Cinepals - ECHO Episode 4 Review!

Episode Date: January 11, 2024

Jaby Koay and Achara Kirk watch and review the fourth episode of Marvel's latest show Echo which is airing on Disney Plus and Hulu. This is a spoiler review for Echo 1x2 Reaction. Echo stars Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, Vincent D'Onofrio as Wislon Fisk / Kingpin, Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs) as Bonnie, Cody Lightning as Biscuits, Chaske Spencer as Henry, Graham Greene as Skully and Tantoo Cardinal as Chula.  Watch our cutdown reaction on https://www.YouTube.com/@CinePals or watch the full length reaction on our YouTube memberships or on https://www.Patreon.com/JabyKoay   Music from https://www.EpidemicSound.com

Kirk, uh, just so you know, and I mean this in full earnest, I am like legitimately excited for tonight. I cannot wait. I know you don't believe me. I don't. But I'm excited. I don't believe you at all, Jabby Kauai. Where is this going? After the things you said in episode three. I mean, yo, it looked a little ropey, but I have shifted mindsets. I'm excited for the 25 people that are watching this, because, you know, whenever Jabby's negative, I noticed this was kind of a drop-off. They're like, screw this, negative Nancy. Whether it's because Jabby's being negative

or the show is just not as exciting. I notice there can be a drop-off if I get a little bit negative and so. Now I'm like, well, I'm just going to have fun. All right. I look forward to this fun time with you, Jabby Kauai. Do you see that right there? That's the door.

That's the door. And just beyond that door, I check my brain over there. Senna. Pals. What is going on, everybody? I am Jabby Kauai, joined by a charic. Kirk what's up we are watching echo echo never gets old they should have called the show reverb

here we go just don't even want to do the intro let's just go stopped caring i'm sorry mr fiske we tailed her but she's gone if he was gonna like break out into full rage mode there because he was being awfully calm at first I'm like that's not that's not like him that's not the Fisk I know that's not the Fisk I know hashtag not my Fisk yeah but yeah that is the Fisk I know now how did you feel about this I thought this was the best episode so far I liked it a lot I have issues with the way it was shot and edited sometimes but like in general I like it got me more than any

other episode in terms of emotion in terms of like the plot actually like going somewhere in terms of me feeling like there's a trajectory and things are kind of coalescing obviously like the coalescing aspect of it that's always in the latter part of a season right because the first part is the build up there's actually meaningful tangible stuff going on here yeah like i love this stuff with her and her grandmother like you said that that was the grandmother's best performance in the season so far i couldn't help myself by the way because like they had this wide shot wide medium when she's like i could see there's shit going on in her face and her eyes and she's like having a moment and it's like it's this wide i'm

like bitch do you know how to movie that's when you get in closer so allow the actress performance to come through so i can feel it too okay so the thing is right she's also signing so at most i thought about that too you would you would do like a medium i thought about that too what okay go i'm way ahead of you all right we got something called subtitles that's there the entire time that they're signing so even if you don't see the hands you'll still see the subtitles sure but it's not in Maya's point of view because Maya, I mean, yeah, she can look at her like that, but she would...

I get it. Watching the hand. I'm losing, like, when bro, 45-year-old guy was actually talking, I was connecting way more with the material that was, like, I could... It allowed him to express himself more fully, and so I was able to connect

with whatever he was saying more fully. You know what I mean? Sure. And it's like, maybe that's a selfish thing on my part, but I'm losing my connection to the show. Like, I'm trying to, so hard to like be emotionally involved when I'm watching them just sign and not really speak but I had the hardest time. I don't know. Okay, that's just me being honest. Yeah, no. I mean,

I didn't have a problem with that as much as you did, I think. I was kind of okay with all of that because it was powerful. Like the things that she was saying that that she was admitting to like her mistakes and stuff like that. And then just also as soon as the connection was becoming clear and like as soon as she said, oh, I saw the same thing. on the day your mother was born. I was just like, oh, my God, I've got goosebumps all over my body. Like, I love all of that stuff. The performance, the performance there was great.

I'm a little bit frustrated with the main actresses. Incessant need to do the hook eyebrow thing. It's like the entire time. If you go back and watch it, she did like 40 hook eyebrows. Uh-huh. And she's like, and like, they even use the same one back-to-back when there was a revelation with her connection with the grandmother. I'm like, yo, you did that twice.

