The Defenders: Season 1 - TV review

The Defenders: Season 1

Plot: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist team up to fight crime in New York City.
Cast: Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter
Number Of Episodes: 8
Channel: Netflix
Certificate: 15 (strong violence, gore, sex, language)
Air Date: Friday 18th August 2017

After six of the Marvel/Netflix shows now being released, I think it's safe to say that the likelihood of these Defenders crossing over with the Avengers is highly unlikely. One thing has been made apparent here and it's that these two different worlds, whilst occurring in the same universe, are on two entirely different paths that will never meet even if we see Tony Stark patrolling the streets of Hell's Kitchen. The tones of both are polar opposites to each other that it would be like Deadpool making an appearance on Teletubbies. For The Defenders, we finally are gifted to the culmination of three years of work that began with Daredevil, a show that everyone was unsure of especially after the underwhelming Ben Affleck venture. Thankfully, Daredevil smashed all expectations and then arguably raised the bar in its second season. As for Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, they were fantastic shows in their own right but not of the same quality as Daredevil. Then we have Iron Fist. Some might call it the black sheep of the Marvel/Netflix family but, despite how it proved that the MCU Netflix division can bleed, it wasn't so bad that it soiled all of the previous work. So how did The Defenders turn out? Well, it's a pretty damn good season.

The team up of DREAMS!

One thing that you should be aware of when gearing yourself up for The Defenders is that this is nothing like The Avengers or any other superhero team up. The only comparison that I can draw to this is the yearly crossover event between the CW superhero shows (Arrow, The Flash etc...) in the form of how they team up, work together and kick a considerable amount of butt in the process but once their shared objective is complete, there's no longer a need for them to stay together and so they head back to their own individual agendas. Judging from the shows alone, you must have known that these characters were never going to be instantly holding hands and singing Kumbaya around the campfire. Personalities clash in more ways than one between our four leads and that's something that the show really delves into well. That is, when we finally get to that point. In the opening two episodes, we never really get The Defenders series we were anticipating. Instead, what we get are scenes that feel like they were ripped out of all four of the standalone shows that have then been coalesced into one full length episode. The positive thing about this is that, for shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones that we haven't heard from in a couple of years, we are treated to a recap of how the previous seasons finished and where those characters are presently. For Matt Murdock, we realise that he's given up the life of a vigilante and continues to practice law in his small firm. Jessica is still a reluctant private investigator who only takes a case if, her interest is at an all time high or there is large sum of money to spend at the end of it.

Come to Iron Fist's Dental Surgery. Expert in jaw realignment.

As for Luke Cage, he has recently taken his leave from jail and is taking back up his mantle as protector of Harlem. Out of all of the characters, Cage was the one whose reintroduction to this series was the most enthralling. Whilst his own show may have had a disappointing ending, Luke was always my favourite of this foursome. Even Iron Fist's preliminary arc had me interested because you could tell that the showrunner wanted to give his character a fresh and new take and, hopefully, learning from the mistakes earlier in the year. Finn Jones has drastically improved with his performance even if he likes to remind everyone that he's the Immortal Iron Fist every other second but there's still a longer way to go until he fully wins me over as Danny Rand. My only complaint about these opening episodes was that it did take a little long to get things in motion. As much as I love the side characters like Foggy, Karen, Misty, Malcolm, and Trish, they belong in their own individual shows and ideally, should only feature to tie the other shows together. When an episode spends multiple scenes like Karen and Foggy discussing Matt's reclusive nature or Trish struggling with her radio station, I begin to question as to whether this is really The Defenders or a standalone Daredevil season that features some characters from other MCU Netflix show (or visa versa). What the show needed to do was blend the characters slowly so when The Defenders join together, it feels like a more well earned treat rather than an unexpected coincidence. However, it is in the third episode when this union happens and oh boy is it glorious. Clearly taking a hint out of Daredevil's book, the fight sequence between The Defenders and the first wave of The Hand is beautiful carnage incarnate. That was something I was concerned with going into this series. Iron Fist's fight choreography was lacklustre to say the least so I was pleased to see that his scenes in particular had vastly improved. It was also incredible to see that Danny uses his Iron Fist more times in the third episode than he ever did in all of Iron Fist: Season 1. It is from the end of episode three onwards that The Defenders hurtles through the remaining episodes in a blistering yet glorious fashion that, come the end of episode eight, I didn't want to show to wrap up.

