The Defenders, Season 1, Episode 7: Fish in the Jailhouse
So last episode set up the climax pretty neatly. Elektra killed Stick and apparently is taking over the hand by killing Alexandra, she has also kidnapped the Iron Fist and the Defenders are back on the backfoot. And as of the end of the episode, the immortal Iron Fist, in the words of Stick a couple of episodes ago, is still a "thundering dumbass", who, when shown the gigantic door that can only be opened with the Iron Fist.... proceeds to immediately fight Elektra with the Iron Fist active. And, naturally opens the door. Oh Danny, you gigantic moron. It's always fun to see someone show Danny up, though I'm slightly perplexed that Elektra was able to absolutely own Iron Fist like that. I guess mastering the fist isn't the only thing Danny didn't quite master, and his own kung fu skills are lacking? I dunno. We get to see what appears to be... well, I'm not sure what it is. Dragon bones are strewn all around the gigantic chamber at the bottom of the Midland building's hole, though, so maybe it's a portal to K'un Lun? It's exciting to see that the whole series has been building up to a final showdown in this building.
Of course, the episode spends half of its runtime with our heroes arrested by the police. Which... which I felt took way longer than it should. I get why they did that, of course. The sense of dread as they're on a race against the clock to rescue Danny and defeat the Hand, but are powerless as the seconds tick by, are well-portrayed. But I honestly find it a little hard to believe that Luke and Jessica doesn't just tell the police that, shit, metahumans are involved, y'all, back off and let the indestructible people do the work. Especially considering that Misty Knight knows the amount of danger that the likes of Luke get up to, even if her superior (who I don't think we've ever seen before this show?) is being obstructive I felt that the NYPD's involvement wasn't necessary. It's acted well enough, but I felt like it's too obvious a momentum killer between two large action scenes.
Of course, they decide to break out instead (miraculously no one put together that Matt Murdock is Daredevil, but I suppose when you're blind no one will consider that he's actually a chain-club-slinging ninja) but at least the transition is well done. Jessica and Luke are the easiest -- Jessica doesn't really give a shit about the police in the first place, Luke keeps telling Claire and Misty that he's going to do the right thing, even if it means withholding information from the police force who are ill-equipped to fight a ninja army, at the cost of being potentially thrown in jail again... but Matt? Foggy and Karen, the two people in his life who are adamantly against him putting on the horns are in the station itself and we get to see an unexpectedly tender moment between Matt and his two best friends, a moment that I didn't think I would see in the parts of the show leading up to the finale. Capitalizing on the various Matt/Foggy and Matt/Karen conversations we have had throughout the season, we get to see the different ways that Karen and Foggy tries to get Matt to not go all Daredevil and risk his life. Karen, being a bit newer to the whole thing (plus the unspoken implication that she's still working through some of the emotional baggage after failing to get Punisher to stand down) gives Matt what amounts to an ultimatum: don't go, or don't go. She sees being locked up as a good thing, and yes, it's short-sighted and selfish, but again, it's not like she doesn't have a point. Let the police, or failing that, the other two super-powered Defenders take the job. Matt can stay and not die.
Foggy, on the other hand, goes through a bit of a speech about how Daredevil's vigilantism is bad for Matt... but then shows Matt that he brings the Daredevil suit. He trusts Matt to make his own decisions, and he's going to help Matt either way. And while Foggy knows that he prefers Matt Murdock to just be Matt the lawyer and not Daredevil the vigilante, he also understands that being Daredevil is as much part of Matt's life as the Matt Murdock portion, and it would kill his friend if he were trapped, unable to help. Somehow still keeping his secret identity secret, the three Defenders break out of the police precinct.
...and Jessica gives a most bored "there it is again" in response to Matt's costume.
...and Jessica steals a hobo's beer and downs it to one of the most hilarious double-take from Luke and Matt.
...and later as they discuss transportation, Jessica goes 'umm' and pulls out her subway card, cutting to the three Defenders sitting in the subway.
