Team Dynamics. The episode opens in the wake of last episode's climactic battle and iconic elevator exit and kicks off with a strongly written, strongly filmed 4-way argument about who everyone is, how they're connected and how little they naturally want to get along. All while sitting around, eating Chinese under the combined neon lighting of red, blue, green, and yellow. The characterizations feel true but not forced, the pace is tense and the dialogue is sharp. It's clear this scene was a mission statement for the show, capturing the dialogue equivalent of the interwoven combat scene from last episode. Unfortunately, they can't sustain it. Exposition Episode. This is the one where they explain everything that's going on so that we know where it's going. It's an ACT II kind of thing. Structurally necessary as it may be, some people do it better than others. This is a perfect example of the wavering inconsistency of this show. While the early scenes start off very strong bringing Stick into the mix and tying together both Daredevil and Iron Fist's mythology, they start to unravel in quality the further into it they get. Jessica Jones wisely withdraws from the worst of it, and finds herself saved from the slowly devolving dialogue. Iron Fist gets all high and mighty about his mission, while Daredevil frets about his family and loved ones. Luke Cage just wants to help people, or something. It's not their best work. It's clear that whatever writing team is behind this series has some stronger and weaker members on board and could've uses another month to refine their storytelling. Popular side characters (outside Stick and Elektra) sit this one out completely and I'm not sure if its better for it. Some of those characters like Misty Knight and Colleen Wing are often better acted and more compelling than our "core" cast. I don't see why they couldn't have also been Defenders, too, especially considering non-powered people easily make the Avengers roster all the time, and their problems are way bigger in scale. Conclusion: A strong start gets sidelined by the end. As the show proves the potential of putting these four heroes together with strong writing and character conflicts, it can't help but undermine those same achievements minutes later with hackneyed shortcuts and melodramatic bickering. Episode 5 + 6 Review.
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