A Scorched & Reborn Soul
Shuri’s Tranquility Journey in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
By Brandon Porter
A great man once said, "Death is not the end, it's more of a stepping-off point". While this quote by T'Challa, played by the late Chadwick Boseman, is a great representation of someone who is prepared for death, it can be seen as a foundation for someone's loved ones who are struggling with the reality of losing someone they care about. While death is scary, knowing that they are simply moving on to a better and more peaceful existence can help their loved ones process their passing. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever deals with the struggles and tribulations of grief that one goes through as a result of an unprepared tragedy. While a lot of the characters deal with T'Challa's death in their own way, one character has the most transformative arc of them all. Shuri deals with the loss of her brother the hardest due to a plethora of things she acknowledges and also refuses to acknowledge. In this latest porter report, I wanted to explore Shuri's arc more in-depth to showcase how she eventually overcomes her emotional trauma and truly begins the process of healing and moving forward.
WARNING!!! This will contain spoilers for the movie, if you have not seen Wakanda Forever, please come back to this post after you've seen the film.
Right from the jump, Shuri is in a state of panic, desperation, and denial. She urgently rushes to try to find a cure for the illness that is rapidly killing her brother. All of the signs are there that T'Challa doesn't have that long to live, but Shuri is determined to successfully craft the synthetic heart-shaped herb that will save her brother. As her desperation and frustration hit peak level, it's her mother's tearful confirmation of T'Challa's passing that completely shatters Shuri. All her skill sets, all her expertise, and all her desperate attempts to stop the inevitable...were all for not. What's worse, it isn't just her failure of not being able to save him that breaks her. It's her being so wrapped up in trying to save him that she wasn't able to be with him in his final moments. So fixated on keeping him that she left herself severely unprepared when it came to losing him. The trauma of this is seen firsthand at T'Challa's funeral when she tearfully hugs and weeps over her brother's casket. This event is important because it is the catalyst for Shuri's actions throughout the film.
After a year, it is evident that Shuri's coping mechanism is simply suppressing her trauma by burying herself in her work. Her mother tries to urge her to participate in a traditional ceremony of burning the funeral attire as a symbol of moving forward. But Shuri's refusal to do this shows that she is further distancing herself from traditions and practices including the need for a new Black Panther. Still haunted by the events of a year ago, this shows that Shuri still hasn't forgiven herself for what she believes was an event she could have prevented. That internalized guilt and regret play a huge part in her arc later but things become more profound (and sinister) when Namor steps into the picture.
Namor, in a lot of ways, relates to Shuri. He wants to protect his people the same way Shuri wants to protect Wakanda just like T'Challa and others before him. Shuri sees the nation of Talokan and how much Namor cares for its inhabitants. It truly shows his compassion and love for his people. That said, he strongly states that he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and wipe out any threats to his empire. Stemming from how he saw when he came to bury his mother and witnessing what slavers did to his people on the surface, he makes it known that the surface world will stop at nothing to achieve domination by any means. He begs Shuri and Wakanda for an alliance to help overthrow any opposition in an effort to protect both their kingdoms. Shuri sees the dangers and risks of this for it would compromise the soul of Wakanda and cost the innocent life of Riri Williams. This sets in motion the attack on Wakanda that will bring forth a new set of emotional baggage for Shuri to juggle. Namor's attack cripples Wakanda but even worse it claims the life of Romanda further putting Shuri in an even more emotionally daming state.
Still not having fully moved on from her brother's death, her mother's death amplifies her suppressed feelings into something much more psychologically damaging. While burying her mother, it is clear that Namor's attack has hardened Shuri's heart. M'Baku sees it as he tries to give counsel to her. She does however acknowledge that there is a need for a new Black Panther and restarts her progress on the synthetic heart-shaped herb. But it is during her ingestion of the herb that we see a manifestation of all of Shuri's emotional weight and trauma becoming something sinister. In what is supposed to be the ancestral plane, is instead the flooded throne room where Queen Romanda died saving Riri. Upon taking in her surroundings, she assumes that she will see her mother who will give her comfort and guidance as she prepares to take on the mantle of Black Panther. But what she finds instead is someone who represents her true intentions and motivations as a result of her unresolved trauma. Who she sees isn't her mother, her father, or even her brother. She sees her deceased cousin Erik Killmonger.
