The Defenders, It Definitely was a Show.

You know modern Disney Plus shows are often blamed for being one large movie that is broken down into multiple episodes to make a show, and I don't think that's fair.

Because they didn't start this shit, no this shit was Started by the Defenders, Because goddamn this show feels like one big movie cut up into pieces.

But that isn't the worst of it, the worst of it is that this show takes up on plot threads from Iron Fist, now I ended up liking that show by the end of it in spite of it's short comings, but the shortcomings existed, namely it didn't take that much time to actually build up things properly and messed up the order of revealing things etc. etc.

Yeah all of that exists here.

This show began as all four of the Defenders following different threads that all lead to a single conclusion, the Hand is going to do something big.

Luke tracks the last remaining brother of Candace, as he goes deeper into criminal shit and working for the hand under someone named Sowande.

Jessica tracks an Architect via a client who has been caught up in the Hands business because he built Midland circle and he knows their plans and weaknesses by extension.

Matt, who is working as a pro bono lawyer gets pulled in via Foggy who gets clued in by Hogarth and hence defends Jessica Jones.

And Danny was following the Hand anyways.

Also his Iron Fist can actually hurt Luke Cage.

Now all of this is cool and all but it becomes very by the numbers, yeah these two gotta fight because of course, one of them must walk away before being pulled back in, and they all gotta team up.

Now the Hand could have been a really menacing villain, they were not because their goals while nefarious, are nefarious in the long term, they want more of the "substance" so they can stay immortal and keep ruling the world from the Shadows, but most of them, really, just want to live long enough to return home to K'un-Lun.

I mean they are bad, but it is not really clear why, it seems all of the bad stuff they are doing is really a means to an end, so yes they need to go, but the urgency is neve felt, and it is because of that that the writers had to invent this foundation of New York crumbling shit after the substance is removed from the underground.

It feels very tacked on...

Cause you see without the urgency, there is no imminent threat and so no need for the team up, which has to happen right?

Meet Alexandra, she is dying, she is as ancient as the Hand itself, she has been alive since it's conception and she along with Bakuto, Gao, Murakami and Sowande form the Five Fingers of the Hand.

She is also their defacto leader, and chooses to use the last of their resources to bring Elektra back to life as the Black Sky.

Why does she do this even though she is dying and will therefore undoubtedly need what is repeatedly told to us is the last of the Substance?

Well otherwise how will we have all the Matt and Elektra unearned Drama silly?

Five Series in and I still do not know what a fucking black sky is.

I guess it is similar to the Iron fist, a weapon who can master all fighting styles and instruments of death....

Really why is that important if all you want is the Iron Fist secured and using his Chi to open the gate to some skeletons? Like... really why? couldn't have used the substance on yourself played the long game, not give all these idiots a reason to team up etc etc...

Nah, we need Black Sky, I guess fanatical ancient religious organizations really do be needing their false Idols.

Now here is the thing about the hand right, except for Gao and Bakuto, they have next to no development, I mean yeah Alexandra is the leader and she is ancient and all that, she is fierce and what not, but really who is she? Why does she want the black sky?

But you know with her, at least you know she wants more of the substance so she gets to live.

With Murakami, he just exists and speaks Japanese.

Sowande has the crime of being so irrelevant that like Murakami, I thought he was initially a much lower rung of the Hand than the five fingers, but no apparently he has been captured before and he put the ones who captured him under siege and made them starve to death.

How do we get to know this?

He tells us, tell don't show that's what I always say.

You know the problem with the Hand? For an organization that is ancient and has had so much build up, they don't really live up to the threat.

Somehow even the mysterious and terrifying Gao has been reduced to nothing more than Old lady amongst five other idiots.

I do believe Gao should have been her own thing.

Something far more deadly, far more ancient, I mean she was working with the Hand when she was working with Nobu, and it seemed he respected her.... Sure because he was an underling and she was a finger...

But am I the only one who would have taken Nobu over Sowande or Murakami?

But no Gao.... she is the Hand.

The mystery that made the organization what it was is gone and now their defacto leader is beheaded in front of the other defacto leaders.

And I almost forgot to mention, Iron Fist revealed that removing the head off of someone brought back by the hand leads to them not being able to come back.

So What happens by the end?

The Defenders team up, they learn that the fist is a key that opens the hand up to getting more of the substance, Stick Kills Sowande and then tries to kill the Fist after knocking out Luke Cage.

Oh also the hand broke off from K'un-Lun.

And then Elektra takes over the Hand, tricks the fist into opening the lock, they begin the substance extraction, only that will bring down all of New York.

So Daredevil and the others bring down a building on them, and Elektra is happy that Matthew is beside her.

So That's why Daredevil season 3 began with him having a building tossed on top of him, I get it now...