The Hand's attack on the hospital is surprisingly abrupt. Given the awesome build-up, you could argue that it's a bit anti-climactic that the whole thing is over before the opening credits roll. On the other hand (ha), it's a sensible strategy from their standpoint. Go in, grab the kids, and then ninja vanish. While I had it in my head that we would get more of an extended siege, the ultra-secretive clan of ninjas probably wouldn't want to dawdle too much.
Still, from a story perspective, it seems like there were some missed opportunities. The last episode showed Foggy looking out in curiosity and fear as the group stormed the hospital, but he seems to show no interest in what's going on. He basically sits the ordeal out and only asks Claire what happened later, almost as an afterthought.
Claire, on the other hand, actually takes a more active role. She even partakes in the fight. She loses, of course, but that was pretty much a given. She does manage to knock one ninja off a window ledge as he tries to bust in, but yeah she was outclassed here. Still, much like with Krillin, Tien, and Yamucha in later DBZ sagas, all I wanted was to see them try, and she did; so good on her. That being said, Rosario Dawson doesn't do rage too well. Her anguished cry of fury after one of her coworkers gets killed was a bit over the top and could likely produce some snickers from viewers.
While the hospital is quick to brush the whole thing under the rug, Claire can't. She tries to paint it as corruption, but even if they hadn't gotten the large anonymous donation, what exactly were they supposed to do? Those kids weren't actually admitted to the hospital (which would likely mean a whole mess of legal and bureaucratic troubles) and nobody would believe the story about a resurrected ninja. Props to Claire for standing up for her convictions to the point where she quits, but you can see where the board is coming from here.
On top of that, it gives her clear indication that Matt is in over his head. Even she notes that taking on the mob and dealing with whatever this is are two entirely different beasts. I was expecting her to cite that she knows two people who could help, but alas, not yet.
We do get something of a team-up, though, as Daredevil and Punisher both set their sites on the Blacksmith. It doesn't go too well, as Frank still isn't much of a team player, but still you can't say that Matt didn't try. While I do love me some team ups, I have to admit, Frank's response to the offer was pretty funny. I think the little arm swing he did as he sarcastically brought up the idea of bringing the Blacksmith to justice was what really sold it.
Really, Frank brought a lot of the episode's highlights. This episode really played up the duality as we see him at his chummiest, but also at his most brutal. One scene, he'll be in a car listening to 'Earth, Wind and Fire' or giving Karen relationship advice, and in the next, he'd repeatedly shank somebody with a broken coffee pot.
It's a grim reminder to Karen about the sort of person he is. Yes, Frank takes out bad guys and takes special care to keep innocents away from danger, but hero isn't exactly on his resume.
If there's one thing that didn't really make sense about Frank's plot here, it's asking Karen to lie to the cops. You'd think her saying that he saved her and isn't the one offing criminals would work to his advantage, as it would get the cops off his tail, but he passes on the opportunity. Karen tries to justify it saying that Frank wants to get to the Blacksmith first, but Karen notes that his methods are faster, so it seems moot.
On a completely unrelated note, it was awesome to see Madame Gao again. Despite her lines last season, it seems that she never left and is still working towards whatever agenda she has. She's a fun character. I know this is her only appearance this season, but I hope they find more reasons to bring her back.
I was under the impression that she was tied to the Hand, but from what I've read, that might not be the case. It seems she's tied more towards something Iron Fist related. Not only is it some cool foreshadowing, but it also suggests that whatever the Defenders have to face may be bigger than just the Hand.
One article posited that the big bad for that series would be Mephisto. Frankly, I find the idea ridiculous, but if all of these organizations are working together, it may not be as far-fetched as it seems. I still think that just having the team face the Hand is the better route. They already seem to be a more than worthy threat and considering this is supposed to be the "street level" team, fighting a demon lord seems way out of their element, but we'll see how that plays out.
Stick and Elektra do make appearances, but it is only for a brief episode ending cliffhanger as the latter confronts the former after the attempt on her life last episode. More Stick is never a bad thing as Scott Glenn manages to get some good lines, even in his brief appearance here.
On the one hand, part of me wants to note how hard it is to believe that we're already down to the final two episodes. On the other, you could say that it's about time as this has taken me much longer than I would have liked.
Still, with just two episodes to go, I have a feeling that things are going to get nuts.
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