The final episode of Eyes of Wakanda, “The Last Panther,” takes place between Adwa in 1896 and Wakanda five hundred years in the future. “The Last Panther” refers to the future queen of Wakanda, who has come to tell Kuda and Prince Tafari to return the artifact they recovered. As she describes, returning the axe results in Wakanda remaining isolated for hundreds of years, even when the rest of the world needs their power during an alien invasion. Said alien invasion eventually reaches the isolated Wakanda as well, forcing the queen to travel back in time. After some conflict, they agree to return it. Once returned, the axe is eventually put into a museum and taken by Killmonger in Black Panther (2018), which results in Wakanda uniting with the world before the alien invasion. 

“The Last Panther” stands out in numerous ways, from the explicit time travel to the clear connection to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Additionally, where the previous episodes focused on the Wakandan spies’ interaction with the outside world to varying degrees, “The Last Panther” puts the inter-Wakandan conflict on the surface. Rarely in this series have Wakandan spies interacted in the outside world and discussed the consequences of Wakandan secrecy, so the trio of Kuda, Tafari, and the future Queen immediately stands out. Even before the queen arrives, the dynamic between Kuda and the young, brazen prince is extremely unique and emotional. 

In many respects, “The Last Panther” loses or deliberately ignores some of the aspects that made the standout episodes of this season so great. Kuda and Prince Tafari do not interact much with the intriguing setting they’re in, which does not prove to be too great an issue when the future queen arrives. Her compelling arrival and the story she tells work well, but also present the most glaring unique aspect of this story. The axe is easily the most important artifact and plot device of the season, and leads to a much more compelling conversation about Wakandan secrecy than the rest of the show. However, this argument is explained more thoroughly than it is truly felt and internalized. Episode Two, “Legends and Lies,” proves that it’s much easier to care about secrets destroying a friendship than it is to intellectualize the alien invasion of a world nobody is familiar with. 

Overall, the episode is extremely unique and cleverly ties into the MCU while offering a compelling discussion of Wakandan isolation and secrecy. The future Queen is a compelling character and offers a fleshed-out moral dilemma for the Kuda and Prince Tafari. The duo’s dynamic is not extremely dense or unique, but it works well within the episode. Although it is a compelling story that fleshes out minor ideas discussed in previous episodes, it ultimately does not sink as deeply as previous installments.

Rating: 6/10