It was cool to see the story of Bashenga, the first Black Panther and the originator of the Panther Clan. I don't think this story was the epic, mythical, founding of Wakanda that some might have expected it to be, but I thought it did a solid job of conveying the story

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It was kind of interesting that, for all the talk of "Bashenga's Spear," it was really the shield that was his true weapon, and that he began the trend for Wakandan kings of focusing on protecting their own and not bothering the outside world in-case they absolutely had to. I guess we finally see where Wakanda as the "Shield of the World" came from

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And Phil LaMarr was an awesome choice to play Bashenga, being both a very prolific African-American VA and also a former Black Panther voice himself

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But I guess this isn't only the story of Bashenga, it's also the story of Bask. It was interesting to see a secret member of the Wakandan Royal Family who was erased from history because she went evil, and while on-paper it seems like she was the Shuri to Bashenga's T'Challa, in actions her warmongering and obsession with gaining power for Wakanda makes her come off more like a female Killmonger. She even wore a golden panther armor like MCU Killmonger

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I thought for a second that rock was the Heart Shaped Herb from the Black Panther's origin, but apparently it was part of the meteor of Vibranium that fell Earth. It also seems sentient enough that it can posses and even communicate with people, which really begs the question of exactly what it is

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So is Bask the true main villain of this series? Or at least Bask possessed by that rock? Whatever it was seems to be what's been driving the Shadow Council for centuries and seems pretty in-line with Killmonger's goals

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T'Challa's trip into the crown reminded me a lot of the mindscape in the movie, complete with visions of T'Chaka showing up to guide T'Challa. Although it also got really trippy too

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And can I just say how awesome it was to hear Keith David as T'Chaka? I mean, beyond being a VA legend, he was also the first voice of T'Challa in animation in the 90's Fantastic Four cartoon, which made him a perfect choice to play the Black Panther's father

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Looking at his costume, from what little we were able to see...it seems his Black Panther suit was like T'Challa's, only without the gloves or full face mask.
I had a feeling Cap wasn't actually dead, so it was nice to get confirmation that he was alive in the crown and then see him come back. Hopefully his return will signal a reconciliation between T'Challa and the Avengers

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Although I guess they also have to deal with the fact that Cap's shield got destroyed

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