Eyes of Wakanda (Disney +) (2025)

Does this go for movies too? I'm trying to think of my favorites movies and figure out which ones DON'T belong to a part of a greater franchise. Very few, I think. The best example off the top of my head is Everything Everywhere All At Once. But very few others besides that one.

Of course "Eyes Of Wakanda" IS part of a greater franchise (the Marvel Cinematic Universe) but it is using characters I don't know or care about. I think the selling point of the show is that it is giving us larger context for the MCU in general, and the Black Panther films specifically. That's a worthy goal. I suspect after seeing this the Black Panther films will seem cooler when I rewatch them.

Here's the thing regarding that kind of Supplemental material. Despite it strengthening the source franchise, I think it ought to be enjoyable and / or interesting in its own right. This wasn't really either of those things. I appreciate the added context, but I don't (yet) appreciate the series itself.

That being said, the fight at the end with the Lion is cool because he has a cool voice. This suggests Cress Williams should have been doing voice-work for cartoons LONG before this.

But I could take or leave the rest. 2 1/2 stars.

On paper, mixing Wakanda and Greek Mythology sounds like a neat idea. In this episode, it makes the Wakandans look like total dicks.

I mean, if you want to get technical, that is the entire subtext to the premise. But good Black Panther stuff keeps it in the background and allows you to like the characters, if not their politics (and Wakanda's politics are entirely fucked up). For some reason a LOT of the time Marvel instead seems invested in shoving the fact that the nation is dickish down our throats.

Again, them being dicks deep down works for the idea that Wakandans are far beyond the rest of the world. Making them overt assholes? Bad storytelling.

By the way, this was Geoffrey Thorne's entire problem with his run on Avengers: Black Panther's Quest, which in my mind is the worst Marvel cartoon of all time, and the worst interpretation of T'Challa of them all. If you see the Black Panther movie AFTER you saw that cartoon your reaction would probably be, "Why did the cartoon have to make this shit so hard?" I am glad Ryan Coogler is a producer on this show. He does the premise right. I am concerned Geoffrey Thorne is the showrunner and head writer. Thorne is an online force to be reckoned with, and a way smarter person than I am. I just am not as enamored with his fiction as I was his message board posts on Dwayne McDuffie's forums. 1 star.

It lands better when the Wakandan stealing back Wakandan artifacts is a rogue and a scoundrel.

The female Iron Fist was pretty cool.

My stomach sunk upon Basha saying the phrase, "You don't understand!" That was literally Avengers: Black Panther's Quest narrative Kryptonite (that and "You MUST listen to me!"), and ultimately one of the biggest reasons I thought it was the worst Marvel cartoon ever. Fortunately, the cliche is followed by an explanation of sorts here instead of (checks notes on Black Panther's Quest) ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOTHING.

I'm not ready to forgive Thorne for that shitty cartoon. But it's clear in the years since, he's learned something.

Pretty good episode. 4 stars.

All throughout the episode I kept thinking it was doing too much. Episodes this packed invariably lead to obnoxious season ending cliffhangers. And while the ending isn't exactly THAT, the ambiguousness and foreshadowing make it ADJACENT to that. Not only was this never billed as a multi-season series. But if it gets renewed I will be absolutely shocked.

Do you what that was? Television. My harshest critique. 2 stars.