All together now. By the end of the episode, our four titular heroes along with their four sub-par sub-plots finally converge in a collage of punches and mayhem every bit the equal of what you've come to expect from the best moments of Daredevil's show. There are a few moments like Luke Cage's entrance and Iron Fist abruptly using him as a human shield that play flatter than should have, and if they had to happen I wish the cool factor could've at least exceeded the cheese factor. Otherwise the choreography was incredibly amped up this episode, with a few impressive long takes that that even Iron Fist got to take part in (despite a pretty cringey and petulant failed-monologue only minutes before). From the top of the episode, I knew things were about to get better. Not only were we sitting on last episode's tease of Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones finally coming together, but we opened with Elektra's resuscitation. A flashback to explain her survival from Daredevil's season two. And fight scenes. Lots of killer fight scenes as we finally get a chance to see why these villains are threatening. Elodie Yung is as tantalizing to watch as she was in her Daredevil appearances. Equally enticing is the blind former sensei Stick played by Scott Glen who is far more convincingly blind and bad-ass than Charlie Cox. Not getting along. Matt Murdock's attempt to represent Jessica Jones was everything you could've hoped for and of course they bickered beautifully. It was the suspicious following each other around town after that I didn't see coming but really enjoyed. Needless to say, Charlie Cox and Krysten Ritter were able to carry these scenes as compellingly as Finn Jones and Mike Colter couldn't. Luke Cage already struggles not to feel forced, but making him act alongside the series' weakest link doesn't help. I kept thinking, why don't we skip these losers and give Colleen Wing and whoever Rosario Dawson is pretending to be a chance. Cage made some fair points about Iron Fists's privilege as billionaire Danny Rand that turned out to be plot relevant but geez if it wasn't a little too [insert cultural reference here]. The writers could've put some effort into a second draft to make it play out more naturally. It's also sad how many comic writers have had fun playing Iron Fist and Luke Cage off each other over a couple decades now, and yet these writers are botching the buddy-dynamic so badly. Could it be the actors? The directors? I don't know, but the chemistry just isn't there yet. Conclusion: Some smart moves are finally paying off. This is starting to resemble the premise The Defenders was pitched as. If this were the Avengers, though, in terms of run time, the movie would already be over. With only five episodes left, they better make quick use of it. On the other hand, if this episode is any indication, the show still has the ability to course correct quickly and pack in the action and team-conflict when they want to. I'm finally enjoying this show and I'm looking forward to the next episode. Episode 4 Review
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