'Daredevil' Season 3, Episode 1: 'Resurrection'

 

Time to dive back into the MCU and continue the process of getting caught up.  It's somewhat fitting, what with "Born Again" currently in production and the Netflix shows officially being declared canon.  That fell a little flat for me as I always saw these shows as canon.  That was the whole point, but regardless, here we are.

This picks up right where "The Defenders" left off.  We see how Matt managed to "escape" the building collapse and how he came to be taken in by the orphanage where he grew up.

Just as Matt's last showdown with the Hand ended up breaking Matt's spirit, so too does this one.  Not surprisingly, his body is in bad shape as well, and the explosion has even thrown his powers out of whack.  He reveals that he's deaf in one ear and he later reveals that he can't taste or smell either.  As a result, he is actually blind now.  

Couple this with the loss of Elektra...again, and Matt has basically thrown in the towel.  Even his faith is broken.  

Luckily he has a sassy nun who takes him under her wing.  Not gonna lie, Sister Maggie was the show stealer this episode.  Matt's no slouch when it comes to snark, but she really does stand as one of the more memorable elements of the episode.

While you know that Matt will eventually get his groove back, it is still satisfying to see the process start.  His senses start to come back and he starts to train to fight again.  It's a slow process and it's clear that the work isn't done, but it is still satisfying to see the change in direction.  A lot of that is somewhat subverted by the episode's closing scenes, but like I said, he's not fully back yet.  

The episode only touches on Karen and Foggy.  The prior has been doing her best to keep Matt's apartment and financial affairs in order.  Paying twice the bills has naturally taken its toll and this is what prompts her to call Foggy for help.  

Financial overextension pops up again with a subplot regarding a new character, Agent Rahul Nadeem.  We learn that he lives a well off life: nice house, big yard and all that.  He's even been covering the costs for his sister in law's cancer treatments.  Alas, it's been taking its own toll.  His credit cards are maxed out and his wife is convinced that she'll have to take on another job if they're going to dig themselves out of this hole.  

For his part, Nadeem does go to his boss and ask for an early performance review.  It turns out that his have been perpetually delayed for years due to his financial situation.  Supposedly, a promotion would make him vulnerable to "recruiters" and this is why they won't do it.  If these recruiters target people in dire financial straits, wouldn't giving him a raise make him less vulnerable?  

The whole thing does seem a little "Breaking Bad"esque.  It becomes even more apparent when Nadeem is assigned to question Fisk.  Again, you think he's vulnerable to being compromised or manipulated and then send him to go talk to the Kingpin?  Consistency, people.

As it happens, Fisk is actually willing to make a deal.  After hearing that Vanessa could be charged as an accessory, he is willing to make sacrifices to ensure that she doesn't suffer for his wrong doings.  

All in all, this was a solid opening to the season.  It gave Matt a clear arc both in terms of this episode as well as the season as a whole.  It also planted other seeds for plotlines to come.  It was well paced and was able to balance the darker elements with just enough humor to keep from negating the weight of what was happening.  

2019 Docket and Goals

Happy New Year everyone!  It's that time where we try to lay down a plan for what's to come in the next 365 days.  As noted before, a lot of what was supposed to be done in 2018 wasn't.  As such, a good chunk of this year's docket is just carry over, but we'll go through it anyway just for the sake of record.


Stephen King


Back log

Hearts in Atlantis
Castle Rock Season 1
Sleeping Beauties
Strange Weather
The Outsider
On Writing
Secret Windows
The Plant
Dreamcatcher
Black House
Cell (movie)
Mr. Mercedes series
The Dark Tower movie


New additions

Castle Rock Season 2
It part 2
Elevation




Brad Thor

Backlog

Path of the Assassin
State of the Union
Blowback
Takedown


Netflix

Back Log

The Punisher Season 1
Daredevil Season 3
Jessica Jones Season 2

New Additions

Luke Cage Season 2
Iron Fist Season 2
The Punisher Season 2



Legends of Tomorrow


Back Log

Season 3


New additions

Season 4- Once again, I'll have to wait for this to hit Netflix in order to watch it, but the plan is to binge it when it does happen.  It may not be current, but I'm going to make a point of getting through it quickly this time around.



Anime

Back Log

Attack on Titan season 3
Rurouni Kenshin (?)


Archive restoration (?)

Reviewstream

Back Log

Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition rule books
JLA trade paperbacks


The dividend income reports will continue and I will also continue to post the latest episodes of "Let's Get it Right".



Oh, and I, of course, aim to finally finish "The X-Files".


Goals


Savings challenge

I neglected to mention it in the 2018 review, though I did bring it up on Twitter, but this year I completed two savings challenges.  The 52 week "dollar a week" challenge and the "penny a day" challenge.  These were two that I had started back in the day when I was still trying the whole "self employed content creator" thing.  With my new station, I was finally able to put those to an end.

This year I plan on keeping the momentum going by taking on the extension of the first challenge.  It turns out that some people push the weekly challenge to two years.  Rather than stopping at 52, they just keep going, putting aside $53, then $54, then $55 and so on.  For all intents and purposes, I'm doing this challenge twice, as the plan is to move the slated amounts to my primary savings account, as well as the online savings account.


Bring dividend forward income to $400

Right now, my forward income sits at about $70.  I wanted to find a number that was feasible, but still somewhat challenging.  With purchases and DRIP, I think that this meets that criteria.  If I break it before, that's awesome, but right now, that's where I'm setting the goal post.


Max out IRA contribution

When I first opened the IRA, I mentioned that the odds of me doing this were slim.  Truth be told, that's still the case.  This is more of a mental thing.  I figure, if I set my sight on that, it will push me to get as close as I possibly can. Even if I don't hit the goal, I think having this mindset will still be beneficial in the long run.



$300 in Side Hustle

This is something that I haven't really talked about, but I want to add it to the itinerary anyway.  Right now, my main side hustles are Apptrailers, Epoll, and Reviewstream (there's also the Patreon, ad revenue, and the Amazon affiliate links, but they haven't really brought in income so they're side hustles in name only....SHINO.)  Epoll will bring about $60 at best.  App trailers is nice, but if I'm going to pull this off, Reviewstream will have to be a factor.  This should be a motivator for me to write more and make sure I cross that threshold.  Again, I think that this is a goal that's feasible, but will still present something of a challenge.


Car


As of now, I am without vehicle.  It's something I am aiming to remedy.  I've given serious consideration to getting a bike, which is odd as I've only ridden once since elementary school.  It's cheaper, better for the planet, and everything is fairly close by here.  It makes a lot more sense now than it did when I was living in Maryland or Kansas, but I figure I'd still need to get a car at some point.  I'm not looking forward to adding two more monthly expenses to my cash outflow, but if I can knock the car payment out quickly enough, it might not be that bad.


Walk the Year Charity Miles Challenge

I'm a big fan of the Charity Miles app.  I plug it frequently and was even going on daily 4 mile walks for a while.  I haven't been doing a good job as of late and I'm hoping that this will get me back on the horse.

Fun fact, we're one day in and, because I didn't walk today, I'm already behind schedule.  Auspicious.


