Ever since the Marvel Netflix shows sprung off the back of Daredevil, it became a logical conclusion that they would team up for a limited series, bringing together Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist to battle the forces of evil that threat New York. And, despite my many issues with Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, I was excited to see them return - the characters being interesting and likeable even if their shows were not (I hadn't bothered with Iron Fist, considering the majority of negative reviews, and my own exhaustion with the pacing of the other shows). Did this long awaited team-up do justice to the characters and bring them together for an event of epic proportions, or did it make the same mistakes that the individual shows kept falling for?
This time, the Hand has returned to New York, hatching a new plot that envelops each of the heroes as their normal lives and heroics become invaded by the presence of a centuries-long conspiracy, and a relentless assassin. As circumstance forces them together, will they defend their neighbourhoods from destruction, or will their conflicts and distrust of each other lead them to failure?
First of all, the pacing of this show was leagues ahead of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, with only eight episodes instead of thirteen, and characters and threads jumping from on to the other in a particularly satisfying way, making it far more digestible than its predecessors. The ensemble casts for each show return as well, but are involved just enough as to provide context and satisfaction for viewers, rather than overcrowding the already huge cast of the show.
As for what sticks in my mind, well there are a few standout fight scenes that really sell the show, and while plenty of others fall a little short in comparison, it is fits them in so that you can't go for too long without being entertained by the action, with the martial arts styles of Daredevil and Iron Fist being complemented by the heavy hitting nature of Jones and Cage in a way that lets their abilities flourish in a wider context, rather than just occasionally lifting something heavy or walking down a hallway while being shot.
Unfortunately, some issues still persist. For one, the use of even more police detective drama that I really couldn't care less about. Detectives, journalists and reporters are of course staples of the superhero genre, but their use in the Netflix shows had become tired long before this, and only continue to get more tedious each show. The plot is also nowhere near as compelling as I thought it would be going in. The selling point of the show is the heroes, and if you focus on that, it can be quite a bit of fun, but the villains lack the motivation or intimidation that the Hand had been building up for. Their use in Daredevil, while certainly not the best thing about season 2, presented them as a genuine challenge to the hero, as he couldn't immediately hear their heartbeats, and had to rely on his sense even more. They were deadly, quick and silent. Now they are little more than thugs, lacking for the most part even the ninja costumes and weaponry. Their plan was pants, came out of nowhere fairly quickly, and made the whole show feel ridiculous in the last few episodes, underselling the villains that had been seeded in since the very beginning.
If you follow the rest of the Netflix shows, it is worth watching, for the team-up, context going forward and fight scenes packed into a much more manageable eight episodes, but it never really reaches Daredevil quality, and left a lot of lost potential.
SPOILER SECTION
Ok, so the idea of the Hand being immortal, as alluded to in season 2 of Daredevil, is because of "the substance", a source of which is below the city. After a lot of longwinded events, including kidnapping Iron Fist and tricking him into using his power to unlock an gate, it turns out the substance is dragon bones. Seriously? And not just that, but the bones are on the foundation of the city, meaning removing them would make the city unstable and collapse. So, if you apply this to Daredevil, the Hand kidnapped and drained people of blood, mixed that blood with dragon bone dust, fed it into the dead and brought them back. And this happened to Elektra, wiping her memory and having her become the "Black Sky". The problem is that you anticipated the explanation in Daredevil, only to be let down by this absurd payoff here, spoiling the past stories.
Elektra is ruined here. She is turned into a henchman for most of the show, only to kill off Sigourney Weaver's character and take over the Hand, albeit with no reasonable motive, since she wants to die with Murdock when the structure of the building is exploded above them. All in all, the whole story becomes messy, convoluted and unsatisfying, doing a disservice to the finale of season 2 of Daredevil, a much better show.
The supposed death of Daredevil is another strange choice - like ten minutes of believing him dead, only for him to be revealed to be alive to set up his third season, leaving the show to end on a shallow emotional note.
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