not to be dramatic, but Okoye telling her bitch ass husband she would end him without hesitation when he tried to manipulate her changed me as a person and cured my depression.
“would you kill me my love?”
“for wakanda? No question.”
a woman in my theater: “oH I HEARD THAT!!!!”
Listen. LISTEN. *cups your face in my hands* Listen to me. I have never so perfectly and purely seen a Paladin depicted in a movie as I saw in Okoye. Lawful good to her core. Pure, unvarnished loyalty to Wakanda and her people evident in every goddamned motion. Dignified, graceful, reverent respect for the rules of her country and its greater good.
There is something so beautiful about faith, something that just burns through with a beautiful glow that lights up someone’s eyes and every expression. There is a confidence and a peace that is both palpable and enviable when faith has been tested and come through intact. You could so hear it in her voice.
Personal shit is great, and I’m glad she was seen in a loving relationship. The Lone Woman Warrior trope is worn thin, and I’m sure even thinner for black women who are often not allowed to be lovable people on screen. But the core of the Paladin is ‘there is something greater than I, and I will sacrifice everything for it’, and it was beautiful to not only see that happen on screen but see her proved right, see her win, in one case by not even raising her weapon. She stood firm in her faith and the narrative said yes, it said this is just, it said your very faith will protect you from harm. And she’s not seen as hard or cold edged weapon for that. The imagery around her in that moment is more like a saint or an angel, glowing and reaching out a peaceful hand to a symbol of one of the tribes of her country. Her country loves her back.
Okoye doesn’t just love her country. She doesn’t just serve her country. She doesn’t just believe in her country. She has unshakable faith in an absolute truth: Wakanda Forever. She is elevated for her faith as much as her skill.
It’s fucking breathtaking.
real talk though, one of the most important parts of the film for me as a black man was the unapologetic show of emotion from the men in this movie. killmonger’s scene with n’jobu on the ancestral plane where he’s not gonna cry and then he grown man cries has stuck with me explicitly. i cried so hard in the theatre both times and did not care because i didn’t feel like i had to care. it’s definitely not the first time it’s been done, but it’s one of the first times where those tears were not used against him, especially by the father. my father has a very fragile masculinity. to him, tears are a weakness. he would say sometimes to me and my brothers ( although it was more damning to me for reasons ) “ why you cryin’ like a bitch? ” whereas n’jobu, who is strong and tough and spent enough time in oakland by then, says “no tears for me? ” and anyway that’s some important shit i think. to see black men’s tears not just allowed but given explicit permission and that is personally very important to me.
ill probably talk about it multiple times in every different way but “ for wakanda? without question ” is not only an iconic line. it’s also the summary of okoye’s character. she serves her country first and foremost. even when it’s difficult. even when it hurts her. she remains beside the throne and all that it stands for because that is what she is meant to do. she will never betray that, regardless of the personal cost it may come with. it is in fact a bit of a blind obedience to authoritative figures, and it is in fact a dangerous loyalty, but she knows and values her purpose, and even though her loyalty is unyielding, she is not afraid to question her king.
now this is another facet to her “ without question ” idealogy because the only reason she ever questions her king is for the best interest of wakanda. and that’s the important thing. SHE SERVES WAKANDA. SHE IS LOYAL TO WAKANDA. first and foremost. yes, that includes the king, but the king also serves wakanda, and she is sure to remind the king of that if need be. and that’s an important differentiation to make.