Read 26 books

I noted before that I got no reading done.  I really want to amend for that this year.  I know that 52 books is the average, but I figure that starting small will work out better.  There's another reason I only have this many books coming into play, the next goal.


Read 26 graphic novels/trade paperbacks

I've been trying to get back into comics lately.  Rather than go back to the individual issues, I want to shift my collection to trades so that I can show them off on a bookshelf.  Rather than argue about whether these count as books, I'm putting them in their own separate category so that I can get the best of both worlds.


Swagbucks

I had heard that this was a great side hustle, but it hasn't really panned out for me.  The site brings my computer to a crawl (my laptop is a little on the old side,) which means I only log in when I have to.  As that hasn't worked, I want to try to put it to use in order to up my philanthropic game.  You can donate points to different causes and organizations.  Since I have the account anyway, I figure this will at least put the account to better use than it has up until now.  As the point cost isn't as high as the other rewards, I'll be able to "cash in" more frequently.



3 year goal

Oh, we're going beyond just the year.  I want to try to think in the long term, and as such I've got some goals that go beyond.

For this one, I want to bring my forward income to $6,000 a year.  This will bring my dividend income to Spoony's Patreon income level. It's important that I hit this goal as soon as feasibly possible.   I have my reasons.

It sounds lofty, but I'd like to think that I can pull this one off.





5 year goals


House

I've only ever been a renter, but the idea of being a homeowner has really grown on me.  That down payment scares the crap out of me, but I figure with enough prep time, I can take it.


3x Salary Saved for Retirement

Back in January, MarketWatch posted an article stating that, by the age of 35, you should have twice your annual income tucked away for retirement. Millenials....did not take kindly to this information.  While it was mathematically impossible for me to hit this goal after discovering it, I did resolve to hit the next marker, which is having 3 times your annual income tucked away by 40.

Funny thing is, I'm quite confident that I can pull this off.  Technically, I am still behind, but I have been viewing these past few months as a "head start".  I'm maxing out the 401k and pumping money into the IRA, both of which will generate increasing amounts of income as time goes on.  Add to that the fact that my birthday is in March and that gives me three more months before the 5 year challenge technically even starts.

Now, you might be asking where the stock portfolio fits.  It does and doesn't come into play as far as my retirement is concerned.  The dividends are designed to help finance and carry me through my golden years, but I'm not counting the portfolio into the overall total.  I could use market value, but that's way too fickle a beast.  As such, I'm viewing it as its own thing that is only tangential to the overall goal.


I'll admit that this is a lot, but I'm confident and fired up.  2019 is going to be huge.  2018 had its perks, but this is where I push myself to my limit, and then break past it.

Site Update: 2018 Docket

It's a new year, which means that, like last year, it's time to lay out the itinerary for what's to come.  Oh man, remember me saying that I would have a new post up every day of the year? Ha, I wasn't even close.  I won't be making that promise this year, though I would like to attempt it (and maybe even succeed) at some point down the line, maybe 2020?  We'll see.  At the very least, I would like to try and at least surpass the content bar that I set in the previous year.  Will I follow through?  That remains to be seen, as of now, though.  These are the things that I plan on covering in the next 365 days.


Stephen King

As of the writing of this post, I am working my way through "Hearts in Atlantis".  I also still have to discuss Stephen King's recent collaboration with his son, Owen, "Sleeping Beauties".  Speaking of Stephen King's sons, Joe Hill released a collection of novellas, "Strange Weather" that bears examination, so look forward to that.  Papa King also has a new book coming out called "The Outsiders" later on in the year. 

Progressing through the bibliography, I'm hoping to cover "On Writing", "Secret Windows", "The Plant", "Dreamcatcher", and "Black House".

On the movie front, "Cell" still sits in my Netflix queue.  I also have the first part of "It" as well as "The Dark Tower" to watch and review.  I recently read that the latter might also have a TV series attached, so hopefully that comes to light. 

I still need to watch "Mr. Mercedes".  Hopefully, that hits Netflix, Hulu, or DVD at some point in the near future.  If there is a second season, it will likely be delayed like its predecessor.  It's a shame that they aren't making it more widely available.

Speaking of Hulu, "Castle Rock" is slated to land in the next year.  I haven't followed the development too closely, but that should be an interesting watch. 




Brad Thor


I recently added another author to the site's content review roster.  I dove into Brad Thor's library with his debut, "Lions of Lucerne".  It should come as no surprise, then, that I aim to continue to progress onward through his library as well. 

Following "Lions", we have "Path of the Assassin", "State of the Union", "Blowback", and "Takedown". 

Thor is releasing a new book, "Spymaster" in the summer, but I will likely wait until I hit that point in the chronology before reading it.  I should (hopefully anyway) be up to speed by the time his 2019 book comes out, so it's a minor setback in the grand scheme of things.


Netflix


Continuing the tradition, my write ups for Marvel's "The Punisher" have succumbed to schedule slip.  Naturally, I will try to finish it as soon as possible, though.  Also in the MCU realm, the third season of "Daredevil is set to land, as is the second season of "Jessica Jones". 

Yes, much like "Daredevil", the write ups for that show will start with season 2.  On the plus side, all 4 defenders will be represented in the label list, so that will be good; especially if "The Defenders" does end up getting a second season. 




Anime


"Dragon Ball Super" continues.  I've been doing a decent job of keeping up with it and that won't be stopping any time soon.

The third season of "Attack on Titan" is set to air in the middle of this year.  I was hoping to cover the second season as it aired, but the schedule didn't permit it.  As I'm all caught up now, it should be a lot easier this time around.

I'd also like to dive back into "Rurouni Kenshin".  Alas, I'll likely have to start over.  Not only do I not remember what was happening, but there were a lot of articles lost in the Examiner shut down that I will have to re-do in order to keep everything complete.  It'll be a pain to go through, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.  It'll also eventually give me something to write about consistently to help fill in the gaps.

I could potentially add another series to the roster, though I'd have to browse around a bit.  I said that I would do this last year and nothing came of it, so I'd understand if you're skeptical, but hope springs eternal, right? 



Legends of Tomorrow


I discussed this in one of my Patreon updates, but I might as well say again that I have been unable to keep up with the CW shows as of late due to changing circumstances.  As such, I will be waiting for this year's batch of episodes to hit Netflix.  When that day does come, I will continue my write ups on that show.  It's a bit of a pain, but we do what we can with what we have. 



Archive Restoration


As it is, the site's backlog is mostly full of dead links.  I'm hoping to begin remedying that in the months to come.  It does mean doing a lot of work that was already done, but there it is.  I started doing re-writes for "Death Note", and you can see the articles for the first half of the show in my "mega-post", though I still have quite a bit to go through. 

The backlog covers all manner of things: movies, comics, anime.  It should give me a good variety.  I do try to put more emphasis on new content, but I think filling in the archive will be good overall.  Doing this will also facilitate more new content like episodes of "Rurouni Kenshin" that went unwatched and diving back into the "Dark Tower" comics.




