Echo

The trailers made this seem like the first step into more gritty, adult content ala Netflix's Daredevil and Punisher series, but apart from 1 or 2 overally choreographed scenes it felt more like the worst episode of Iron Fist stretched into 5 episodes.

The concept itself isn't bad, but the writing was atrocious, with no real sense of character development or depth whatsoever. The only real standout being Vincent D'Onofrio's excellent portrayal of Kingpin, but even that is tarnished by the writing and a limp wiltering flower of an ending.

Echo also suffered from bad editing with the pacing and storyline feeling like they were all over the place.

The show had so much promise and I did appreciate the efforts made to honour the native American and deaf communities, but it didn't have to be at the expense of a coherent and gripping story.

I now fear what they're going to do with Daredevil, but hopefully with Dario Scardapane in the driver's seat there may be at least a small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe...

So apparently they shot 8 episodes but then it wasn't good enough and it got rewritten/reshot/redited down to just 5. Maybe that's why none of it makes much sense. The family connections don't make sense. The lack of communication with her cousin, uncle etc don't make much sense. How her mother's death was her father's fault wasn't made clear. The relationships in the community make no sense. The end showdown is totally incomprehensible. The only things that almost work are the scenes in the roller rink. Really disappointing when I was so hoping for great things based on how Echo was introduced and how well I thought HawkEye worked as a series with multiple interactions between characters from different parts of the MCU. Heartbreaking, to be honest. It promised to be a great showcase for indigenous culture too, but I learnt nothing. There was so much that needed to be said and done for it to really work. Either that or they could've had more action, at least? It just wasn't gripping dramatically or emotionally engaging enough, and it just felt like it had a plan that somehow went vastly wrong and they gave up and threw it out at us poorly poorly finished. Such a shame as some of the actors really deserved to be better respected for their talent.

The series feels like it was supposed to be 10 episodes but they edited it for 5. Character development is minimal to none. Kingpin supposedly adopts Echo when she was very young and her parents died, but this is not really shown. Would have been a great place to start and to build up their relationship. Instead we are just told they are close and deal with it. It was jarring.

Native American spirituality and mysticism are often shown in flashbacks, not always for obvious reasons. There is some connection between the flashbacks and the nature of Echos healing power,but it is not clearly illustratred and not sold properly. Again, the scenes are jarring. By he way the comic book power she has is the ability to copy anyones fighting style. We never see this in the show.

The comic book character is deaf, and so is the actress. This was interesting and was great to see. Good to see actress play a major part. And she gives it all she has. However, the lack of hearing is used as a gimmick when fighting, as often sound is totally turned off. To show she is deaf. The problem though is that it makes the scenes boring. Sound is really important for immersion, They missed the boat somewhere here.

Echo, the star, as a character, is not likeable. Redeeming qualities are few and far between. She takes to killing like flies to dog poop. No remorse at all. Is selfish, does not care who pays for her actions. Wants to replace KingPin.

Hawkeye is shown briefly fighting her, probably to help market the show. So is Daredevil. They both fight her to a standstill, with Hawkeye coming closer to killing her. The encounters do nothing to develop her character though. They are used as simple plot devices to get to the next act. Feels empty.

She is supposed to be an anti hero? Vigilante? No. Just another criminal who is talented at killing and stealing. Her ambitions overcome any feelings of love for her sister and friends.

If you want to watch as required viewing to prepare for future marvel movies, all you need is episode 1 and 5. All else is filler.

Much like Secret Invasion before it, Echo was hyped up to be a dark, gritty and mature series like no MCU series before it. It even had the TV-MA rating to go with. However it ends up being a disappointment.

The main actress isn't terrible, she just struggles due to the weak writing and Kingpin is absolutely wasted in this. None of the supporting characters are likable or memorable.

The plot is in shambles, and with only 5 episodes, some of which are only half an hour long, it leaves very little time for much character development.

There were so few actual violent scenes that it could have probably gotten away with a TV-14 rating. There were no real stakes, and nothing significant even happens by the end.

5/10 - Mediocre.

Disappointing. I'm just patiently waiting for something to come even remotely close to being as good as The Punisher or Daredevil. I thought this was going to be it, with the R-rating thinking it was going to be bloody and gritty and brutal. But no, just boring and a poor storyline. Marvel needs to listen to the people and bring back R-rated series with intense and bloody action sequences like Frank Castle on a rampage or Daredevil. That's real entertainment. Listen to the ratings, those 2 shows easily have the top 2 spots of all the Marvel series outside of the MCU avengers and what not. This show was a real disappointment and would almost say a waste of time, and this is coming from a marvel fanatic...