SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.
We’re at the halfway point of the season! With everything that’s been happening so far coming to a head at Midland, our heroes get to take a bit of a breather. They need it. Because now it’s time to talk. As with most superhero teams when they first come together, there are some growing pains. No one knows anyone – except Luke and Jessica and to some extent Luke and Danny – and so none of them trust each other.
Matt is the most resistant to everything; continuing to investigate, coming together as a team and especially revealing his identity. He didn’t even tell them about Elektra, which I thought that he would. But he’s still very obviously reeling from her death and his last encounter with the Hand. Even if he doesn’t tell them about Elektra (and they’ll find out about her being his ex eventually), he should still share what he knows about the Hand. Like Stick said, Matt and Danny could learn a lot from each other.
Jessica managed to convince Matt to stay, only to then leave herself when Stick explained the Chaste, Iron Fist and their relationship to each other (the Chaste was to be Danny’s army) and that whatever the Hand is up to is something that they’d done many times before over the centuries. Luke and Danny were the only ones who at no point wanted to leave. Luke because he just wanted to help Cole and protect Harlem and Danny because he saw the value in them working together. He was the only one who wanted to form a team.
Luke and Danny seem to be the only ones bonding as well. Luke may play at not like Danny much or wanting anything to do with him beyond getting his help in dealing with the Hand, but he and Danny are growing on each other. It’s quite obvious and I love the banter they have between each other and their chemistry. Their budding bromance is adorable.
Stick gave us a little history lesson about the Hand. The organisation came out of K’un L’un, the current five Fingers having been its founders who were kicked out of the ancient city. Alexandra is the chief Finger – which we already knew – and had been leading them since their inception. We also learned the name of the Finger operating out of Harlem; Sowande.
The Hand’s ultimate goal has always been achieving immortality. What we don’t know it’s exactly what they’re doing now and how destroying New York City – the latest in a long line of cities they’ve destroyed over the centuries; which includes Pompeii and Chernobyl – helps them achieve what it is that they’re after. This whole destroying cities being part of an effort to achieve immortality makes think of Fullmetal Alchemist.
My question is why they’ve done this thing so many times. Alexandra made it sound like this would be the last time they do it. Like they will truly conquer death with this latest effort. She said that with Black Sky there now, neither of them would have to face death again. Does that mean that Pompeii et al were failures or test runs? Or is this something that they have to do periodically?
It took me a while to realise that Alexandra and Murakami were speaking to each other in different languages and were still understanding what was being said. It looks like she’s assembling her own team by bringing together the five Fingers of the Hand. Of which I think he is the last one we have yet to meet. I don’t recall seeing him in Daredevl or Iron Fist, but my memory is terrible.
I don’t entirely agree with Stick that “Elektra” is no longer herself. She’s not exactly remembering her past, not yet anyway, but there are certainly echoes of it coming back to her. She went back to the weapons rack and examined the sais! Whatever is going on with her, I believe that encountering Matt triggered it.
I wonder if Alexandra had approached Danny alone if he would have gone with her. He did seem to be considering her offer despite her trying to capture him mere hours before. But, he now has a better idea of the devastation that would ensue if he didn’t go with her. Or so she says. What I’d like to know, though, is how she managed to sneak up on all of them without Matt or even Stick noticing until she was right there.
Jessica came back, as we knew she would, after paying the Raymond family a visit and finding one of the Hand’s grunts watching the house. She made a fabulous entrance as well, crashing into the restaurant (which Danny is now going to have to pay for) and running over Elektra. It looks like even more damage is about to be done to place because they’re about to fight.
Random thoughts:
- How does Jessica not know about the Luke Cage stuff but knows about the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen? Luke was all over the news.
- Stick: “…the Immortal Iron Fist, Living Weapon and Protector of the Ancient City is still a thundering dumbass.” He said it, I didn’t.
- Does Alexandra have an illness or is her body just breaking down because its old?
- Danny’s still eating?
- But what did the dude on the walkie say?
All eight episodes of Marvel’s The Defenders are currently available for streaming on Netflix.
