The Defenders

This show is the Marvel TV show equivalent of the Avengers. Hints have been dropped in each season, little cameos, characters have connections, and the Hand are the villain that connects everything together. And just like the first Avengers movie, this series does not disappoint. First of all, Netflix must have listened to me and my complaints about the last few shows. They decided to make it shorter…just eight episodes. That means there is enough to tell the story without any unnecessary story lines being added. Was it perfect? No, but it was still pretty great.

For those that are wondering, the show is about Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist coming together to fight the Hand. They have to overcome their differences and learn to work as a team because the fate of the city rests on their shoulders. The show mixes in their supporting characters just enough that it does not feel like they are being shoehorned into the story, while having plenty of fantastic fight sequences.

Okay, that is about as spoiler-free as you will get…from here on out, consider yourself warned…

Things I Loved
-First of all, Jessica Jones was probably the funniest thing in the show. She brings a cynical, sarcastic attitude to really help point out the ridiculousness. For example, her jokes about Daredevil’s horns or the fact that he is wearing her scarf and looks stupid (to which he tries to point out that it is her scarf). Grabbing the beer on the subway to being annoyed that everyone knows karate. She was my favorite.

-I also loved how much everyone made fun of Danny Rand…especially when he would start explaining how he is the Iron Fist. The best is when Luke is guarding over him and he makes a joke about a dragon, to which Danny thinks Luke really wants to hear the story again. They definitely did a better job of making Iron Fist seem “fish-out-of-water” instead of just crazy.

-Elektra. Damn, she was badass. When she kills Alexandra, I definitely did not see that coming. I thought for sure Alexandra would order her to kill the rest of the Hand or something, but instead Elektra just cuts her down. Oh yeah and she can take on all four of our heroes at once and pretty much win.

-Again, the fight scenes were pretty cool. I mean, none of them were at the level of that first season of Daredevil, but still some fairly impressive fighting. The final battle was probably the best, definitely see all the heroes watching each others backs and working as a team. After that, the first group battle, at Midland Circle, when Danny Rand tries to go in as a businessman. Luke Cage, Matt & Jessica showing up was just so cool.

-The actual endings for each character, to set up their own individual seasons. I loved Danny realizing that New York is now his city to help protect (did anyone else think that body crouched on the roof was Matt, but then turned out to be Danny?). Alias Investigations is open for business. Luke and Claire are clear of charges and free to start their life. Misty will be getting a cool robot arm. Oh, and Matt Murdock is alive.

Things I Did Not Like
-What was the Hand’s plan? I mean, I get it. They wanted the Substance to stay alive. They are five former students of K’un Lan (I am not looking up the spelling, deal with it), who stole the Substance and did nefarious things over time. The Substance keeps them immortal. They used the last of it to resurrect Elektra. Here is what makes zero sense to me: if they had a finite amount of Substance, how come they resurrected Nobu, Meechum, and whoever else I am forgetting about?

-So the police (or at least Misty) know about Luke (everyone knows about Luke’s powers) and Jessica, how come they (or just she) do not seem to believe that something insane is happening at this building? Granted, I get that they will not just allow it to be blown up, but if the guy with bulletproof skin is telling you that there is some crazy shit happening, you may want to listen.

-Why does Madam Gao have telekinetic powers? If she can do all that stuff, how come she cannot just stop Elektra?

-Moving forward, now that the Hand has been defeated, can we be done with ninjas? I mean, maybe not for Iron Fist, but definitely for Daredevil and the rest.

Okay, that is about all that did not like. I was very pleased with the show and look forward to the next seasons for each character.

Author: Ngewo