Like, you just showed it to me. And so I don't know if there was like a lack of footage. to have two different emotions, but they showed the same emotion twice. I'm paying attention to all this stuff because, like, I've been editing since I was, like, 10 years old. And so I notice everything.

And I just felt like there were so many lost opportunities to make it more cinematic. Like, there was a moment where Echo mentions her connection. The grandmother, like, it clicks for her. Mm-hmm. The whole thing was done in over the show, in like, just like your regular standard film school setup. This coverage, this coverage.

I'm like, dude, like, no, no, profile shot to like nothing else to just get more creative with this dialogue scene which is like the heart of this episode yeah you're just gonna do this in the most basic style possible it works though because it got us emotionally no the performances got me but like I thought that it could have been elevated with like better better coverage that's all I'm saying but the performances they like they really delivered especially grandma she was so great and like I really felt for her you know that that that she should was so destroyed, just completely shattered by her daughter dying, that she basically, you know, disowned her granddaughter. And it's like, here she's got this opportunity to try and make things right. And the conversation didn't really go maybe exactly the way as planned. But I love that she's creating this like beautiful outfit for her to wear that like really honors her heritage and her ancestors. And I don't know. if you've noticed, you know, because now that the episodes have come out and I've been looking

at the names of the episodes, I realize that they're all names of people, and I think they're all names of her ancestors. This episode was named for her mother. Okay. And then I think the last episode is called Maya. So it's showing the lineage. That's cool. Like her, like all of that coming through her. And so, yeah, I mean, it's all very important to her character. I am I'm not discounting any of that. I like all that. Yeah, it's great. I'm just saying, I really genuinely feel like they just had less time than other shows to do this.

Perhaps. Yeah. Because of the way it's shot and edited and everything like that, it's like even that moment in the car when, I don't remember his name, the 45-year-old guy who looks like Blue Diamond Phillips. Henry? Yeah. When he's like, all right, get going now. It's like, there was barely a beat. Like, it just, it's like not breathing at all.

Maya realizes, yo, you brought me here? Of all places, right? Yeah. There's, I'm not feeling any of that. I should feel that. I should feel her, her, like, a reluctance to be here and her resistance to talk to her grandmother, right? There's stuff in the way. And then when she's walking up, it was like, maybe a second.

Hey, it's like, you know what I mean? Like, okay, this is a weird example. But for those of you who have seen Jackie Brown, the main male character meets Jackie Brown for the first time, Tarantino extended this moment to emphasize, like, he is seeing this guy. I've seen this beautiful woman, and it's like, the walk should maybe be five, ten seconds, but it was extended out to like a full minute. It was long, but it's for impact, right? There was nothing there that made me feel that way with the walk up to the grandmother. This woman, she hasn't really had contact with in a really long time.

No buildup whatsoever. Okay, you want to come in, drinks? It's like, what, Blase, Blase, as if they just, you know what I mean? Am I making any sense? You are making sense. I understand what you're saying. It's a Marvel show. it's that is not no no no no no no especially when you have stuff like dare double season one and two out there and maybe even season three sure like there's other shows and or yeah no like well okay fine but

what I'm saying is like obviously they didn't decide that they wanted to do it that way I know it's awful like they I'm just say like okay I guess you know it's kind of like a student who's like, but a B is still a pass, right? Or a C is still a passing grade, right? So I'll do that. I could work harder and make it like a B plus, or like an A. It pains me how many creative opportunities there are for stuff, and I'm

just like, but why? Why did you go that way? And it's like, I would love to talk to the director and editor of the show. Oh, yeah, you would tell them exactly what you said right here. I don't know if I'd say it like that. I'd probably be nicer about it, but I'd be like, yo, like, why? Why did you, why did you make the

choices that you did? You know, That's how I would go about it. What happened? Did the close-up camera break? Did you lose the footage? Was it out of focus? What happened? I'm trying to be respectful of, I'm trying my best to be understanding of like the sign language aspect of things and why they're not going tighter more often. But the fact that they got subtitles in there means you're not really excluding anybody, right? In terms of like the potential viewers who might be deaf watching the show, you're not, you're not excluding them because there are subtitles there.

Sure. You know what I mean? But I think it's really neat that you're. you're able to see the signing. Maybe you're viewing this from a place of privilege because, you know, you... I am viewing this from a place of I want the content to be emotional for me as well. I want to feel as connected as possible to everything happening. But you were feeling shit.