Reviewstream

Normally, I've shied away from going into too much detail on upcoming content for this particular site as it was always more spur of the moment.  I'd see a movie and decide to write a review for it.  Some times, I saw a movie that I thought I would review, but found that it didn't give me a whole lot on which to comment.  It makes it difficult to lay down a projected list of what's to come.

This time around, though, I'm taking a different approach and have come up with some things that I plan on writing about. 

You might recall that I had written reviews for the first two JLA trade paperback collections.  My original intent was to go through the whole run, but it got pushed to the back burner.  While I won't go so far as to say that I'll finish, I do want to cover what I can and at least knock a few more trades out.

I'm also diving into the fifth edition of "Dungeons and Dragons".  I had written some articles on the "Essentials" material, but talking about the newer and more relevant content will be beneficial.  I did rather enjoy doing those articles, so it should be a good bit of fun.  I am kind of curious to look at the newest edition in more detail. 




So, there you go.  That's the 2018 plan.  It's definitely more in depth than last year's, but I think that's a good thing.  Oddly enough, I also think that this is more doable than the "post every day of the year" idea I threw out before.  We'll see how things go though.  Maybe on December 31, I can start doing retrospectives that assess what I thought I was going to do and what I did do.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 






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'The Defenders' Episode 8: 'The Defenders'

Thus, the culmination of Marvel's "Phase one" of the Netflix wing of the shared universe comes to its conclusion.  It went by quick, but I can say that it was a fun ride.

As to this episode, it certainly has its moments, but it isn't without problems either.  A part of this could just be hype.  I was excited for this, and any ending would fall short of expectation.  Maybe, but at the same time, the episode did have issues.

While Luke does protest, the team does ultimately decide to go through with the plan to just blow up the building.  Granted, they say that no innocents will be hurt, but it still seems like a pretty big line to cross.  I'm also not sure how this ends the Hand for good.  Don't they have global influence?  I mean, yeah the dragon skeleton is under there, but they don't know that.

In either case, they have to get Danny first.  Naturally, it means we get a big fight scene where the team takes on another group of ninja mooks.  It's a fun sequence and there is a moment at about the halfway point where it looks like the four heroes are about to make their last stand, but considering that this is the "war for New York" that has been teased since the first season of "Daredevil", you might find it underwhelming.

Even the Hand's ultimate objective was rather blase all things considered.  All the talk about the rising was just bunk.  The shock wave seen in the first episode?  Who knows?  I'm also not sure how sucking the bone marrow out of a dragon skeleton is going to collapse the city.  I mean, the thing is big, but not that big.

Again, because the fight takes place in a cave, lighting becomes an issue.  It's frustrating, but at least you do get to see most of the memorable blows and hits.

The inclusion of a rap song was...jarring to say the least.  I know a lot of people lambasted it...but I thought it kinda worked?  In some ways it is out of place, I can't argue that, but hearing it while watching the team kick ass did make for fun watching.

We also finally get our 4 on 1 fight against Elektra.  That undead ninja assassin is one tough cookie, let me tell you.  That was cool to see.  It was also interesting to see Jessica's fighting style improve.  She's not a highly trained martial artist, but her punches look cleaner and she generally does a better job holding her own.

Colleen Wing fans will also be happy to see her get in on the action, taking on Bakuto in a one on one sword fight.  I've seen people insist that she should be the defender instead of Danny, but I think it's clear at this point that she is essentially the fifth member.  It's not really an either/or deal.

Speaking of fifth member, I was kind of disappointed that there was no appearance, or even mention of Frank Castle.  If you're talking about going to war, he seems like a natural pick.   I know I joked about it before, but I didn't really expect a Spider-Man appearance, but at least a mention would have been nice.  Maybe that'll be something Marvel can work on later on down the line.  I still think that a Spider-Man/Defenders team up not only seems natural, but maybe even inevitable.

But I digress, of course, ultimately the episode boils the final fight down to Matt vs. Elektra.  The fight is more drawn out, but these two have a more personal connection, so in some ways the fight carries more weight.  The whole thing was very reminiscent of "Return of the Jedi", with Matt trying to bring Elektra back into the light.  Or, if that doesn't float your boat, think Batman at the end of "Batman Returns" with Selina.  Cox really sells the sincerity in Matt's pleas and it gives the scenes the emotional umph they need to ascend beyond melodrama.

For Elektra's part, she initially scoffs at his naivete, but slowly seems to come back to the fold, though maybe not in the way Matt intended.  Did anyone else find it odd that Elektra went from fearing death and never wanting to go back to insisting that she and Matt were destined to die together?  It was a pretty drastic switch.  Also, if she said that there is no afterlife and that there is only empty darkness beyond the mortal coil, than why would them dying together have any sort of symbolic meaning?  Very strange.  You could argue that she's nuts, but still.

I'm torn on the whole plot point regarding Matt's "death" (spoiler alert: he's not dead.)  On the one hand, you could argue that it was a waste of time.  "Daredevil" is getting a third season, so there's literally no tension from the viewer's perspective.

On the other hand, Matt's sacrifice does affect the other characters.  Foggy, Claire, and Karen obviously; but even the other heroes are changed by what happened.  There was some solid character growth and progression on that front.  Luke and Jessica begin to mend fences and Danny finds new purpose in becoming New York's new street protector in Matt's absence.  Hopefully, finding out that Matt's still alive won't undo that.

Really, I think the episode's biggest problem is the hand wave of the fact that the team blew up a building.  The cops don't bother pressing charges?  OK, it's nice that Luke won't be going back to jail, but that really strained suspension of disbelief.  Even if they were going to argue it was in the defense of others (which they could honestly try, the cops did say that they were aware of the Hand before,) I don't think that the case would just be dropped like that.

All in all, though, I'd say the finale worked.  It gave everybody a highlight, moved characters forward on several fronts, and closed the book on the Hand (theoretically anyway, though I'm not sure what else could be done with them at this point.)  It'll be a couple of years, but I'm still hoping that the team can reunite for another adventure in the future.

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'The Defenders' Episode 7: 'Fish in the Jailhouse'

We've already hit the show's penultimate episode.  It's hard to believe, really.  It seems like we just started, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

With time running out, the heroes have to confront one of their deadliest adversaries yet, government bureaucracy and protocols!  After the events of last episode, all three non-captive heroes wake up in police custody.  Much is made of the fact that two dead bodies were in their proximity and the cops are intent to figure out what happened.

It does lead to a lot of good character interaction, though for the second to last episode, you can't be faulted for feeling like this is taking up time.  I imagine that the idea was to impede the heroes when they need to be out there the most, but there wasn't that sense of tension.

I do wonder why everyone was so reluctant to open up.  Just say the old guy killed the headless guy and that the woman who killed John Raymond killed him later.  It's not like they have anything to hide as far as those two are concerned.

The "you wouldn't believe me if I told you" line also falls flat.  In an otherwise real world setting sure, but this is a world that has seen aliens, killer robots, and a magic cube that glows and does stuff.  They know of Hydra, really this isn't that far outside the realm of possibility anymore.

It does allow for some nice debates about the battle between being lawful and being good.  The trio want to stop the Hand, but the cops want to do it by the book.

