As the cold front finally swept Durban this weekend, I was stuck for the most part at home. I was searching Netflix for something to watch. And there it was; The Defenders or as I like to call the Marvel’s TV Avengers. So of course I made some popcorn, brewed some tea and settled down to watch it.
The series is neatly packaged in an 8 episode box which means no out of place fillers. As the series starts we find the 4 members in the aftermath of their solo series. I won’t get into the specifics there in odd chance you may have still not watched the solo runs (as if). I will however say that you don’t need to watch them to appreciate this series. The series uses the characters to shed light on each other’s past and that gives us as much hindsight as one needs to follow the show.
However he series does suffer a tad bit from the merge as each character had a different tone for their solo outings. It isn’t glaringly noticeable but fans of Daredevil will notice a lighter tone…marginally. Other than that the characters do mesh well and have a decent rapport. The slowly growing friendship between Luke and Danny is evident. Fans of the comic will be happy to see this evolve into their close friendship, especially because of their vastly different backgrounds. Matt is back too and still steals the limelight; he is the A-lister after all.
The show brings back the Hand, which was expected after the finale of Daredevil. This time we get a better look of them as we delve into their underbelly. This is where series tends to shine best, unlike movies they aren’t anchored by run times and have the luxury of being able to fully flesh out their characters. The Hand is fully explored and the motivations slowly addressed.The series moves at a steady rate, with enough action and drama to keep one engaged. I watched in on an 8 hour bender but strongly advise against that. Splitting it 2 ways is the best. This is no Stranger Thing and does not grip as well. But it is a strong entry and is genuinely entertaining. There are dull moments in the show but thankfully they are few and far apart. The show still isn’t as polished as it could have been, but its fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes almost guarantees a second season, here they can remedy the shortcomings suffered in its primary outing.
To wrap things up I will say Marvel may have stumbled a bit recently especially with Iron Fist, but this brings them back to their usual standards. The best part is there was no shoehorning any movie stuff or setting up the next series, which lead to a more concise story.
