Eyes of Wakanda – Into the Lion’s Den review S1 E1
Eyes of Wakanda kicks off with Into the Lion’s Den, a strong flex of the series’ visual and storytelling capabilities.
A former Dora Milaje, Noni (Winnie Harlow), is called back into the fold by her mentor, Akeya (Patricia Belcher) to bring in a former Wakandan general.
This general now goes by the name The Lion (Cress Williams, Black Lighting) and has been slowly amassing an impressive army bent on conquest using stolen Wakandan technology. Noni’s job is to bring The Lion back to Wakanda, but she’ll have to enter the lion’s den and face off against his army to retrieve him.
Noni goes undercover and travels to Crete, staying largely forgettable so she can blend in and await the inevitable. The Lion is on a conquest trail and it’s just a matter of time before he arrives at Crete. Noni just has to wait six weeks before The Lion’s fleet arrives onshore and she bides her time before seeking out the would-be king.
Into the Lion’s Den has a solid premise of reclaiming stolen Wakandan property. This harkens back to one of the main plot points of the 2018 Black Panther film directed by Ryan Coogler, who serves as a co-producer on Eyes of Wakanda. Their highly advanced technology cannot be trusted in the wrong hands.
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Noni makes for a strong hero even if writer Geoffrey Thorne (DC Comics’ Green Lantern) occasionally falls into the trope of making her somewhat overpowered. Into the Lion’s Den pits Noni against The Lion’s top soldiers along with hordes of his army.
The Lion’s army actually has some intriguing warriors. Given the short length of Eyes of Wakanda with just four episodes, maybe Noni’s initial quest to take down The Lion and his army could have played out fine over a four-episode arc before shifting over to another character?
If she were armed with some Wakandan tech of her own those odds would have been greater, but it felt like a stretch that she could defeat them all without some help. In this case it could have been as simple as rallying some of The Lion’s new seized/servants to fight back.
Into the Lion’s Den features a gorgeous animation style. Colors are lush and Character designs are very creatively done with elaborate, ornate beading and fabric blends. These would make two-time Oscar winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter — for her work on the two Black Panther films — proud.
The action sequences are really where Into the Lion’s Den shines. They’re fairly intricate with levels to the fights, which is especially interesting since Noni is battling various characters on her own.
As an anthology series it’s fair to wonder if a character, like Noni, proves to be popular enough to warrant opportunities in the future to revisit them? Or in the dream scenario for everyone involved in Eyes of Wakanda to have some or most of these characters make the full transition to become a player in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Into the Lion’s Den was a very solid kickoff to Eyes of Wakanda, providing a template for how the series can play out not just through this initial four episodes, but possibly in subsequent seasons as well. This is an easy recommendation for Black Panther fans not so patiently awaiting for the third installment in the live-action franchise.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Photo Credit: Disney
Enjoyed Into the Lion’s Den? Check out more Black Panther Wakandan exploits with Shuri: A Black Panther Novel available now on Amazon.
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