Series Review

Marvel’s The Defenders

Marvel’s The Defenders was a fresh and vibrant vibe in contrast to Marvel’s Iron Fist. A large criticism of Marvel’s and Netflix’s television series is that the shows move too slow; taking too much time to get to the point and making the show hard to binge watch (which is kinda supposed to be the point of Netflix shows - a series that one can watch in three to five days). On top of this, Iron Fist was not very popular among fans of Marvel. The problems of the show have been addressed in multiple reviews so the most I’m going to say about Iron Fist is that by the end of the show the only character I cared about was Ward Meachum, largely due to incredible acting of Tom Pelphrey. I honestly would have preferred a show solely about the Meachums (with Claire Temple obviously as Rosario Dawson continues to be a shinning light of the Marvel/Netflix series). Netflix fixed this problem by only making eight episodes of The Defenders, getting straight to the point and forming heartwarming relationships between the heroes.

Part of me thinks that Netflix should have released The Defenders farther away from the release of Iron Fist to gage the criticisms; instead they premiered relatively close to one another, and Danny Rand took a large portion of The Defenders.

Obviously Danny Rand should hold a chunk of The Defenders as he is the main enemy of The Hand, but part of me felt like I was watching Iron Fist season two at certain times throughout the show. One of the strongest scenes in the series was Luke Cage finally telling Danny what everyone was thinking - stop using your privilege and power to do harm to those around you. A lesson Danny seemed to have taken to heart by the end of the final episode. Danny also came to realize that not everyone is as manipulative as his pseudo-father Harold Meachum, given that Luke, Matt Murdock, and Jessica Jones were in no mood to coddle Danny, forcing him to grow up and become a better person. I’m actually looking forward to seeing how these events impacts Danny’s character in season two of Iron Fist.

The best moments of The Defenders was watching the relationships grow between the four heroes and their families. Trish Walker and Karen Page needed to have met years ago in my opinion; I’m interested to see how Marvel will expand their relationship. Fans of Marvel’s Daredevil finally got to see amends made between the three employees of Nelson and Murdock. Hopefully their heartbreak at the end of The Defenders will completely fix the relationship between Matt and Foggy Nelson. 

By far the best relationship of the series was between Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock. Jessica never pulls her punches, whether it be actual punches or her sharp words; her anger at the world is clear in her sarcasm. Matt, the type of guy who takes himself way too seriously, was constantly dragged by Jessica. It lightened the tone of the series and helped the two form a powerful friendship in a short period of time. Jessica and Luke reuniting and putting their past behind them also helped to strengthen the bond of the four as neither was afraid of hurling jokes or insults at Matt and Danny.

In all honestly, I was expecting Frank Castle to make an appearance at the end of the final episode (not including the teaser trailer end-credit scene). Instead of Foggy comforting Karen in the church, I was certain the Castle would show up creating the perfect segue into Marvel’s The Punisher. The scene between Karen and Foggy was touching, but couldn’t compare to the anguish the viewers shared with the two waiting for Matt to walk in through the door.

All in all, the entirety of Marvel’s The Defenders was a compelling story. The fantastic casting of the actors from each of the previous series continues to shine. Without a doubt The Defenders would not have been as good without Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, and Finn Jones (and obviously Sigourney Weaver and Élodie Yung). Even if you hate the Avengers movies give The Defenders a chance. The four heroes are people the viewer unconditionally roots for; it would be almost impossible to not watch to the end of the series (I mean EIGHT episodes, that’s nothing). The Defenders is darker, edgier, and wittier - and quite frankly better - than many of Marvel’s other cinematic and televised endeavors.

(Sidenote: who else can’t wait for both Misty Knight and Daughters of the Dragon?)