Netflix Month - The Defenders - Take Shelter/Ashes, Ashes

We return with the next quarter of the Defenders

Take Shelter

The Hand comes in many forms, the Harlem schmucks of Sowande, Madame Gao’s Chinese triads, and Murukami, who is a weapon all on his own, all of them surround the Royal Dragon restaurant. Murukami takes on Danny and Matt, leaving Jessica and Luke taking on Elektra, who seems to be strong enough to hurt Luke although she actually isn’t.

The Harlem gang start shooting up the joint with Madame Gao shooting one of the more trigger-happy ones, they want Danny alive. With her triad groups joining the fight they’re soon surrounded. Stick says they need to work together to get out of here alive but Matt immediately jumps at Elektra and separates her from the fight, trying to talk to her. It fails

Sowande is somehow able to hurt Luke and Murukami is more than a match for Jessica. Matt manages to stop Elektra by saying her name. Murukami sees this and tries to charge them but Elektra throws him back. Luke is loaded into a truck as Stick, Iron Fist and Elektra take their opportunity to leave the place and come across a shell-shocked Matt. They head into the sewers to escape and Murukami has questions for Alexandra.

They retreat back to the Colleen dojo but before questions can be levied at Matt again, Luke is back and he’s caught Sowande. So, how dead is Sowande? Yup, he’s very dead, Roll credits.

Elektra is sharpening her blade when Alexandra confronts her over whatever the hell happened back there. Murukami reports of Sowande’s capture, Alexandra reports that their reinforcement from South America is en-route. Meanwhile at… some abandoned movie theatre, Sowande is woken up and they try to interrogate him but he begins pulling their strings instead.

So, with a threat from the Hand to their families, Luke goes to get Claire and suddenly Colleen takes a bunch of stupid pills and starts deriding the idea of this team, even though she was the one who suggested they find allies, and she admits as much. She doesn’t trust Stick because… and Danny doesn’t tell her about him being a part of the Chaste or him having crucial intel because…

They see some black cars and for some reason get out of their car to follow them and split up for some reason. Danny takes out a bunch of guards as we see a shock I’ve already spoiled for you, Bakuto is still alive, despite reviving Elektra taking the last of the Hand’s resources and Bakuto dying after the fact. Bakuto tries to get into her to join him, but it fails and they start fighting. Colleen is injured but Luke intervenes. Bakuto disappears once they’re distracted by Colleen screaming in pain.

Matt confronting Karen… This season has done everything in its power to make me care so little about this relationship. I don’t think either of them are making any effort. This scene left me completely cold. Luke confronts Misty Knight about everything and oh, for f*cks sake, you already believe she might be in the Hand’s Crosshairs, that’s why you’re there! There’s no more danger for her to be aware of what danger she’s in.

You know, Toph Beifong did every blind joke in the book, this just feels like plagiarism now. So Matt comes back and Stick begins saying he’s probably the best suited to leading the group. Trish is having a dinner with some people about investigative work when Jessica literally tears her out of the meeting. And not a moment too soon either as the Hand have sent guys into the building. They head up rather than down for some reason and right into Murukami. He easily handles Jessica before Matt, now in full costume, intervenes.

They push him over a banister but he’s gone when they look over it. And Colleen’s stupid pills apparently haven’t worn off yet, from what I gather she feels left out because all the others are superior to her in some way. Yeah, Bakuto’s words may have gotten to her a bit. Claire calls Colleen the foundation of the group and we see that Malcolm was brought to the station too and is talking to Trish as Foggy and Karen arrive.

Misty questions Colleen and gives her back her Katana. Madame Gao is gazing out a window and well apparently all is forgiven, more or less between them. Murukami reports that Daredevil has joined the fight. And we see Daredevil using a rope around Sowande’s neck… Like this is gonna work… And the talk quickly comes around to Elektra, who he hasn’t spoken about to the others yet. Stick tells Matt is time for him to lay the truth bare.

Murukami continues his report, he’s concerned about how Elektra would react to him, given her already displayed weaknesses. He believes Alexandra’s poor judgement has lead to this. Madame Gao and Bakuto back him up on this. No-one’s happy about Daredevil’s reveal, but it’s cut short as Sowande escapes and holds Danny hostage, Stick manages to get behind him and behead him.