Speaking of the Hand, I did find it a little weird that the cops have been "tailing" them for months.  I could buy them thinking that they're going after the yakuza or some two-bit crime ring, but I'd think that the Hand has been doing this long enough that they should be able to fly under the legal system's respective radars.  Considering the police think that they can handle this, that might be the impression that they have.

It ends up putting the heroes on the wrong side of the law, as they have to bust out and mark themselves as fugitives.  It's fitting, I suppose, though I do wonder if it was necessary.  Daredevil was already at odds with the cops, so nothing's really changed for him, but this will certainly have ramifications for the other two going forward.  I do hope that Luke doesn't end up back in prison.  Seeing as that's how his show ended, and how he was bailed out, it would be kind of ridiculous to end this series by throwing him back in.  I guess it would maintain the status quo, but it would turn into the wrong kind of running gag.

While the Elektra vs. the remaining members of the Hand confrontation fizzled, the latter do get a better showing when they confront the three heroes after they arrive at Midland.  We've seen Murakami and Bakuto fight, but seeing Gao get in on it was a rather interesting treat.

Up until now Luke's and Jessica's rougher fighting styles haven't fared well against the ninjas, but here the good ol' fisticuffs fare much better.  It's just a shame that the room is so dimly lit that it seems like you can only catch glimpses here and there.  You can see enough of the highlights, thankfully, but it is frustrating to see otherwise entertaining fight sequences hampered by the same albatross.

It's made worse by the fact that the Iron Fist/Elektra showdown does the exact same thing.  Oh, and the episode jumps back and forth between the two dimly lit fight sequences.  That definitely helped things.

Again, though, I feel like Danny should have fared better.  I buy it a bit more with Elektra.  She has superhuman strength and reflexes, enough to knock out Luke and Jessica with no effort.  Still, for someone who's trained his whole life at this, it seems like he can barely hold his own in most fights.

Going back to the lighting, however, it also ruins what should be one of the show's big wham moments, as Danny wakes up after unwittingly opening the door to K'un L'un in the skeleton of a dragon.  He's blown away, but we can barely make out what it is.  You can see the rib cage, but if other websites hadn't specifically said that that was a dragon skeleton, I would not have come to that conclusion.

On the plus side, this could be laying the ground work for a Fin Fang Foom appearance or at least a mention, right?

Sadly, for the second to last episode, this one was probably one of the weaker entries to date.  It had sparks here and there, but coming after what we'd seen before and trying to set up the big finale, it leaves quite a bit to be desired.

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'The Defenders' Episode 6: 'Ashes, Ashes'

Man, Marvel sure does love having its heroes fighting each other.  At face value, it makes sense with this group as they aren't quite as sociable and idealistic, but the Avengers have done it multiple times now.  As such, it doesn't really feel like much of a contrast.

The motivation is also a bit lacking.  The heroes coming to the conclusion that Danny should be sidelined makes some degree of sense, but they make it seem as if they wish him bodily harm.  Everybody starts lurking around him menacingly when they could very easily make the case in a more diplomatic fashion that doesn't make him feel like the enemy.  Heck, Luke and Danny do a rather good job of making their respective cases later anyway.  It just seems like they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble.

At least the Daredevil/Iron Fist fight was cool, though.  I kind of feel like Danny should have fared better, but he still held his own well enough.  It actually took the intervention of the others to ultimately knock him out so that they could tie him to a chair.  It was also interesting to see that the shock wave seen in the trailer was the work of Danny and not the Hand.  It was a nice fake out that was supported by the "earthquake" seen back in the first episode.

Danny doesn't completely sit this one out...get it?  He's tied to a chair....Anyway, his situation actually allows him to share a scene with Luke while Matt and Jessica try to follow up on a lead related to Midland and the giant hole that Matt and Elektra found.

Colter and Jones play off each other rather well, the scene is also well written, and it makes for one of the episode's highlights.   After Luke and Danny each get their respective individual second seasons, Netflix should think about consolidating those two shows into a Luke Cage/Iron Fist team up series.  It would save them a bit of money while also giving us more Marvel street hero action.  At the very least, I see the two having quite a bit of overlap in the years to come.

Matt and Jessica also seem to be bonding.  Jessica's heart of gold, which is buried deep under sarcasm and cynicism starts to become more apparent and it makes her a character you can more easily connect to.

As Matt was playing the piano, I thought he was playing the theme song to his own show.  It's a bit hard to tell as it's broken up and it sounds like he hits a wrong key here or there.  According to TvTropes, however, it was this show's main theme.  They do have similarities, but really either way it was a nice and amusing touch.

Just as the heroes start to form bonds (long after Alexandra thought that they had, I should note) the villains start to come apart.  Alexandra's leadership is called in to question.  Even though the Hand routinely fights itself, this seems to be more severe.

Gao does try to play the diplomat and come to a reasonable compromise, but Alexandra is still adamant that the black sky holds the key.  It was still a great scene between the two.  You really did get the feeling that these two go way back.  We also learn that Gao tried to stage a coup against Alexandra in the past.  The moment is played for laughs, especially as a result of Gao's response, but it would also explain why she's more reticent when they're confronting Alexandra.

These scenes are all well and good, but with only a couple of episodes left, you might be wondering why everybody is taking their time.

The second half of the episode makes up for it by throwing out some curve balls that, while catching you off guard, make perfect sense.  We also get not one but two pretty major character deaths to keep the viewer reeling.

The first is sad to see, as I was a fan of the character, but given what he did, I don't think there was any going back.  Besides, with this show presumably wrapping up the war, his story was pretty much over.

We also get to see a better showdown between Elektra and the defenders.  While they end up fighting her one on one due to circumstances, it was still pretty impressive to see her lay out three heroes in rapid succession the way she did.

The fact that the Hand now have exactly what they need to achieve their goals puts the heroes in a corner and makes the viewer wonder just how they're going to get out of this one.  We're down to the final two.  It's definitely going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

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'The Defenders' Episode 5: 'Take Shelter'

In terms of plot, this one is pretty simple and straight forward.  After the fight in the chinese restaurant, the Hand tips theirs and reveals that they intend to target those close to the heroes.  Naturally, this causes them to rush out and ensure their safety.

After taking a few episodes to get the heroes together, it might seem frustrating that they almost immediately disperse, but it is only temporary.  In fact, this allows for the supporting casts to come together as they all convene in the police station, where Luke asks Misty to watch over them until this all blows over.  It does lead to some nice small character interactions.  Granted, the episode doesn't have too much time to devote, but it's enough and it accomplishes its goal.

Just as the heroes come together, so too do the various factions of the Hand.  Where the last episode kept things vague through unnecessarily cryptic dialogue, this one actually fleshes out their motivations.  They want to return to K'un L'un and the immortality issue is also addressed in greater detail.  True, the "substance" was alluded to, but the stronger dialogue helped convey the fact that it was only a stop gap measure.

The fact that each faction operates differently also comes into play and much more effectively than it did in "Iron Fist".  While the ultimate goal is the same, they have different approaches and that means that they don't always agree.  It works on several fronts, as it allows the characters get to shine (it was nice to see Gao back to her old self) and stand out more.

