‘The Defenders’ Season Review: Defenders, Unite!
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist assemble for 8-episodes of crossover fun, superhero banter, and lots of Hand stuff.
Crossover events have been in vogue as of late. Marvel’s Cinematic Universe kicked things off in full force, the CW’s ever-growing catalog of ArrowVerse shows showed that it could be done in Television, and now Marvel has assembled their Netflix heroes and heroines in The Defenders.
Most people who’ve seen any of the above-mentioned crossover events will probably agree that what makes them truly unique and fun are the following:
- Characters who previously existed in their own cinematic bubble cross over into another character’s bubble.
- Heroes team-up and kick ass in synchronized, bad-ass fashion.
- Characters from different bubbles banter with one another.
You won’t find any crossover event without the above, because not only would it be unexciting, it would defeat the purpose. Imagine watching a show where we just follow four heroes who never meet. This does happen in The Defenders, for two episodes, but then the crossover goodness starts to come in waves, and that’s when things start to get fun.
Marvel’s The Defenders, for those who may not have watched the four preceding series, consists of the blind, acrobatic lawyer Matt Murdock (aka, Daredevil), the super-strong functioning alcoholic and P.I. Jessica Jones, the bulletproof Luke Cage, and billionaire kung-fu master Danny Rand (aka, Iron Fist).
Their foe, “The Hand”, is an organization with endless, global *reach*, and their five leaders, or “fingers” (they actually call them that), consist of two antagonists who appeared in the preceding series, and three others who make their debut in The Defenders, the most powerful of which is Alexandra. (It’s really disappointing that nobody drops an “I am ____, middle finger of the hand” line.)
The Hand is after Danny Rand, who is their sworn enemy, because they believe Danny is the key to acquiring a “substance” that can preserve their immortality and Alexandra believes that “Black Sky” — the resurrected femme fatale and Matt Murdock’s girlfriend, Elektra — will help bring Danny to them.
If we’re being honest, the plot of The Defenders really isn’t that interesting. Alexandra is yet another bland “villain” (if you can even call her that), unless you find old, rich white woman menacing. There’s some plot holes, like how Elektra reacquired her memories, that seem to be victims of the 8-episode order, as opposed to the usual 13, but it’s a trade-off I’m okay with.
The purpose of crossover events is to bring previously-isolated heroes together. This isn’t just for the audience. The Defenders put Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist in a show together, but it also brought them together. They started off reluctant to be a part of team and by the end, they were all connected, on the same page, brought together by Matt, who sacrificed himself.
By physically bringing the four together, The Defenders unites them on a psychological/emotional level and moves all four of the characters’ journey forward. Danny looks like he’s going to take up Matt’s mantle and watch over the city, Luke is probably going to do the same in Harlem, and Jessica looks to be re-opening Alias Investigations. It doesn’t seem like we’ll be seeing them this year, though I expect to see smaller crossovers when we do (Luke and Danny seems the most likely). Up next, though: The Punisher.