God, these episodes really kind of emphasize that I cannot wait for season two of Jessica Jones, more than anything else.
Oh, and much appreciated is the fact that it's not just the three Defenders themselves getting pep talks either. Colleen and Claire spent a couple of conversations in the previous episode talking about Colleen's role as, if note an outright Defender, then a very vital supporting character. This episode the roles are reversed, as Colleen notes that, shit, Claire is the foundation, the one who brought the four together. Claire also helps Misty remember Luke's extremely strong moral compass, something that showcases Misty's role as a more independent police officer who, like Luke, cares more for saving people than bookkeeping. To this end, Colleen Wing decides that unlike literally every single other supporting character trapped in the precinct, she's someone who can make a difference, stealing her sword and the several pounds of C4 that Jessica's late client, Raymond, was stockpiling in that apartment. Colleen and Claire show up in the Midland building to help up, acting as a strike team while Daredevil, Luke and Jessica do all the heavy fighting, and Misty, despite all the legal stuff, decides to trust Claire and Luke and is prepared to at least delay the other NYPD dudes.
Meanwhile, it is a bit hard to swallow that the remainin three Fingers of the Hand would kowtow so quickly to Elektra's coup, but Bakuto has always been more oberver than active participant, Gao has always been established as a character that capitalizes on situations, and it's clear that they see Elekra not as a replacement for Alexandra, but a means to an end -- cnosidering she did what Alexandra or the other never managed to do. Captue Iron Fist. Certainly would've preferred the whole Alexandra/Elektra thing to have more buildup than what we got, but it was... perfunctory, if not satisfactory. Besides, Elektra makes her intentions clear -- she wants to never, ever return to the cold embrace of death, something that Gao and the others can certainly relate with... at least until Elektra can actually open the door. I did like how Elektra, Gao, Bakuto and Murakami moved around the room as they calmly negotiate the terms of their... 'partnership', for lack of a better term, clearly the three trying to get the drop on Elektra, but a combination of fear over Alexandra and Sowande's recent deaths and Black Sky being a pretty terrifying warrior (if we can get an explanation to why Elektra is the Black Sky and why the Black Sky is so special, the season would be amazing) means that the three Fingers are cowed.
And, of course, the gigantic climactic battle at the end of the episode. We have another big round of battles in the eighth, final episode, but honestly, while not bad, I didn't feel that it was as awesome as this one. Our three heroes come to charge the Midland building, but find their way blocked by three people. Not just any three, either, but Gao, Bakuto and Murakami.
The fight between the Defenders and the Fingers of the Hand might be a little choppy at times (probably necessary to cut away from scenes of the elderly Wai Ching Ho -- or her stunt double -- clattering to the ground too brutally). The fight scene is certainly set up well, with the telekinetic Force-pushing Madame gao proving to be as badass as I hoped she'll be, Force-Pushing cars to knock around Jessica and Luke, and quite spectacularly, I did love the direction of not making this three one-on-one fights and instead have Jessica and Luke gang up on Madame Gao, while Daredevil takes on both Bakuto and Murakami, and the fight partners swapping around a cuople of times during the battle. Considering a lot of them have been built up to be badass fighters, but only Bakuto among them have arguably been effective against a Defender, it is very refreshing to see the villains kick as much ass as the good guys. It's suitably epic, and whil I wish the batte was a bit more clear at times, it's definitely ewll-done enough that by the time the Fingers decide to beat a hasty retreat with an explosion of fire, while they lost you don't really get the imperssion that they're chumps.
Also, while perhaps unintentional, it does make Iron Fist really look bad, yeah? He is trained in kung fu in addition to having a punch that can unleash shockwaves and destroy metal, yet he gets tossed around by Elektra. Whereas Bakuto, who gave Danny the fight of his life, can be held off by Daredevil who's fighting Murakami at the same time. Elektra fighting Danny isn't as exciting as the big three-way fight, but still relatively well done. It does make Danny really look like a gigantic idiot when he starts doing the one thing everyone tells him not to do, though Danny being an idiot is already something I know. So.
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