Eyes of Wakanda Review: Marvel Studios’ Animated Hidden Gem is Enjoyable, If Brisk

In the past few months, it seems as if Marvel Studios has been taking a step back in terms of its streaming projects. This was first felt with Ironheart‘s brisk three-week release, which left many worried about how Marvel would treat its upcoming shows. With Eyes of Wakanda‘s timely release, it feels as if it’s reaffirming that concern.

Given how both Ironheart and Eyes of Wakanda are under the banner of Ryan Coogler, these two shows should’ve been better promoted. They both have incredible potential to explore different sides of the MCU through the perspectives of people of color, but it also feels like the executive decisions are holding them back.

Still, with the episodes it has, Eyes of Wakanda manages to be captivating with its arrangement of stories that capture different eras and important lessons at the same time. 

Similarly to What If…?, Eyes of Wakanda‘s setup as an anthology series was meant to explore the history of Wakanda leading up to the “birth” of the Black Panther. Although, as it’s discovered, the series is more focused on one Wakandan group whose goal it is to recover lost Vibranium: the War Dogs.

It’s easy to assume that because each episode is around 25 minutes long and character-focused, the series would be able to take advantage of being its own separate realm. For its first two episodes, Eyes of Wakanda manages to do so.

With the first episode, “Into the Lion’s Den”, the stakes feel legitimate and the episode’s pacing really makes its antagonist, this self-dictatorial Lion who’s actually a Wakandan himself, a threat. His gang of mercenaries and warmongers is creatively put together, both visually and narratively.

The episode’s protagonist, a disgraced Dora Milaje named Noni, also confidently proves herself as a capable main character. There’s this sense of empathy that grows over time as she discovers that the Wakandan leadership isn’t what it all seems. It’s this push that not only helps create her motive, but also drives that background narrative throughout.

Of course, Eyes of Wakanda pushes heavily on its action and, given the medium and the artistic African-inspired style, visually propels itself forward. Depending on the episode, you can either get an intense escape sequence with striking moments or droplets of tension here and there, with fitting lighting and compositions.

However, with certain shots in these scenes, some of the animation can feel stilted as characters’ conversations can take over some of the blocking and movement. 

However, it feels like there’s a tonal split in between this series most likely due to the difference between series directors Todd Harris and John Fang. While both directors handle their respective episodes with some success, there was the one underwhelming episode being Episode 3 “Lost and Found”.

Sure, you could say that this episode satisfied that need for connection to the larger MCU through the introduction of the ancient Iron Fist, Jorani.

The pacing keeps you constantly hooked as the episode’s protagonist, Basha, tries to negotiate with Jorani to not take the artifact containing the Vibranium. Plus, there are some good character-building moments between the two that try to invoke your sympathies for Basha and Jorani.

Yet, this back-and-forth is pretty much all that the episode really is: a cat-and-mouse chase that doesn’t necessarily feel like there’s stakes due to the lighthearted ending. There’s this bit of a “lover’s quarrel” with some comedic shenanigans between Basha and his friend that make it feel like another Marvel-esque episode.

Then, there’s Episode 4 “The Last Panther”, which attempts to tie Eyes of Wakanda back into the larger universe fold. Here, we’re treated to the time-travelling Black Panther whose mission is to retrieve this artifact from a young Wakandan prince in Ethiopia to save the future.

It’s as visually eye-catching as promise, with the introduction of the alien predators known as the Horde providing a dangerous threat for the Black Panther’s future. There’s a lot of rapid action as we’re thrusted back and forth between the Ethiopian attacks and the Horde’s invasion, but it feels like it’s pushing a lot of new details.

That seems to be the problem with most MCU shows, as with Eyes of Wakanda as well. Due to the fact that it wants to connect back to everything, with Episode 4 also referencing the events of 2018’s Black Panther, these characters simply feel like nothing but puzzle pieces.

Sure, you could say that the first two episodes did a good job in establishing Noni and B’Kai, whose role was important in establishing that element of brotherhood on Episode 2 “Legends and Lies”. With B’Kai, it really built up that much needed depth with an almost introspective look at how brotherhood affected Wakandan culture, much like T’Chaka and N’Jobu.

Although, we hoped that these characters would be able to build off of each other with more confidence. The best we get from that connectivity is a visual reference to the prior episode from the present.

Perhaps by having a stronger narrative structure that focused on closer events on the timeline would make Eyes of Wakanda worked. It truly does feel like there was more to be told about this specific aspect of the MCU, but it didn’t get that needed push.

Eyes of Wakanda is an interesting case for Marvel Studios, highlighting Marvel Animation’s impressive visual feats while also holding back on its potential for fully exploring Black Panther’s world.

It feels like Marvel Studios might be undermining Ryan Coogler and Proximity Media’s work and I do hope their methods, specifically with POC projects, changes in the future.

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Eyes of Wakanda is now streaming on Disney+.

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