The Defenders
The most straightforward and comic book-like Marvel’s Netflix series’, The Defenders finds our four Netflix series’ stars — Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist — together by circumstance and, let’s face it, plot-led coincidence. The threat they face is Alexandra Reid and the four other founders of the Hand. The five were once elders of K’un-Lun, but their selfishness to use qi to prolong their own lives had them cast out from the heavenly city. Now they want New York and the prize buried underneath the city’s depths, a prize that will allow them to regain the immortality they forfeited in resurrecting their secret weapon, the Black Sky. And, as we saw at the end of ‘Daredevil’ Season Two, that weapon is none other than Elektra Natchios.
Now that he’s working pro-bono cases alone and has hung up the cowl, Matt’s having a hard time trying to “ignore [his] soul”, the part of him that is ‘Daredevil.’ He is at the point in the hero’s journey where that normal life, the one he’s never been able to lead, is what he believes he needs to do. A visit to Father Latham only makes such indecision clear but when the earthquake strikes, he can no longer stay by idly. It starts innocently enough when he takes Jessica Jones on as a potential client. From there it’s a trip down the rabbit hole as he eventually meets the rest of the crew…and Elektra.
Though he tries to distance himself from the initial battle with the Hand, Jessica Jones convinces him that he’s in it, no matter how much he wants to tell himself he’s not. When Stick escapes the Hand (sans one of his own) he finds the uneasy alliance that is The Defenders gets the 411 on the Hand and, despite their differences, they all have the same goal. To save the city and those that they love.
The Defenders is a singularly focused mini-series with all our heroes getting their chance to shine. For Matt, he eventually comes to terms with who he is, at peace with not only his soul but the sacrifice he must make for both the city and Elektra. He never gives up on her, even at the end where they are both certain to die.
“Protect my city.”
Now, we (im)patiently await discovering where Matt’s been all these months and just how he plans to take on a smarter, wiser, and more determined Wilson Fisk.
While it may be a hard road for ‘Daredevil’ Season Three to live up to the expectations many have after two spectacular seasons, the fact that we’re seeing the return of Wilson Fisk and the introduction of a villain in Bullseye who can go toe-to-toe with our protagonist—not to mention some surprises the creators will undoubtedly have prepared for us—my money’s on ‘Daredevil’’s third season to check all the boxes.
Memorable Moments
There were some great moments over the 30+ hours of Matt Murdock/Daredevil’s screentime on Netflix. Some of my favorite moments include:
- The initial hallway fight scene in Season One’s “Cut Man” was legendary for both its choreography and cinematography. When I have discussions about ‘Daredevil,’ this scene always comes up as one of the great moments.
- The second hallway scene in Season Two’s “New York’s Finest” against the Dogs of Hell, while amazing in its own right, was born from that first fight mentioned above. It may have been technically more brilliant and brutal but is never talked about in the same air as the first hallway scene.
- Daredevil and the Punisher going toe-to-toe, but not with violence but words and conviction. Jon Bernthal is absolutely brilliant and Charlie Cox holds his own as the battle of wills highlights how these two men are so similar and at the same time, so alien to one another.
- Speaking of the Punisher, Frank Castle has his own brutal hallway scene in prison in “Seven Minutes in Heaven”, thanks to a Wilson Fisk double cross. That brief moment where the blood of the other prisoners seeps through Castle’s shirt in the image of the iconic Punisher skull gives me goosebumps every time.
And on and on…so many great moments ignored but these were some of the best to me. What about you? Comment below on the most memorable moments to you and what you’re excited for when ‘Daredevil’ Season 3 premieres on October 19th.
