Echo - Exceptional Psychological Journey

No spoiler review

Author’s note:

The only reason CNI ever does a review is because it is good and useful entertainment that has strong, positive, educational and/or inspiring psychological attributes.

Echo - Exceptional Psychological Journey

I grew up and have stayed a huge fan of sci-fi, fantasy and superheroes because beyond the entertainment value, almost every quality, skill or adventure I could ever imagine is found in these characters and stories. Best of all, lessons from many a heroes’ and villain’s journey can be very useful in recognizing, understanding, resisting and defeating any darkness within us, around us, or trying to corrupt us on our own journey, as happens far too often in today’s divisive and trauma-filled era.

I had seen Echo before in the 2021 Hawkeye mini-series with Jeremy Renner that highlighted his Avengers archer character. Regardless of whether you like the genre, Hawkeye, or Renner, Hailee Steinfeld (Oscar nominated) and Florence Pugh (Oscar nominated) shined so bright in the series as the magnetic, dynamic, and fantastic young powerhouses they always are, and then there was newcomer Alaqua Cox who more than held her own as the antihero, Echo. Whatever “it” is, Alaqua has it too.

As good as her character was, it was still a bit surprising to see the fifth character in Hawkeye be the first spin-off, but since the head of the NY mob (Kingpin) is one of those five main figures, the top villain, and raises Echo as his own daughter, he of course plays a dominating role in her origin story. However, since I purposely didn’t learn anything about her character beyond what I observed once before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from Marvel’s latest, but was hopeful.

Wisely, it was written to stand alone for the casual viewer, so no backstory is needed beyond the dramatic yet clear and concise flashbacks that help Echo and the viewer recognize her psychological forks in past roads. With the gift of these hindsights, it is well laid-out how she got to where she is and where she is coming from.

Among the most interesting aspects is how a big part of her journey is using her exceptional mind to figure out and reconcile how her trauma was used to manipulate her into believing a monster was a hero, which is certainly something many of us have needed to do at some point, and/or still need to do on certain levels.

Thankfully, for me personally, Echo is one of the most exceptional psychological journeys and shades of gray, right vs. wrong, trauma vs. love, paradoxical paths to righteousness in a live-action antihero / superhero film or series I can remember in quite a while. Hence, I highly recommend it if this is a genre you can enjoy in its more gritty, adult form.

As a podcast host friend and fellow superhero fan once wisely pointed out, he loves characters like the X-men because most are not merely simplistic heroes and villains. The heroes are complex characters with trauma-driven dark sides hoping for redemption while villain’s dark actions are often revealed to be extreme yet often understandable reactions to their traumas.

Essentially, these types of complex characters usually make much deeper and more human stories than so many of the other fun yet oversimplified fictional battles of good vs. evil, because like most things in life, things are rarely as simple or as black and white as they seem. Echo is definitely one of those likable, impressive and complex characters who goes on a journey to find her true self and nature. Whether she is more hero or villain, you will just have to see for yourself.

The story is currently called a mini-series but Alaqua Cox is such an intense powerhouse herself that we will definitely see her again in the Marvel universe, but they would be foolish not to give her at least a second season. With her direct connection to the top-rated series in the genre, Daredevil, the most likely place to see her next is in the highly anticipated return of Daredevil in the Spring.

Other highlights and notes:

• All-Star Native cast

• Excellent action

• A little comedy

• Intense one-shot fight scenes in the Daredevil style

• A rare lead character who is deaf and an amputee

• A lead character you care about with presence and force

• A deep emotional journey with psychological lessons to learn from

The violence will definitely be too much for some. However, I was surprised to learn Marvel President Kevin Fiege told them not to hold back, because by today’s Game of Thrones standard of violence, it did not seem nearly as gratuitous or gory.

The five episodes of Echo can be found on Disney+ and Hulu.