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This is
going to be a really quick review since I have so much more I need to be doing
today and I didn’t get a chance to write this before today.
We’ve hit
the midway point in The Defenders with episode 4—which seems weird to
say, considering that every other Marvel Netflix show is 5 episodes longer than
this one! And it’s in this middle
episode that we really get a chance to see all of the cool character
interactions we have been looking forward to in this series. Episode 3 ended with the four main heroes
teaming up to take out a small army of Hand ninjas; Episode 4 is the follow-up
as they get to know each other and figure out their next moves.
The episode
kicks off with some comedic moments as the heroes run into a Chinese restaurant
to hide from the Hand. Danny basically
agrees to buy all the food in the restaurant in exchange for them staying
there. Matt kind of shows off his
abilities—and the others are completely weirded out. I find it interesting that Matt is the one
who doesn’t play well with others, while the other three are completely okay
with the others knowing their identities.
I think the biggest surprise—not only in this episode but in the entire
season—is how well Matt and Jess play off each other: Jess is very quick to realize that Matt is
Daredevil and convince him to stay and join with the others.
Watching all
of them interact while eating is actually a lot of fun. We already know all the characters from their
respective series, but there is a difference between seeing Danny and Matt as
the main characters of their own show and seeing them play off each other on
equal footing. It is clear that these
characters aren’t really used to working with other heroes; Matt barely teamed
up with Elektra, Luke and Jess fought together all of once, and Danny is the
only one who has really teamed with any other heroes (having traveled around
with Colleen). I suppose it makes sense
in that context for Danny to be the one proposing that they all work together,
and the one who sticks around without trying to leave—especially after Stick
arrives and explains that the Chaste is sort-of like the Iron Fist’s “Army.”
The personal
dynamics between these characters are all good.
They do a great job of showing the awkwardness between Luke and Jess
(considering that they slept together, then he found out she killed his wife,
then he got mind-controlled, then she shot him in the face with a
shotgun!). Danny and Matt have some
interesting interactions with Stick, with Matt almost walking out the moment he
sees Stick due to their previous negative interactions.
This episode
also does a good job of balancing the character development between the four
heroes, with each receiving a few moments in the spotlight. Jess’s biggest moment comes when she leaves
to return to her apartment, realizes that there’s more going on than she
thought, and returns to the fight, making a dramatic entrance by throwing a car
through the wall. Matt’s moments of
trying to grasp what happened to Elektra are pretty big for his character,
especially since he never had a chance to get over her death in Daredevil
season 2.
Stick’s role
in this episode is really just to be the walking exposition man, as his primary
job is to explain the history of the Hand and the Chaste. Stick does get several exciting moments in
the series, but his role is smaller than I had expected. I don’t mind that, though; the focus should be
on the heroes themselves. And I realize
that someone had to explain to the heroes who the Hand were, so I guess
Stick was as good a character to do that as any.
The best
part of this episode is probably all the character interactions, which set the
stage for a lot of the second half of the season. It’s kind of a slow episode, but that’s not
necessarily a bad thing.
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