Even when one of the "fingers" is captured by the heroes, he manages to prove his mettle by screwing with their heads.  He's not quite as good as Gao, but he still does a pretty good job of it.

Elektra also gets a fair bit of plot meat.  It seems that the slate isn't as blank as the Hand would like.  It seems that Matt is able to reach her at points.  It makes for some nice poignant moments between them and it gives this new Elektra a bit more sympathy than what you might have for a cold, soulless, assassin revenant.

It also stirs up conflict among the heroes as Matt's history is revealed to them.  It does seem like their making a mountain out of a molehill, though Matt should have been upfront about that.  I found the more potent conflict driver to be the heroes first hand look at Daredevil's tactics.  While Jessica isn't above roughing somebody up for answers, even she thinks he goes too far during his interrogation.  It just makes you wonder how they're going to react when Stick tells them that he wants Matt to lead the charge.

The episode provides great character moments, but it also showcases a nice balance of action as well.  The initial fight is somewhat undercut by the fact that we, once again, follow Matt as he pursues Elektra, but what we saw was still solid.

We also get some smaller team ups, most notably Daredevil (yes, Daredevil not Matt) and Jessica, who team up to fight Murakami.

There are some oddities throughout.  I did initially find it strange that the Hand was able to physically hurt Luke in combat.  Part of that is necessary to keep the tension up, but it later occurred to me that chi could play a part.  They might not be able to do it as well as Danny, but it could add some extra umph to their blows.  On a somewhat related note, Luke's offscreen escape was pretty awesome.  He might not have their training, but the cult also seemed to grossly underestimate their opponent.

The real kicker, however, is Sowande's escape.  You'd think one of the characters would have caught a glimpse in their peripheral vision.  If, for some reason, that's not enough; you'd think that Matt would have heard him moving.  If nothing else, it gives Danny haters a nice moment, as he is held at knife point by the former captive.

I was also underwhelmed by the ending.  Seeing Elektra curl up in Matt's bed is emotional and all, but I don't know if that was the scene to end on before cutting to credits.  It doesn't have that "aw man, I have to jump into the next episode to find out what happens" feel that some of the other episodes had.

Still, though, this episode had a lot to juggle and it did it fairly well.  It may not have been as memorable as the last episode or the one before it, but it did manage to flesh out quite a bit and move the plot forward considerably.  We're down to the final three episodes and one can't help but wonder how this group is going to stop what the Hand is up to.

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'The Defenders' Episode 4: 'Royal Dragon'

Where the last episode saw the team coming together by happenstance, this one brings them together on a more spiritual level.  It's not the smoothest path for them, but for the viewer, that's part of the fun.

When discussing the trailers, I often noted that watching the characters play off each other was going to be one of the major highlights.  This episode puts almost its entire focus on that and proves that theory correct.

Each of them has different motivations and, as such, not all are completely willing to keep the fight going.  Both Matt and Jessica insist that this was a one-off freak occurrence and that they should all shake hands and part company.  Luke is, at least, willing to follow through in the short term though he's not big on the team idea.  Danny, on the other hand is quite enthusiastic.

I don't think Danny or his show warranted the hate that they got, but I do have to agree with the consensus that he works better as "kung fu labradoodle".  Well meaning, easy going, friendly, maybe a bit naive.  This is the more interesting and engaging characterization.  It stands in stark contrast to the writers' tendency to make him this angry angst machine.  This episode bucks the latter in favor of the former and allows Danny to get one of his best character outings to date.

This was also a solid entry for Jessica, who is given a small arc where she has to reconsider her commitment to the war.  In other circumstances, one might chide her walking off as padding.  I mean, we all know she's coming back, but it is in her character to scoff at the idea.  I also can't fault her "this is way above my pay grade" logic.  It somewhat echoes Stephen Strange's reaction when being told he was being groomed to fight eldritch abominations.  Hero or not, there are some circumstances where you just have to go "nope, I'm out!"

If anything seemed forced, it was the attempts to escalate the debate between heroes into fist fights.  Considering how Danny fared against Luke, Matt is lucky that the others stepped in to calm things down.  While seeing the two martial artists fight may have been cool to watch, it seemed out of character.  This is especially true considering how generally diplomatic everyone was.  While Matt rebukes the team idea, he repeatedly compliments the others for at least having their hearts in the right place in regards to wanting to help.

The addition of Stick to the dynamic only helped.  Sure, he was largely there for exposition, but Scott Glenn does it so well.  He does get a few moments with Matt that build on their already established relationship.

The aforementioned exposition actually does pay dividends as we get some new information, such as the fact that the Chaste serve K'un L'un and that the Hand were once a part of it as well, but went rogue because they wanted to use their abilities for more self serving purposes.

Even with all of this, the Hand still feels very vague.  It's made worse by the fact that this episode's time devoted to showing the villain's end hammers this in with cryptic dialogue aplenty.

We still don't know why they want to destroy New York.  "Serving life" doesn't cut it.  The talk of immortality also makes little sense as they basically have it.  Alexandra has lived for centuries and they're able to bring the dead back to life.  "They want power"...they have that too.  It's peculiar.

They do save some face when Alexandra appears at the restaurant to taunt the heroes.  Weaver's calm, civil demeanor works really well and belies her clearly sinister intent.  Her exchanges with Luke were also fascinating and fun to watch.

We also learn that the Chaste, sans Stick, have been wiped out.  It would have been nice to see Stick "getting the band back together" as he put it and witness their downfall, forcing Stick to retreat to the "amateurs".  This does, if nothing else, continue the streamlining that the show has done in regards to various sub-plot threads that needed addressing.  It also puts the burden back on the heroes as there isn't a rival ninja army to call on to save the day.  There is, however, a gun toting vigilante and a wall crawling web-slinger.  Just sayin...

The episode may have been light on action, but it was still a blast to watch.  The writing and the characters were more than strong enough than carry the episode.  It also ends on a crowning moment of awesome as Jessica runs down Elektra with a truck before rejoining the group, ready to stand with them against Alexandra and the Black Sky.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the next episode.  I have a feeling it's going to be another fun one.

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'The Defenders' Episode 3: 'Worst Behavior'

The upward trajectory continues as this episode raises the bar even higher.  This episode was all about things coming together.  Not only is that literally shown with the four heroes finally meeting up, but the episode also ties in several disparate plot threads, not just from the two preceding episodes but from both "Daredevil" and "Iron Fist".

I was under the impression that the Chaste and K'un L'un were two separate factions fighting the Hand, but this episode reveals that the two are indeed connected.  It somewhat mirrors Gao as initially being presented as part of something separate from the Hand, but ultimately linked.  Stick knows about the Iron Fist and, despite his dismissive moniker in the trailer, seems to believe that he's up to the task of bringing the organization down for good.

It seems like every featured character got to shine here.  The heroes are, again, a more obvious example, but Stick got to show off some impressive skills in his escape.  It was definitely a more worthwhile appearance in comparison to the one from the last episode.  Alexandra also gets a much better showing as a villain.  She never loses her composure, can even be sympathetic (or at least fake it really well,) and easily takes down Elektra in hand to hand combat.  Granted, the latter was a little off her game post resurrection, but it still showed that she's not one to be taken lightly.

