1x02 Lowak

[7.2/10[ Hey! That's more the speed I’m familiar with from these kinds of projects!

What the hell was that train sequence? For one thing, it feels like a giant cliche, with tons of off-the-shelf problems and improbable solutions. But for another, it just looked bad. The compositing was off and the whole thing felt unreal in an unpleasant way. That can work in some of the MCU’s more cosmic settings, since you’re already in a heightened environment. But within the more grounded tone and setting of Echo, that kind of conspicuous effects work is extra jarring.

That said, despite having a bit of the same unreality problems the train sequence did, I actually really liked the Choctaw stickball set piece at the beginning. The idea of Echo being able to summon the help of her ancestors, in a way that's stretched across generations, is an interesting one. But even just the texture of seeing it happen in the past at a critical moment draws you in. I’ve been trying to figure out what touchstone Echo reminds me of, and I think it’s True Detective, not just for the catchy intro, but for this quiet sense of magical realism at the edges of the frame, starting to creep their way in.

The same tone pervades Maya’s adventures back in Tamaha. I’ll admit, despite not liking the train sequence, the scene where Maya’s bomb goes off and blows up Kingpin’s armory in New York rocks. I appreciate the idea that she is a child of two worlds, someone who is still of this place in Oklahoma and connected on a spiritual level to her people, but one who’s also been raised, in some ways, by Kingpin, and indoctrinated into his way of thinking. Seeing those worlds collide in her war against her surrogate father is cool.

It’s also nice seeing a little more glimpse of the world Maya was taken from. The particular ecosystem of Biscuits not wanting to tick off his grandmother, but inadvertently letting Bonnie know that Maya’s in town, while Chola catches word and confronts Henry, gives you the sense of how these people’s lives are connected. Maya can't avoid that forever, and I’m intrigued to see how things shake out once her family members start confronting her.

My favorite part, though, may be her interactions with Skully. Graham Greene has such a presence, so seeing him interact with some out-of-town schmucks or banter with Biscuits or work tirelessly to repair Echo’s prosthetic leg all carry an extra spark from his personality alone.

Overall, the non-action scenes, while still a bit predictable, were more my thing this episode, while the grand fireworks-filled action set piece was a low point. At least it’s familiar!