This probably isn’t needed by now, but since…well, you know…people on the internet, I felt like I should share that this review includes all sorts of spoilers for episode seven of The Defenders.

The one where it starts going off the rails

If you listened to this past week’s podcast where Caleb, Rhiannon, and I reviewed The Defenders, you’ll know that I wasn’t a big fan of the show’s closing moments.  Why you might ask?  Leading up to the premiere of this mega Netflix team-up, many of us — myself included — had hoped the show would tighten up their storytelling.  Even more so when we found out The Defenders would have just eight episodes.

Needless to say, the hopes for the tight storytelling began to slightly unravel the moment Elektra skewered Alexandra —the most wasted character in the show — and that was fairly evident moving into this episode.

This episode starts out with a flashback as Stick is standing out by the docks, looking toward the city.  You know, a pretty typical setting for a top secret meeting.  Before too long, see Elektra pull up in a swanky-ass car and inform her mentor that she was unable to persuade Matt Murdock to kill, even if he were to join the ranks of The Chaste — the very organization that Elektra rendered extinct just a few short episodes ago.

Flash forward to the present and we see Elektra speaking to the remaining Fingers of the Hand and it’s here we find out her reasoning for killing both Alexandra and Stick, leaders of the warring clans.  After some unsolicited advice from Bakuto — that one guy that nobody wanted in the show — Elektra essentially says she could care less about the Hand.  Rather, she’s in this all for the mysterious Substance they need to live forever and once she’s able to acquire it, she’ll finally become the master of her own destiny.

We cut to a scene in the present where Stick is lying dead on the ground, a sword sticking through his chest.  We then see the three Defenders that weren’t kidnapped — Matt, Jessica, and Luke — still rendered completely unconscious as the reflection of cop car lights shine off the walls of the room they’re in.  Oh snap, busted.

Taken to a police precinct, each of the non-missing Defenders begins questioning. It isn’t until Luke breaks and tells Misty that they’re up against a group called the Hand. While Misty and her captain are the trying to figure out what the hell to do exactly, we get an opportunity to see some of the show’s supporting characters interact. Claire and Colleen share a moment where the latter is quite upset with Danny having gone missing.  Claire is quick to remind Colleen that she’s dating the Iron Fist, which Colleen is quick to quip, “And he will tell that to anyone that will listen.”

Since the detectives took the clothes Matt had been wearing at the safehouse – or whatever you want to call I think – where the group was weeping Sowande, Foggy pulled him aside.  What happens was a bit of a surprise; even though he’s had major objections to Matt’s double life, Foggy still went back to Matt’s place to get the Daredevil costume so the latter could fight the Hand alongside Luke and Jessica.

As Colleen goes to sneak to the precinct’s evidence room and rifle through their contraband, the walls begin to shake as the police find out Luke broke through a wall so that he could escape with Jessica and Matt. As Charles here on the site would say, the “Saving Private Danny” mission is now a go.

We cut to a scene in which Elektra and Danny – who happens to be trapped in some sort of Hannibal-esque rig – are in the process of riding an elevator down to the bottom of the pit underneath the Midland Circle Financial building.  Once they reach the bottom, Elektra shows Danny the wall they need him to break and since the latter isn’t necessarily a consenting party, it’s only natural for a fight to break out.

Eventually Matt, Jessica, and Luke make their way to Midland Circle, after taking a subway ride no less.  There, they’re not greeted by the legions of ninjas at the disposal of the Hand.  Rather, they’re greeted by the three remaining Fingers themselves: Madame Gao, Bakuto, and  Murakami.  A 3v3 fight breaks out where we see Gao continue to use her Jedi (or Sith?) force powers to wreak havoc on our heroes.  Eventually Colleen makes her way to help the good guys and the Fingers are forced to escape.

The fight between Elektra and Danny continues to go on in the pit as the former attempts to persuade the latter to break the wall.  In typical Danny fashion, it seems as if accidentally breaks the wall as Elektra purposefully backs herself into the corner where the said wall is.

Back on the surface, Misty and Claire show up and Misty decides to help the group by helping stall the impending police force.  As she works her magic, the other side make their way inside to think of a plan. As Matt states that he thinks Danny is at the bottom of the pit, Colleen unveils the loot she brought along:  the C4 Jessica found earlier in the season.  After some hesitation, the group agrees on following the architects plan of demoshoong the building by blowing it up and fill the pit with the debris.

Back at the bottom of the pit, Danny wakes up from a slumber and as the camera pans out, it’s revealed that the fossils of a dragon were behind the wall.

Final Verdict:

3 Sick Danny Burns out of 5.  There was a lot going on this episode, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  The things that happened seemed to happen solely for the convenience of the plot.  Colleen stumbled upon the same plans and C4 Jessica had previously found and even though he hates Matt as Daredevil, Foggy still brought the hornhead suit to the precinct.  Why?  Because the plot required it.

One-Shots:

• On the way to Midland Circle after breaking out of police HQ, we were treated to a scene where our street-level ra are forced to take a subway to the fight. Oh yeah, and Jessica steals a beer from a homeless guy. It’s been a long week.
• I’m still not sure why the three Fingers were the one side approach the Defenders at Midland Circle. I’m seeing some people saying that their legions of ninjas and gunmen were too hurt to fight, but that’s notsomething I’m buying.  They’re an ancient organization rooted in resurrecting the dead, they have to have hired hands somewhere.
• How cheesy is this Bakuto cat anyway?  One of the Defenders says they’re not leaving without Danny and Bakuto instantly fires back, “Then I guess you’re not leaving.” C’mon man!  His dialogue always paints him as some cheap B-the villain.
• We even Gao use her – for lack of a better term – force powers quite a bit in his fight. Except we still don’t know how she got them, nor do we know why she has powers and the other FIngers are seemingly just good at resurrecting themselves.
• After Bakuto and Murakami started that fire so that the fingers could escape, how cool was it when Luke stopped it with his bare hand by crushing the pipe?
• A good amount of action in this episode, that’s for sure. However, the fight scenes seemed to drag on at points.