Given how instrumental Killmonger was in causing her brother to die thanks to his destruction of the heart-shaped herb garden 6 years prior, Shuri is both confused and disgusted when she sees him. But his presence is actually the manifestation of all of the things that Shuri has buried and run from since T'Challa's death now transformed into something else as a result of Romanda's death. Killmonger’s presence represents the unresolved emotional torment within Shuri becoming an embodiment of her now bubbling anger and thirst for vengeance. During their reunion, Killmonger questions her motivations for taking the herb. While she vaguely states that she took it to be strong, Killmonger doesn’t buy it for a second. It has already been established that Shuri is notorious for scoffing at tradition. Her reluctance to participate in her mother’s ritual funeral robe burning and her stating that the mantle of Black Panther is a relic of the past prove that. The latter really highlights the hidden motivation that she has in all of sudden change of heart on Wakanda needing a Black Panther. Kilmonger sees right through it and states the real reason why she took on the mantle of Black Panther: retribution. Her unresolved feelings about losing her brother coupled with her mother’s murder have now put her in a dark state of mind where she is now out for revenge against Namor and Talokan. It’s heartbreaking to see her like this knowing that this is a result of her not allowing herself to properly mourn those that she has lost. Using the powers of the Black Panther to wage war is the opposite of what T’Challa and the other mantle holders stood for. This is out of character for her that puts her in the same vein as Killmonger and also Namor. Someone who wants to use the resources of Wakanda to wage war regardless of the morally compromising circumstances. It isn’t a surprise that when Nakia questions who she saw in the ancestral plane, she dodges the question. She knows deep down that what she is about to do is against her moral compass. But she blocks it all out and proceeds with the attack.
The sheer brutality of her battle with Namor shows how deep Shuri has slipped into the dark side. Someone who she respected for how much he cared for his people she now sees as someone who needs to pay for the pain she’s endured self-inflicted or not. It isn’t until she and Namor are at their physical limit, with her getting stabbed through the stomach and him getting severely burned from an explosion caused by Shuri, that she is reminded how far she has fallen. She remembers her visit to Talokan and how similar that nation is to her own. As M’Baku said, killing him would risk eternal war. This would put her in the same category as Killmonger, who convinced himself that his actions were justified, but his resolve would bring destruction and chaos to everyone involved. After finally seeing her mother in the actual ancestral plane, she comes to her senses makes the right call, and promises to protect the secrecy of Talokan if Namor yields. A truce is reached with both nations reaching a peaceful resolution…for now.
Sometime later, she travels to Haiti and finally does what she has avoided for so long. She burns the ceremonial funeral robes finally providing closure as she now officially and properly mourns her brother. Though it is sad that she finally acknowledges that he is no longer with her. It releases her from the guilt that has haunted her for a year and almost turned her into somebody that she wasn’t. Despite people understanding Killmonger's viewpoint even years later, the path he took ultimately had one end: death. For all his ambition and all his skills, Killmonger's antics only resulted in him dying having achieved nothing but nearly destroying a nation and sending a world into anarchy. This was the very path that Shuri was on. Her actions due to her inner conflict almost cost her the lives of her people and nearly got her and Namor killed. All because she put this unnecessary burden on herself over something that was out of her control. This doesn't make her bad or unworthy of the mantle. It really showed how essential it was for her to move past her trauma and push on despite how painful it is. What's great about this moment is that it not only provides Shuri with much-needed closure, it provides her with an incredible reward in the form of an unexpected surprise. The reveal of Nakia and T'Challa's son Toussaint offers Shuri not just the gift of being an aunt, but it allows her to have a piece of her brother to hold on to. Had Shuri not come to her senses when she did, this would have been something she would have lost which would have been far more devastating.
It's a lesson that everyone who sees this film will be able to relate to on some level. Boseman's passing left us all in a state of shock, anger, and sadness. There are ways to cope with loss but some ways are more harmful than others. It's essential that we don't let a part of ourselves die with our loved ones because there is a chance we may lose who we are in the process. Mourn who you've lost, celebrate who they were, cherish what they represent, and protect what they stood for. It is in those moments that even when their gone in body, their spirit is more alive than ever uplifting those who take it all in.
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