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Verdict
As you already read, I just raved about eight wonderful episodes that had gorgeous visuals and a bleak tone. I did have some minor complaints though…
One of them is Murakami’s way of communicating. He’s a new character to the show that replaces Nobu Yoshioka’s role in the show as a major player and one of The Hand’s major fingers. The thing is he speaks no English. That’s not the issue. The problem here is everyone around him understands Japanese and responds in English. All while he understands perfect English and responds solely in Japanese. Either everybody speaks Japanese to him or he speaks English because this feat is impossible without an interpreter. You might argue that indeed everybody does speak both languages fluently and they choose to communicate this way, but this is disproved when Elektra begins to do it too. Speaking of the villains, and I mentioned this earlier, the antagonists could’ve been a little more menacing to up how threatening these fingers should’ve been.
The other minor gripe is a repetitive one and I apologize to the internet for sounding like a broken record. This is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and New York is a major “character” in the story. Now, I’m not saying Spider-Man or Vision should’ve popped in for a cameo, but the story shouldn’t have had such a large (and public) effect. Otherwise, this issue doesn’t come up. If the stakes were kept underground, the way it was by the end of the series, then I’d understand the lack of Avengers connections. There should be more effort in making this universe just a little bit more cohesive or separate more in a cautionary manner. (Also, as a personal preference, Colleen should’ve name-dropped Stark when talking to Misty at the hospital!)
These are minor complaints that do not detract from this overall marvelous (pun intended) show. I want to watch it again.
Thanks for watching along with me. Watch all eight episodes of Marvel’s Defenders now available on Netflix.
Images: Marvel Entertainment/Netflix
Final Thoughts
The show is an aesthetically pleasing painting of four super heroes dealing with smaller scale threats that carry heavy stakes. The use of color in lighting, sets, clothes, and filters was my favorite thing about this show. The overarching plot is beautifully handled when dealing with four very different characters and tones by making them meld seamlessly. This is another win for Marvel and Netflix.