There is no dabbing in “T’Challa Royale.” No moving circles or chicken dinner, no true victor. Our seventh episode does bring us some more James Bond-level shenanigans, but only slightly pushes the overall arc forward.
1. Cold-blooded Open
There’s not much here, but it’s totally worth mentioning that the episode begins with T’Challa meditating and then getting chased by a big-ass snake. Like, a 15-foot-tall, 50-yard-long snake. Panther, clearly trying not to die in the bowels of some mutant serpent, displays the speed of his namesake only to reveal that it is he, the true predator, that plays the game of death. He is apex, he decides when he’s ready to make that sentimental journey into the abyss, not some piece of crap snake. As turns out he’s pals with the behemoth, and this is just their thing.
There’s a metaphor here.
2. @KravenHunter420
T’Challa just has to go visit an island that has a vague connection to a project his father was working on with N’Jadaka. Upon his arrival, Panther is quickly subdued by Kraven the Hunter, who likes to monologue more than hunt, I guess.
Kraven plays this weird neo-liberal capitalist game with his near-explicit use of drones used to hunt down Panther in effort to boost the profits on his AdSense account. You see, Kraven has a streaming show called Kraven’s Amazing Hunt, where he hunts people or something and Black Panther is his first mark. He also inexplicably has a robot arm now which is still cool to me for some reason.
Unfortunately the hunt, while a fun idea, is criminally short. When Kraven traps Panther and moves in for the kill, T’Challa reveals that he’s just been waiting to go ham and ham he goes. Panther makes an insane initiative roll and goes sickhouse on Kraven and his robo-goons, slicin’ and dicin’ everything visible in a fashion humbling lightning. Kraven goes cross-eyed at this display, unconsciously admitting defeat of his b-plot bullshit. The roar of viewers’ “dislike” clicks can be heard rippling throughout the multiverse.
3. My Life with the Thrill Killmonger
After Kraven is dispatched, T’Challa moves on N’Jadaka. Finally dubbing himself as Killmonger, N’Jadaka dawns a cyber-antelope mask over a costume that calls back to his more recent comic book design. Besides the rad Saiyan armor he had in the movie, the dude has never looked cool so it’s nice to see that someone else noticed that the costume was in dire need of an update, even if it meant replacing a necklace of tiny skulls.
Donning his new costume, Killmonger goes full-on Bond villain. He operatically dukes it out with Panther in his active volcano techno-lair just a few dozen feet above a roiling cauldron of magma. While Killmonger monologues in between poetically-timed attacks, it becomes known that he has summoned a fucking satellite to de-orbit and plummet into the same Wakandan throne room Shuri is currently in. N’Jadaka knows T’Challa is going to save his sister and childhood bedroom (and says as much), using the opportunity to dip out after throwing in one last dig at our kitty king (“WEAK”).
4. The Odd Couple
So Baron Zemo is kicking up a mighty fuss about his supposed three-star accommodations in the Wakandan royal palace. He’s a pretty fun foil to super genius princess Shuri, as he’s this formerly evil trust fund brat that is being held “prisoner” until he figures out his Nazi dad’s Apple ID. They have some good back-and-forth regarding her ability to basically solve any problem and his being a whiny baby that will die for a work station better than a purple Surface Pro 2.
5. Panther Progress
T’Challa is starting to come into his own. He still relies on Shuri for a great deal of support, but by confronting N’Jadaka, he’s beginning to actively display his resolve and progression in temperament and martial prowess. I mean, he basically kills Kraven and all of his drones in less than five seconds (if that’s how slow-mo in animation works) which is totally sick, but it’s his fight with Killmonger that really brings home his growth. “You have taught me everything you know but not everything I know” says T’Challa before name-dropping Cap and Widow and all his cool new friends that aren’t filthy traitors to the throne. We’ll see what happens next episode, but here Panther seemingly shrugs off the botched apprehension of the Big Bad, finding solace in his conviction to kick that asshole’s butt later.