Their love could not be contained. Ah damn. This was meant for my fan fiction.

FACT: When Matt and Jessica are leaving the police station, a photo of Stan Lee can be seen on a wall in the background.

From the title sequence alone, I knew The Defenders was going to have an epic quality to it but while the stakes might be of a grand scale, the conflicts are more of a personal nature especially for Matt who (SPOILERS for Daredevil: Season 2...) is still reeling from Elektra's 'death' so his confusion as he discovers her resurrection is heart-wrenching. Huge praise must be placed on the shoulders of Charlie Cox who has now enveloped himself into the character of Matt Murdock. Cox nails the inner demons of Murdock as he wafts in and out of living a vigilante lifestyle but he's also shares magnificent chemistry with his other Defenders. It was the unique pairings that the show often gave us that proved how talented these writers are with balancing the complex characters and accurately depicting how each would behave if they were stuck in a room with each other. Jessica and Matt were one of the highlights but for me, every scene Mike Colter featured in was always a highlight. That guy is likeability and charisma wrapped and sealed in a bottle. And, because I am a major fan of the Heroes For Hire comic book run, any scene that included Iron Fist and Luke Cage trading blows against or alongside one another, was a joy to my eyes. However, for all of these colossally powered beings to join forces, there must be one almighty foe for them to face. Who is that foe? It's Sigourney Weaver. Obviously, there is more to her than meets the eye but I'll leave her true purpose to the series as a mystery. All that I will say is that she shares a connection to The Hand and Elektra. The Hand have been a continuous enemy for many of these shows but up until The Defenders, I've never felt the threat and power they exude because, in Daredevil, I was more interested in The Punisher's storyline, and in Iron Fist, well, I was more interested in pretty much anything else. Thanks to this series giving us more of an insight into their inner workings, The Hand's overall plan and proving how they can be everywhere, lurking in the shadows, this was the show that finally proved how intimidating of an enemy they can be.

Sigourney misspoke. She didn't tell them to whip their STICKS out...

It was also great to see some of the more relevant supporting characters feature in appropriate roles; like Claire finally bringing the team together and Colleen earning her spot as the unofficial fifth member of The Defenders, but for me, any time that Scott Glen shows up to play Stick is a time well spent. Glen is phenomenal in this role as the no nonsense and badass blind ninja and to see him deal with the other Defenders was hilarious to watch. If there was a weak link in the team, it would probably be Jessica. I understand that she's the least sociable of the bunch and Ritter does an excellent job with her performance but it seemed like the showrunners didn't quite know what to do with her character and whilst every member gets two or three memorable moments with their powers, the only major Jessica moment that I can remember was her pushing a car through a shop window. As for how the series concludes, it definitely leaves it open ended and will certainly be exciting to see how and where these characters can go from here. In an ideal world, it would have been nice to see some other characters make an appearance to provide some last minute help but at the same time, it wasn't necessary and would have come out of left field. Perhaps though, the most technically impressive aspect of this entire show is colour. I know what most of you are thinking; how can a show with a blind ninja, superpowered detective, a guy who's bulletproof and a warrior with a magical glowing fist be outdone by shiny colours. The beauty of it is how they're used and identify the character we're focusing on. Daredevil is always given the backlight of a dark shade of red. Jessica Jones is usually presented in a blue or purple setting. Luke Cage is constantly surround by glowing yellow and Iron Fist can be found alongside a murky green. This doesn't add anything to the story as such but as an audience, this goes to show that the creators have taken the time to make these beloved characters stand out as much as possible.

No one ever thinks of the poor cleaners, do they?

All in all, The Defenders was exactly what I had hoped this superhero team up would be like. It borrows all of the individual shows strengths (and a couple of their weaknesses) and balances them all out tremendously. The chemistry between the leads is perfect and has me waiting on the edge of my seat to see season two. It might be a darker, more realistic look at The Avengers if they hated being referred to as heroes but if that's case, then count me in.

My Verdict: 8.5/10

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