Holding cell.
The Defenders penultimate episode is such an anticlimax after the exciting and eventful episode that came directly before. The set-up isn’t without potential: Elektra is now in charge of The Hand, has possession of the Iron Fist, and our three remaining heroes – Luke, Jess, and Daredevil – are stuck in a police station.
But you get the very clear sense there isn’t much more story left to unfold, so things move forward slowly, very slowly, at half-steps. There are also plenty of scenes and conversations that recap plot points and character dynamics that shouldn't need emphasising at this stage.
That’s not to say there aren’t some enjoyable moments, but it's an episode that's predominantly packed with filler. I like that Matt stops kidding himself and accepts who he is regardless of what Karen or Foggy might think – “Karen, this is my life.” He knows who he really is, and his decision is reassured when Foggy brings him a change of clothes and it’s the Daredevil suit. Matt gives a little smile, and it’s a quiet conclusion to a conflict that has existed across two seasons of that show.
But those small moments are overwhelmed by some more problematic ones. I love the scene where The Defenders have to take the subway. Unlike some other superhero teams, they don’t have their own jet. But I don’t understand why Jessica steals a beer from a homeless guy, and I really don't understand why our street-level heroes – Luke and Daredevil – are kind of okay with it. Luke literally berates Danny in a previous episode for beating down on guys trying to put food on the table for their families. I don’t think Luke would be cool with taking a beer off a homeless dude. Just give her a hip flask that they can share. Sounds like a pedantic criticism about a small detail, but it’s a moment that tries to play into her character but actually undermines all three of them.
Similarly, after some decent fight sequences in previous episodes – especially the encounter between Iron Fist and Daredevil – the showdown between Luke, Jess, Daredevil and the remaining members of The Hand is really underwhelming and badly staged. The choreography is flat, and cross-cutting it with Iron Fist’s subterranean showdown with Elektra doesn’t work at all. There isn’t sufficient contrast in what you’re seeing, so it messily bleeds together. Also, the dynamic in the former fight is just off. Daredevil takes on two martial artists, while Luke and Jess fight Madame Gao who essentially 'force pushes' concrete blocks towards them. I was just expecting something more spectacular and memorable from seeing these three fight side-by-side.
Iron Fist’s fight with Elektra at least has more focus, but is ultimately undone by Danny once again reverting to being the most petulant and reckless of heroes. Elektra literally explains that she’s brought him down here to use his Iron Fist to open the door and unleash The Hand’s ultimate weapon. So instead of being a hero, defeating her without using it, he lights up his fist and starts blindly punching her right next to the sealed door that she desperately wants him to open. Honestly, it makes Danny come across as a unheroic moron.
The threat has always been fuzzily defined in this series. Initially, it was the abstract destruction of New York – Chernobyl and Pompeii were cited as previous examples of The Hand’s work – but then it became more about returning to K’un-Lun, using Danny as the Key, but then in this episode Elektra says she’s all about acquiring more of The Substance, which seems like yet another vague MacGuffin to throw into already crowded mix of plot threads.
The Verdict
The episode concludes with Danny seemingly buried under the skeleton of a dragon, implying some kind of passage has opened up to K’un-Lun. But with Coleen packing a bag of explosives and the remaining Defenders and Claire on the scene, it feels like Marvel’s street-level heroes are very far away from protecting the local corners and neighbourhoods they’re used to. I know they’re still protecting the people in those neighbourhoods, but I can’t remember the last time I actually saw them save a person. I hope the finale somehow manages to draw these threads together and still remember what makes these characters and shows, at their best, distinctive.
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