Alexandra goes to find Elektra but she’s gone, exploring the rooftops and finding herself in Matt’s apartment. She opens the door to the bed they once slept in together and begins lying in it.

The episode starts out strong but gets very boring near the end.

Rating 7/10

Ashes, Ashes

Alexandra is listening to a record, I guess trying to relax, although the record keeps skipping. She looks at the record for the damage then begins mourning it like some great loss. Stick justifies his choice in killing Sowande, they have their answer. Sowande said the Iron Fist is ‘key’ to their survival, implying his fist can open something.

Danny for some reason tries to deny this. Did Colleen give you her stupid pills, or were they always yours and Colleen was the one borrowing them? Their best move is keeping the fist away from the Hand, Danny argues this is what the Hand wants and its leads to a fight that’s primarily between Danny and Daredevil, where Danny proves how incompetent a fighter he is. Come on, Daredevil was trained by one guy, Iron Fist by an entire legion. Eventually, Jessica sucker-punches him unconscious.

Danny is taken to… abandoned building of plot convenience. As there’s more arguing about Matt not saying anything about Elektra and in fact Midland Circle. Matt’s senses said the mile deep hole that was there when he was last is gone, but it probably isn’t. Since Jesscia’s client’s husband is the one who designed the place, it’s possible his family might know something, so she and Matt head off, Luke stays behind to watch over Danny since he can take a punch.

Elektra has a flashback to being a Matt’s house in Daredevil season 2 and remembers the romance the two had. She’s woken up in the present by alarms blaring, opens a chest to find what’s left of Daredevil’s costume, and a braille bible, with a bookmark with a quote from Elektra’s funeral. She sees it’s the property of a cemetery.

She’s gone by the time Jessica and Matt arrive so Matt can change into his business suit. Stick delivers the head of Sowande to somewhere he knew the Hand would find it, and it continues to sew dissent in their ranks, it does bring Madame Gao over to Alexandra’s side, I think. Jessica does some joke about the houses looking the same. I know, she hasn’t had much to drink in a while but she has visited the house multiple times now.

Turns out she’s right anyway, but only the kid is in. Gao talks alone to Alexandra, she’s convinced the others to follow her lead, if the plan doesn’t involve the Black Sky. Alexandra isn’t happy about this but no-one seems to see her value, and neither does the audience really. She’s a conflicted individual and a skilled fighter, that's it. Coming out the meeting though, Gao tells Murukami that he was right.

Danny wakes up and struggles against the ropes, he tries to convince Luke to let him go but it doesn’t work. Still, them having time to talk and laugh at each other is only a good thing in the long run. Jessica compares the situation to that of Matt, though without saying his name. Elektra is at her own grave as Alexandra finally confronts her. She tells Elektra that she’s dying and Elektra recommits to her, or so it seems.

During the conversation, the girl brings up how her dad would just sit at the piano, and Matt goes to play, and hears paper rustling, there’s blueprints for buildings his dad was working on hidden in the piano. Stick meanwhile has begin playing his own game, realising they had a third option, he uses incense to knock out Luke and that’s how you deal with Luke without inventing bullsh*t bullets.

His third option is to Kill Danny, but before he can Elektra arrives and the two begin fighting, the incense knocks Danny out. Elektra and Stick trade blows and eventually Elektra gets the edge, Matt arrives, begging her to stop but he fails and Stick is killed. Matt is knocked back and Elektra deals with Jessica, Luke recovers and they fight and Luke is knocked out by a kick to the head, huh? With everyone out, Elektra grabs the Iron Fist and heads straight for the Hand.

Murukami is about to trade blows with Alexandra but Elektra brings the Iron Fist and it’s time for them to have, and I know you’re very excited about this, yet another board meeting. Elektra eyes a bunch of sharp sticks on the wall and I think you can guess what’s coming. Goodbye Alexandra, you will hardly be remembered. Madame Gao is still the only interesting thing about the Hand. Elektra takes charge of the Hand.

Its another incredibly slow episode and that’s a problem at this stage. I feel like these episodes could’ve been cut in half.

Rating 6.5/10