Round Two: The Defenders

The Defenders: Season 1, Episode 2 “Mean Right Hook” (B)

I still found this episode to be awfully expository, but we finally have our heroes meeting each other, and they’re hardly the warmest of initial interactions. It was somewhat satisfying to see Danny flail around as he repeatedly tried to inflict some damage on Luke to no avail, and I suppose an Iron Fist punch to the face was decent payback for being thrown around like a rag doll. Matt marching in to tell Jessica to stop talking since he was her lawyer was a more exciting moment, and I look forward to hearing more of their conversations. We saw two familiar faces from Matt’s world in this hour where he ran out to save some people without his suit, Stick as Alexandra’s captive and Elektra back from the dead as an enemy hunting John Raymond who was able to make Jessica bleed. There’s plenty of nefarious goings-on at work here, with Trish tasking Foggy with keeping an eye on Jessica and Trish being told that she can’t talk about the earthquake on her show. It’s still not clear what Alexandra is up to in between private symphony performances in her penthouse, and there’s so much darkness present on this show that it’s hard to make out who all the bleeding bodies belong to in each scene. Bringing the protagonists together, at least in pairs, is a positive development, since we’re now a quarter of the way through this season and not much has been accomplished. Bring on the team excitement – let’s get this show on the road!