‘The Defenders’ Review – Does it Live up to Expectations

If there is one thing we know about The Defenders, it is that expectations were high. In a perfect world, this would be The Avengers of the TV world. With Iron Fist not being received well though, does the character weaken the group?

The Defenders

When The Hand threaten New York City, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), and Danny Rand (Finn Jones) begrudgingly have to work together to save it. Do they have what it takes to work together and take on their greatest adversary to date?

While there is a lot that The Defenders struggles with, it does get many things right. One of the things is that there is a realisation that Danny Rand is lacking when it comes to being the Iron Fist. We see this revealed to him in an impressive scene where Cage gives him a wake-up call as to just how privileged he is.

This is important to Danny Rand, as is what happens in The Defenders. If anything there is a hope that when we next see the character, he is a lot more tolerable as a superhero. In the final scenes we see a different side of Danny, a more grown up and intense character who may even (finally) don the suit. While many fans have little interest in seeing more of Iron Fist, there may still be life in the character after all.

What The Defenders brings is a culmination of each character’s first story arcs. We see Jessica Jones still battling to hide from what happened to her, we see Luke Cage finally out of prison but reluctant for action. Matt Murdock has given up on being Dare Devil, and this is why it takes The Defenders so long to get going.

This is a slow burner of a show, where people wanted it to be full of action. It is also a show that delivers where it matters though. We see the return of Elektra (Elodie Yung), and we see a focus on the sidekicks that gives them a chance to find their place in the world of the superheroes. While this season may not give us everything we need, what it does provide is a starting point for new adventures.

The fact we see Jessica Jones ready to return to being a private detective, Cage ready for action, and even Rand looking like he could be a hero shows everything. We even get the teaser at the end which reveals not all is lost for another character. The Defenders is designed to bring interest back to the characters, and that is what matters.

While The Defenders may not be perfect, it is fun, and in the end it also raises the point that the true heroes behind the superheroes are people like Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), Misty Knight (Simone Missick) and of course Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). They too get their story arcs which raise hope for stories that fans are waiting for, and this is the strength of the show.

It is fair to say that we don’t get everything we wanted with The Defenders, but in truth could it live up to everything we expected? I for one enjoyed the show, and was able to look at it with a view of what is to come in the future. This is why The Defenders is a show that Marvel fans should watch, even if they may feel a slight disappointment with it.

The Defenders is available on Netflix now.

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