Speaking of Elektra, we finally get a glimpse as to what Black Sky is and what it means.  Elektra was already formidable, but her resurrection has enhanced her abilities and given her superhuman strength.  It's much more than we saw, even with previous resurrections.

It turns out that Elektra's was nothing like Harold Meachum's.  She wakes up frightened and still has no memory of herself, but it's played much more seriously.  Loopy Elektra would have been interesting to see, but this seems to fit better with the angle that the show is going for.

As expected, watching the characters bounce off each other was a pure joy to watch.  Danny and Luke have an interesting dynamic.  It was nice to see Danny show his more easygoing side.  The way he talks about fighting a dragon, it sounds like he's trying to play it for laughs.  Sadly, it's short lived.  Hopefully the show brings that out more.

We definitely got to see Luke's easygoing side.  The scene with Cole's mother really showed the degree to which he cares about helping people.  If you weren't on board with this character for whatever reason, I think that scene will win you over.

On other fronts, Matt and Jessica don't get off to the most auspicious start.  I did enjoy the "tailing" scene.  The "advantage" went back and forth between the two as they put their respective skills to use.  It was distinct enough on its own, but it kind of reminded me of that classic scene in the animated "Batman/Superman" movie where the two discover the other's secret identity.

Of course, it all culminates in the four heroes converging on Midland circle.  I've seen people complain about the show's pacing, maybe it's because I knew ahead of time that they wouldn't get together until this episode, but I hardly even noticed it.  In fact, I like the fact that they took the time to have the characters come together naturally.  Sure, the heroes could have all randomly met at a bar, but this feels more organic and I think that the viewer's patience is rewarded.

While Danny did get an impressive showing, taking on an entire room of ninjas by himself, he does eventually require some backup.  Fortunately, Luke is there to provide it, and the other two aren't far behind.

It's not much of a fight until Elektra shows up.  That fight with Matt was impressive and entertaining in its own right, though a part of me wanted to see a 4 on 1 sequence.  Not only would it have given us more of the underutilized Elektra/Jessica showdown, but it would have really shown us how formidable Black Sky is.  But, Matt has the closer connection, so I can see why the writers decided to go the route they did.

Oh, also, the rooms were well lit.  We could actually see the fight choreography.  That alone warrants commendation enough, but yes, the fights were really well done in their own right.

All in all, this episode was a blast.  I'm kind of sad that we're already at the halfway point.  A part of me wishes that they had been able to do 13 episodes, but with the size of the cast, I get it.  It has also resulted in faster pacing, which is definitely to the show's benefit.  The show just keeps getting better and now that the team is assembled, I don't doubt that the pattern is going to continue as we move into the fourth episode.

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'The Defenders' Episode 2: 'Mean Right Hook'

It seems that the Hand setting off that giant shock wave was just the kick start that the plot needed, as this episode is a marked improvement over its predecessor.

The characters are more proactive here.  We see them go out and help people in the aftermath of the event, as well as make progress in investigating their various independent and seemingly unrelated leads.  It results in a much more engaging episode.

There are still great character moments, the scene where Foggy reaches out to Matt to reconnect and to dump some work on him to prevent him from taking up the "Daredevil" mantle again is a notable example.  We also get more action, which is one of the things that draws people to the superhero genre.

I'm not going to lie, though, I would have liked to see the Elektra/Jessica fight extended a bit.  Not only is the cast and plot intersection from two shows interesting, but it seems like it would be a solid match up.  Maybe we'll see a "round 2" in a later episode.

While the team doesn't come together yet, we do see see the first introductions for both Luke/Danny and Jessica/Matt.  It's a solid start and it will at least give us a hint of the dynamics to come.

The confrontation between Luke and Danny goes on a bit longer than it does in the trailer, but it's to the episode's benefit as it's a fun sequence.  You kind of feel bad for Danny, who is valiantly trying to no avail to hurt Luke.  It's mostly a curb stomp battle, but it also makes the moment that Danny decides to use the iron fist that much more satisfying.

I did find it a little odd that Danny was skeptical about the team idea.  Considering his stance later, it's jarring.  You could somewhat justify it as him not knowing about the other heroes, but even with the information that spurs that conversation, you'd think he'd take whatever help he could get to improve his chances of ultimately bringing the Hand down.

Sadly, not much progress is made in terms of building up that threat.  I guess they're relying on what we saw in "Daredevil" and "Iron Fist", but were it not for those (the prior in particular) there isn't a lot that would suggest a team is needed.  Some of the dialogue does try, but a little more showing would be to the show's benefit.

Weaver's character, Alexandra gets a bit of development as we see that she is cultured and still determined to follow through on their goal...whatever it is.  It still doesn't seem like the show is giving Weaver a lot to do.  Hopefully, she'll be have meatier material as we move into the latter half of the season.

The real disappointment for me was the lack of Stick.  I was excited to see Scott Glenn's name in the opening credits, but all he does is get revealed to be a captive of the Hand.  He only has one line and that's about it.  Honestly, it might have been better to keep his name out of the opening crawl so that the viewer is shocked to see who is under the hood.  As it was, you pretty much knew who it was when the scene started, and you were right.

Still, the episode still does a masterful job of juggling the cast of four shows.  They all get a respectable amount of screen time and it all feels natural.  That's not an easy thing to do, so props to the show for pulling it off so far.

This took the momentum from the last episode and ran with it.  It moved the plot along a lot quicker and had the heroes going out and doing what they do best.  I think it's a much better showing and I hope that the subsequent episodes only continue that pattern.

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'The Defenders' Episode 1: 'The H Word'

Earlier today, Marvel's "The Defenders" hit Netflix and, not surprisingly, I dived right in.  You might not know this, but I've been excited to watch this for some time now. I think I might have mentioned it.

The focus for this episode is more on the characters as individuals.  We're caught up to speed on where they are since their respective shows ended, but we also see events set in motion that will inevitably bring them together.

I got a kick out of watching the opening credits crawl. Just seeing the casts of all four shows listed in one go is something to behold.  They really did get just about everybody.

The show does a good job of juggling it all too.  Each hero gets about the same amount of screen time and things do move forward on all fronts.  True, the episode can veer its focus more towards dialogue, but there is still momentum to be seen.

While the main heroes don't converge yet, we do see some crossover in the supporting cast.  Iron Fist faces off against Elektra and we see that Foggy was the one to get Luke freed from prison.  They were small moments, but it was still a nice touch and it's interesting to see the casts intersect like this.

The aforementioned fight makes for the show's major action beat.  From what I saw, it was well done, though the lighting didn't allow for the viewer to catch as much of the match up as they would like.  I'm guessing that the person she was attacking was a member of the Chaste.  He knows about Danny, and warns him that he should refocus his war on the Hand back in New York, but it could be something else.

It was rather odd to see a majority of the cast question their role as heroes.  Jessica's attitude towards the idea is consistent with what we saw,  Matt has called it quits after Elektra (though he seems to want to go back) and puts more focus on helping people as an attorney, and Luke ponders helping Harlem in ways that don't involve punching gang members.  It just seemed like overkill on that concept.

