye. Maya is enraged and angry, and that’s when Fisk finds Maya and gives her a job. Basically, by helping some of Fisk’s guys complete a job for him, Maya gets to use her anger and rage and channel it into using her combat skills effectively.
The first job Maya goes on she’s doing well, beating security guards to a pulp until the fight is interrupted by Daredevil (Charlie Cox). The main character from Marvel’s hit Netflix series Daredevil makes an appearance, as Daredevil and Echo have ties in Marvel comics, and Kingpin is the main villain of the Daredevil series. Daredevil and Maya begin to fight, and Maya has her hands full. She puts up a fight but ultimately Daredevil gets the upper hand. Even after the defeat, Fisk is still proud of Maya for her effort, and Maya continues to do jobs for him as now this gives her a new purpose in life.
This leads us to an interaction between Hawkeye and Maya, where Hawkeye tells Maya that Kingpin betrayed her father and is the reason he is dead. He also tells her that her rage and anger can be used for good, instead of for a life of crime. Maya feels betrayed by Fisk after this revelation, so the next time she runs into him, she shows no mercy, and shoots him. The episode ends with Maya returning to Oklahoma, and revealing her new intentions to an old friend; she wants to take over Fisk’s operation there. Then, the last scene shows Fisk in a hospital bed with labored breathing.
Overall, this episode featured great action sequences, great representation for the Deaf community, and a sympathetic view of a character who’s turned to a life of crime. This episode serves as a solid introduction to the series. While the script isn’t perfect, and some of the pacing is off, I felt it was due to the fact that Marvel was trying to start this new show while also having to recap Hawkeye for those who haven’t seen it. The balancing act that they pull here works only somewhat, however the positive in this episode outweighs the negative. Strong leading performances from Alaqua Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, and this episode set up Maya’s character and the rest of the show to certainly be intriguing.
Rating: 7.5/10