I felt you feeling shit. Yes. But like, okay, at that point, just give me a wide and then leave it alone and don't cut at all. You know, it's like, if you're going to go that basic with it, why even try? Sometimes you love that stuff, though. I'm just saying there are so many lost opportunities here. The way it was shot was quite boring. And the only thing that saved that scene was grandma's performance.

Grandma was dope. That was the only thing that saved it because it was an otherwise boring scene. The stuff with the flashbacks and whatever was cool. It was fine. The most interesting thing about that was Grandma. That's all I'm saying. You know what I mean? 100%.

100%. Like she was killing it. Even if you didn't show the flashbacks, that still would have been like, I would have been invested. because of her. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. I just wish they elevated it even further

to feel more engaging because it's like, why not? I don't know. Maybe I'm being asking for too much. But it just feels like they had like maybe a couple of hours to shoot that scene. They got to get it done.

You know what I mean? Like it feels like they were restricted. And I don't know if it was a COVID thing or if it was like the imminent strike. You know, I have no idea what informed how this production went. They released all the episodes at once for some reason on Disney Plus and Hulu

I'm like, what informs all these decisions? I don't know. You know, and so, well, my feeling is like maybe they just didn't feel confident about it. Yeah, maybe. Or they're just trying to do something a little bit different. I don't know. But this is my favorite episode so far, like flaws in all.

This is my favorite episode. Favorite performances. And, you know. How did you feel about Wilson Fisk Kingpin being back? I liked all that. I liked his stuff was great. Like, he knows how to, I think he, elevated and otherwise, like, all right, material.

He kept having to say, you and I and all that stuff. And so he's got, he has to, like, humanize this awful human being. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm a little congested still. He has to humanize this person who's horrific, right? This person who's completely heinous, it's like, but you get him, right? And that's what's great about his performance and everything.

And some of the material that's in the dialogue that's there. You know, like, when he brought out the hammer and he's like, this is the tool that freed me. And I had to use this to save my mother. And it's like, okay, you get him. You get him on a primal level. It's like everyone understands wanting to, especially guys, I think, like their mother is the most important person to them, right? Generally speaking.

Yeah, but he basically caught himself in a lie. Do you know what I mean? Because he told her, we saw in the first episode, he said something about my father was killed. Yeah. He never said he killed his father. And so she's finally seeing just what a manipulative person he is. He chooses his words so wisely.

And he manipulated her from the start and told her that he loved her. Like, it's all the sort of, like, classic narcissistic behavior that, you know, it's like textbook. What's your point? And so she's just finally able to see him for who he is and realize that, like, he's been playing the long game this whole time. It's like how can she even believe anything that he said when he said like, I love you. It's like, but did you? Do you? Are you even capable of that? I think from his perspective, he believes every word he says. Of course he does. Every narcissist does. No, but that's what I like about his performance in this. Yeah. No, 100%. Like he's really good. That's why I got so

frustrated with him because I'm like, I can see his tactics. Yeah. But at the same time, I can also see how convincing he is. If you're on the receiving end of that where you're just like, okay, yeah, sounds like a great idea. Speaking of frustrated, you do love me. I hated that montage

when she was standing on the docks. Terrible montage. It's supposed to lead you towards, oh, she's connecting the dots. There were no dots connected in that montage. It was literally just a montage of stuff from the show. Now she gets it.

I'm like, what did she get? I saw nothing. Is this Sherlock Holmes? I'm confused. Like, I understand what I'm supposed to understand. Yeah. But it, you know what I mean? Like, did you feel like that montage moved you?

Like, the end of six cents? You know? It's like, oh, my gosh. Because I already knew what she was thinking. But you know how, like, at the end of six cents or any M-night Shem-a-la-la-la-lon movie? Yeah. You know how, like, oh, you start seeing the threads in how it all, and the coalesces in your brain. It was there all along.

Yeah, I didn't get in any of that. It was just felt like a montage of stuff. And then they showed Bonnie in the kitchen. I'm like, what? I know. I was like, what? What are they? Why? Why Bonnie in the kitchen?

I love Bonnie, but okay. I didn't mind seeing her. Easy on the eyes. But I just was confused. I'm like, why are we looking at it right now? You know what I mean? Anyway, that was fun. I'm Jabby Kauai.

This is Achara Cook. Peace out.