You can kind of feel the Hand's presence throughout, but they largely take a backseat.  We are introduced to Sigourney Weaver's character, though all we learn about her is that she has some terminal illness.  The theory that she is the head of the Hand seems to be correct, as Gao reports to her.  That seemed kind of obvious, but still.

It was weird seeing Gao in such a subservient role.  Even when she was working with Fisk back in "Daredevil", she still had a strong presence.  I know, this is supposed to indicate how bad Weaver is, but I don't know if it was the right way to go about it.

We still don't know what the Hand's endgame is, but Weaver's illness is apparently pushing up the time table.

The episode does give us a pretty good taste of what they're really capable of, however, as they create some sort of seismic activity that is felt by all four heroes.  I think it's safe to say that this is why they were digging that giant hole in the ground.

Based on the trailers, one of the major strengths of the show is going to be seeing the interplay between the four heroes.  Sadly, this doesn't really give us any of that.  Then again, I didn't really expect it to this early on.  Overall, this might not be the jaw dropping opening that one might have hoped for, but it got the job done.  I am still excited to see how the remaining seven episodes play out.

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'The Defenders' TV Series Second Trailer Reaction

It's been a while since we've done a trailer reaction.  It's especially surprising as quite a few trailers have hit.  "The Defenders" got a second trailer, "It" got another trailer, and I believe even the upcoming "Mr. Mercedes" TV series got one.  I'm hoping to get caught up over the next couple of days so we can get back up to speed.

Today, we start with the second trailer for Netflix's upcoming "Defenders" series.  Just the music alone paints a grimmer and more intense picture than what we saw before.  You really get the sense that, even as a team, this group is going to be pushed to their limit.

We see that the Hand pose a physical threat, but they also seem to be bringing the conflict to the emotional battlefield, targeting those close to the heroes.  It shows the stakes but also allows us to get a glimpse of the various supporting characters from across the preceding shows.  It'll be interesting to see if and how those characters play off each other.

Speaking of playing off each other, the dynamic between the four heroes continues to be a highlight.  Superhero team ups are always fun, but the contrast between them makes for some great banter.  While the trailer is generally played serious, this does allow for moments of levity to pop in here and there to show you that, yes, you're going to have fun with this show.  On a random note, I was surprised that Jessica didn't belch after chugging that drink.  Really, I don't think it would have been that out of place or character for her to do that.

Sigourney Weaver looks like she's going to make for a good villain.  From what we see she has the presence and gravitas.  I could have done without the "we're not so different" part of her opening speech.  That line has been used by villains so many times.  Heck, it even gets parodied or lampshaded now, so I was surprised to see them play that straight.

I am glad to see Gao is going to play a role.  While this is likely where she'll finally be bested, I'm going to be sad to see her go, she was such a great villain in her own right.

The action looks like it's going to be great.  We saw the hallway fight again, but a lot of new combat clips as well.  Seeing Matt back in the suit was awesome.  I still have a feeling that him getting back into that frame of mind is going to constitute his arc, but it just adds to the team's presence when he's in it compared to wearing Jessica's scarf.

I'm still really looking forward to this series.  We only have a couple of weeks left, but with stuff like this, the final days are always the longest.  I fully expect to start talking about this on the day of release, so that'll be fun.

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Daredevil Season 2, Episode 13: 'A Cold Day in Hell's Kitchen'

With only one episode left, this should have been taken care of much quicker.  Alas, with everything going on, it kept getting pushed to the back burner.  Now, though, it's time to put this to bed as we bring the show's second season to a close.

It's largely action-centric, as Daredevil and Elektra make a final push to stop the Hand from utilizing her as a weapon.  I said before that Elektra could use her status as idol to reform the Hand, but from what she says, that doesn't seem like an option.  She notes that they'd keep doing what they're doing in her name, and she's not OK with that.

While the two vigilantes have different stances on how to proceed, their hand (ha) is forced when the group of ninjas make their boldest move yet.  They assault cops and kidnap over a dozen people who Daredevil had been reported to save as a way to draw him out.

Considering he was gunning for them anyway, this seems like a lot of needless trouble, but it does give him someone (Karen, among others) to rescue.  TvTropes also points out how it was only through dumb luck that Daredevil stumbled upon them anyway.  Usually, stealth and guile work to their advantage, but when you're trying to lure somebody into a trap, they need a trail of bread crumbs to follow.

In any event, the circumstances also put him at odds with Elektra again.  She wants to focus on taking out Nobu and ignoring the small fish, where Matt wants to make them the first priority.  To her credit, Elektra notes it's callous, but you can at least see where she's coming from as far as dealing with the bigger threat.

The whole thing culminates in a rooftop battle with Nobu and his mooks.  While the latter don't just sit back and watch, they do, at points, back off so that both Elektra and Daredevil can take their cracks at their leader.

As I am a noted sucker for 2 on 1 fights, I rather enjoyed this sequence.  While Matt getting his clock cleaned last season showed you what Nobu was capable of, this fight possibly paints him in an even more impressive light.  True, it's not as brutal, but he is fending off two very capable fighters, even getting the upper hand (ha) at certain points.

Much like both the comics and the movie, Elektra gets killed.  This actually works much better for a variety of reasons.  I actually buy Nobu being capable of besting her much more than I did Bullseye in the flick.  The fact that we saw a 2 on 1 fight also helped; where the movie had her fight Bullseye on her own, with Daredevil jumping in later to avenge her.  The way she died was also executed much better.  It wasn't so much Nobu being ruthless and a better fighter, as it was Elektra jumping in to save Matt.  That alone was noble enough, but the fact that her dying is stopping them from using her just adds a cherry to the heroic sacrifice sundae.  Granted, the end of the episode undercuts that part a bit, but still, points for trying.

Don't worry, the Punisher throws in his two cents on the ordeal.  Not only does he don his suit for the first time (much like Matt did last season,) but we see him help turn the tide by taking potshots at Hand members who were attempting to attack Matt.

Given his skills in hand to hand,  a part of me thinks that it would have been cool to see him throw down in melee.  At the same time, though, this is kind of really outside his wheelhouse.  He is also a trained sniper, so it makes sense.  It was awesome either way.

That being said, his timing suuucks.  Where was he three minutes ago?  It seems like he could have started picking off members much sooner than he did.  As it is, he doesn't fire a shot until after Elektra falls.  Maybe that could have been avoided? I don't know.

Stick, too, gets a moment to shine.  He spends most of the episode tied to a chair, but he is ultimately the one to finish Nobu off for good.  While the old man doesn't have a lot of screen time, it was nice that the episode gave him that particular highlight.

While action is the episode's focus, the episode does have some nice character moments.  The scene between Matt and Elektra before they make their final charge was rather sweet.  That's a hard moment to write, too.  Often times, it comes off as really cheesy, but the performers made it work and the script itself was pretty solid.

