The Defenders S01E08: The Defenders – Recap And Review

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Defenders.

Previously on The Defenders:

Matt, Jessica and Luke escapes from the NYPD headquarters after being questioned by Misty. They arrive at the Midnight Circle and fights with the remaining three leaders of The Hand. Colleen comes to their rescue and the leaders escape. Colleen bought some of the C4s that John Raymond planned to use in order to take the building down.  She wants to take the building down because of the danger that The Hand represents. Danny was taken to the door underneath and Elektra taunts him into opening it by using the fist. In the end, we see him waking up beneath the skeleton of a dragon.

Plot SummaryThe episode opens with Colleen’s decision to blow up Midland Circle and everyone else is on her side because of the inherent danger that The Hand represents. They will keep coming back, but Luke isn’t on board with this decision. They’ve all been affected by them. Take down the building or let The Hand take down New York, that’s the decision at play. Luke finally agrees when it’s assured to him that no innocent lives will be lost.

Danny finds out that on the other side of the door are creatures fossils from K’un-Lun. The last known deposit on Earth. These creatures roamed the Green Valley, and it’s these fossils that contain the substance The Hand is after to give them their eternal life and the power to come back to life. Gao determines the war over and they’ve won now that they’ve got beyond the door. New York will crumble and many will die.

The bomb that needs to be set off to take the building down doesn’t have a remote detonator and it’s a time bomb. They’ll have minutes to set it and run away. Colleen and Claire want to help so Danny isn’t let down. Making matters more urgent, Misty and the NYPD discover the evidence locker was broken into and there is a C4 missing. Karen and Trish are trying to uncover the truth as they remain hidden at the police station. They share stories about their superhero friends and learn about the bomb scare at Midland Circle.

Matt, Jessica and Luke goes toward the bottom of Midland Circle. Matt tells them he’s thankful they all were able to come together. Meanwhile, Colleen and Claire try to plant the C4 but Bakuto is down there and a fight ensues between the two long-time adversaries. Claire still had time to take a phone call from Misty as Colleen and Bakuto are fighting in the background. Misty comes to the rescue when Bakuto gets the upper-hand on Claire and has her arm cut off by him just before Colleen could behead her old master. Through this exchange, the bomb has been set off and they have less than 10 minutes to get everyone out of the building and the blast radius.

Gao desecrated Shuo-Lao, the dragon Danny defeated that gave him the power of the Iron Fist, and Danny thinks the Elders were right when they showed too much mercy by banishing The Hand. Gao taunts Danny with the thought that his family is coming to his rescue as Murakami holds him captive and Elektra thinks he could be useful.

Jessica, Matt and Luke were able to fight off The Hand and free Danny. Luke tells Danny to “light it up” meaning his fist and he knocks Gao and her army on their backs.The Defenders escape but Matt stays behind after whispering something to Danny. He’s not done with Elektra yet. Matt reminds her he loved her, that she was taken from him by The Hand and turned into a weapon. He reminds her that there was good inside her and that he knows because he felt it. Elektra doesn’t care about good or bad, and she’s never felt more alive than she does right now, in this version of life.

The elevator is disabled after Jessica, Luke and Danny throw over Murakami who tried to stop their escape. Meanwhile, Matt and Elektra have minutes before the bomb detonates. Matt wonders why Elektra hasn’t killed him yet if there’s no good, no true light inside her. She enjoys the game. All she wanted since she laid eyes on Matthew was to be with him. As the bomb goes off and Midland Circle crumbles around them, Matt and Elektra shares a kiss.

Danny thinks Matt had no intention of making it out alive. Danny revealed to them what Matt whispered as he left, “Protect my city” was his last message. Luke, Jessica and Danny are reunited with their loved ones at the police station. Foggy and Karen wait for Matt to come through the doors, when he doesn’t, their worst fears are confirmed. Trish tells Jessica they saved a lot of lives, but she’s only worried about the one they lost. Foggy tells Luke he’s in the clear and Claire tries to help clear Foggy’s conscience about the fate of Matt. There was no talking him out of this and his mind was made up. He loved the city and the people in it more than he loved himself.Misty tells Colleen not to be sorry about the loss of her right arm and it comes with the job. Danny owns the hospital she’s in so she’ll be in good hands. Danny can’t stop thinking about Matt who sacrificed himself to protect the city he loved. New York is starting to feel like home to Danny which makes Colleen so happy she kisses him. She’ll have something stable and consistent in her life.Jessica and Luke meet at the bar and say the Earth had to shake for them to find each other again. She apologizes for what she did to him and Luke says they have to move forward. He explains either of them could have been the one who died at the bottom of Midland Circle and he’s glad it wasn’t her. Luke wants them to stay in touch and Jessica says they should grab a coffee sometime. We see Malcolm painting the bullet holes in Jessica’s walls in her apartment and the door was also fixed by him. Alias Investigations is shown to be back in business. A shot of Danny on the rooftop looking out over the city was clearly meant to evoke Daredevil, and we’re meant to think it is until his fist starts glowing. Danny was clearly inspired by Matt and his sacrifice At the very end scene we see Matt recuperating in a mysterious hospital bed, attended by nuns. When Matt wakes up, the nun who is looking after him, tells someone to get Maggie and the credits roll.

There is also a post credits scene which reveals the teaser of Marvel Netflix’s next show The Punisher!Discussion

This was a good finale. The performances from the cast were great.

Colleen had great character development in this episode and it was nice to see her story arc with Bakuto coming to an end.

Charlie Cox gives a great performance throughout the entire episode. It was emotional to see him fighting with Elektra and reminding her that she is still good inside. Finn Jones shined well in this episode too. Danny becoming a completely changed man after watching Matt’s sacrifice is a great way to end his story arc which started on Iron Fist. It was again great to see the bond between Colleen and Misty growing. I definitely want them to team up just like the “Daughter of the Dragons” comics which is probably happening in the next season of Iron Fist as Simone Missick is confirmed to star.

During the end scene, when the nuns says to “bring Maggie” is a nice setup for Daredevil season 3. Maggie is a reference to Margaret Murdock, Matt Murdock’s mom who becomes a nun after she abandoned Jack Murdock and Matt who was very young. Jack Murdock makes a phone call in season 1 if you remember to his wife telling her about how Matthew is a good kid, his time was running out and he needed her to lookout for him. She is medical doctor who will nurse her son back to good health. I can clearly see them adapting Daredevil: Born Again storyline from the comics.

The setup for the future of our heroes was perfectly done and I cannot wait until 2018 for their next season!

If you liked this review, be sure to check out our recaps/reviews of other episodes and the full season.

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