It was also nice to see Foggy get a job with Hogarth.  It made for a nice cameo from Carrie-Anne Moss, but it also helps tie all the shows together.  I like how all the friends and associates of the vigilantes are bumping into each other and forming a sort of network.  It might be what helps bring the team together, but we'll see.

The scene at the bar between Foggy and Karen also had a nice bitter-sweetness to it.  While the fellowship is more or less broken (as evidenced by the fact that Foggy is closing the Nelson/Murdock tab at the bar), both he and Karen do reaffirm their friendship.  I thought it was nice.

On a somewhat random note, Matt's dismissive attitude towards mysticism was rather amusing.  Not only is Iron Fist an upcoming series, but we also have Dr. Strange making his cinematic debut.  Then again, Thor and the magic of Asgard was rationalized as just being "advanced science" so they could be taking a similar route there, I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

All in all, this was a strong finale.  It had plenty of crowning moments and it planted a couple of seeds for future plot lines.

It's too bad that Luke Cage doesn't hit Netflix until, what? September?  That's not too bad of a wait, I suppose.  I'll watch it and we can talk about that too when it hits.

From what I've read, they "aren't sure" if Daredevil is getting a third season.  Quite frankly, I don't see why it wouldn't.  There are still plot elements to explore and the show is very well received.  It obviously won't happen until after "The Defenders", much like the second season of "Jessica Jones" but that's fine.  Frankly, I'm surprised they got a second season of this show out before the big team up.  

It certainly worked to the franchise's favor, however.  This had a lot of great build up and it brought more potential players into the mix.  There's quite a bit to look forward to as the universe continues to expand.





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Daredevil Season 2, Episode 12: The Dark at the End of the Tunnel

As this is the season's penultimate episode, it should come as no surprise that this raises the stakes a fairly considerable degree.  There's action, tense stand-offs, and even a major reveal or two.

Picking up where the last episode left off, we see Elektra is still intent on killing Stick.  While the old man doesn't look like much, he's able to hold his own against the younger assassin fairly well.  Still, Daredevil takes it upon himself to barge in and prevent Elektra from seeking her vengeance.

Stick later says that Matt thinks that her doing this would be a "point of no return" but I'm not sure how that's true.  If Frank's line is anything to go by, she was long gone when she first started killing, but that's neither here nor there.

It seems like the two quasi-allies are about to come to blows when the Hand arrives to force an uneasy alliance.  While this confrontation was likely shorter than the one at the hospital, this one felt more impressive.  Both had sufficient buildup, but maybe the fact that the whole "team" was working together to fend off the swarm of ninjas gave it some extra kick...get it? Kick....they use martial arts....

In true "Hand" fashion, the villains take what they want and vanish.  In this case, it's Stick.  Elektra's happy to leave him, but Matt's insistence on rescue forces her to partake.  More specifically, she wants to be the one to kill him.  She's never going to get asked to join the Defenders with that attitude, but it does make for some nice character conflict.

You'd think that this would give the episode a "race against the clock" feel as both parties frantically try to track the elusive ninjas.  Oddly, it isn't really touched on at all.  Elektra shows up after Matt makes the rescue, but neither party seemed too concerned about it up to that point.  Maybe she was just sitting back and letting Matt do all the leg work, tracking and clearing out defenses, but that isn't made clear.

It does give us some impressive fight sequences as Matt has to try to fight enemies that he can no longer track as they abandon their weapons.  I'm a little torn on the catalyst for the turning of the tide.  It never occurred to Matt that they need to breathe?  Also, you'd think that controlling and silencing your heartbeat would be more difficult.  With all that training, breath control seems like it would be part of the package.  I'd think just grabbing a guy after he hit you would be the more likely way to gain the upper hand (ha) as they'd have to be within arm's reach, but whatever.

In any event, Elektra's arrival marks one of the aforementioned reveals.  It turns out that Elektra is a black sky.  This provides a more logical reason for Stick to mark her for death.  It also means that the Hand swear their loyalty to her.

Now, this is supposed to tie in to her love of violence and/or possible chance of redemption.  Put her two conflicting sides at odds and force her to choose once and for all.  The thing is, couldn't she just turn the Hand into something slightly more benevolent?  Command them to fill up that big hole in the ground, call off the war with the Chaste, and start using those ninja skills to take down the myriad of threats that plague the MCU Earth.  There's a potential oncoming alien army, these guys could be useful on that front.

Either way, the reveal is a mixed bag.  Despite knowing the twist, it was still executed well enough.  The episode also had enough tension, what with so many characters arguing different viewpoints, but the fact that we still have no idea what a Black Sky is kind of robs the twist of any power.  I know, the writers want to be mysterious, but it's hard to get invested in this when we don't know what the ramifications are.

You could argue that it's moot as Elektra seemingly chooses redemption and agrees to save Stick.  It does seem like she's contemplating using the situation to kill him herself, but Stick manages to talk her out of it, by reminding her of why Matt went through the trouble in the first place.  I'm not sure how true Stick's claim is.  While Matt did want to keep Elektra from killing, he also made it clear that, despite their differences, he still harbors some loyalty to the old man.  Maybe Stick was just saying whatever was necessary to keep himself alive, but I think that both motivations could have easily applied.

With all of this, you might think that the Punisher sub-plot was more or less wrapped up.  Even Karen and Ellis discuss this, as it seems like all the relevant parties are dead.  But the prior is convinced to keep investigating, if only to present a more complete picture of Frank when the paper writes their article about his life.

This brings Karen to Frank's old Marine buddy, the one who testified on his behalf.  In another one of the episode's reveals, it turns out that he was running the drug ring.  Considering the character is played by Clancy Brown, I had high hopes for the heel turn.  His deep voice has often been used to great villainous effect, but honestly, I found the earlier scenes when he was still putting on a friendly face more compelling.

I think part of it is because he gets more taciturn after he pulls the gun.  He gets a small moment, when he starts taunting Frank when the latter shows up,but alas, he is robbed of any sort of monologue that could put his baritone to good use.

It does give the episode's two plot lines a nice parallel.  Just as Matt pleaded with Elektra to spare a life, so too does Karen make a similar plea to Frank.  She makes a valiant effort, invoking both Frank's family and his own friendship with her to try and appeal to his better nature, but it's for naught.  It seems like her pleas fell on deaf ears, but given what Frank did last episode, a quick gun shot to the head seems somewhat merciful.  Granted, that doesn't give Karen much comfort, but it's something to ponder.

The cliffhanger ending was a bit lacking.  I suppose the more important factor was Nobu surviving the fatal-under-any-other-circumstance fall, but his declaration that Daredevil must die seems both over-dramatic and redundant.  Granted, they have yet to succeed, but it doesn't seem like the Hand was in any way intent on keeping Matt alive.  That sort of line works better when it's a "now the gloves come off, we're not screwing around anymore" declaration.  The gloves were already off, so it doesn't pack the sort of punch that you would hope for.

Still, I'm looking forward to the finale.  As with most shows, one wonders how they're going to wrap this up in an hour.  Of course, I'm guessing that the bigger plot will resume either in 'The Defenders' or in later seasons of the show, but it'll still be interesting to watch in any event.  





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Daredevil Season 2, Episode 11: .380

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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