[Review] Marvel's The Defenders Season 1: Cleaning Up Iron Fist's Mess

Over the past two years, Marvel and Netflix have released four series introducing Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones). This Friday, they'll unite in The Defenders, much like the Avengers, to face a common enemy. Thanks to Netflix, I had the privilege of watching the first four episodes, and I'm happy to report: this series is definitely better than Iron Fist. To ensure your viewing experience isn't spoiled, this review will contain absolutely no plot spoilers.

As I've mentioned in my reviews for Luke Cage and Iron Fist, a common flaw in Netflix and Marvel's collaborations is stretching a story that could be told in 8 or 10 episodes into 13, often causing the quality of the last five or six episodes to decline. This time, The Defenders needs to tell the story of four heroes, and it only has eight episodes, which genuinely seems to avoid the aforementioned problem. In fact, I believe the writers were very clever in their approach, setting up a captivating cliffhanger at the end of each episode, making viewers eager to watch the next. This setup perfectly complements Netflix's practice of releasing the entire season at once, enticing audiences to binge-watch all eight episodes. However, I still feel the pacing of this series is a bit dragged out. After the big cliffhanger at the end of each episode, the first few minutes of the next episode become very slow again, as if losing momentum to push the plot forward. Nevertheless, even with slow moments at the beginning of each episode, I believe you'll still feel quite satisfied by the end of each one!

Regarding the plot, viewers who've seen Daredevil, Iron Fist, and the trailer for this series can likely guess that The Hand, which has appeared multiple times before, will feature prominently. Naturally, Iron Fist/Danny Rand (Finn Jones), who has an unwavering vendetta against The Hand, becomes a central figure in the story. Among the four Marvel and Netflix series, Iron Fist's character development, plot, and dialogue were noticeably inferior to the other three, even bordering on being a stain on the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. In The Defenders, the screen time for the four heroes is generally balanced, but Danny Rand's storyline is clearly weaker than the other three. Even though this series has different writers than Iron Fist, his storyline in the first two episodes still lacks urgency and is difficult to invest in. It seems burdened by Iron Fist, forced to clean up the mess from previous events. While watching the fourth episode, I suddenly realized that Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage had already understood their personalities and roles in their solo series, but Iron Fist is still figuring things out in The Defenders, paling in comparison to the other three and slowing down the plot a bit.

As for the heroes' assembly, it truly brought me many surprises. Essentially, the first two episodes are dedicated to setting up their union, and when you finally see them gather and fight the enemy, I believe you'll feel the long wait was worth it. In that action sequence, each hero uses their unique combat style against the enemy, highlighting their individual roles within the team. Of course, much like in Iron Fist, Danny Rand's presence seems largely to create chaos for others to clean up. As I mentioned, The Defenders spends considerable time cleaning up Iron Fist's mess, and it's only when Danny Rand finally meets the other members that his storyline truly becomes interesting, thanks to the chemistry between the characters and their distinct personalities. Among the four heroes, Jessica Jones's character design and performance remain the most likable, and her storyline is also the most intriguing.

Before the series premiered, there was significant anticipation surrounding Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of the villain, Alexandra, and the Golden Globe winner's performance. From the very first episode, Alexandra's screen time is as crucial as that of the four heroes. Sigourney Weaver's performance imbues the character with a sense of mystery, elegance, and unpredictability, making her absolutely more captivating than other characters! In the first four episodes, she never overtly acts like a typical villain, nor does she shout orders, yet viewers can still feel her awe-inspiring presence, which is a testament to Sigourney Weaver's restrained performance. At the same time, the writers also attempt to humanize this villain, making us feel sympathy for her and trying to understand her actions, thus making her as compelling as Daredevil's Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), Jessica Jones's Kilgrave (David Tennant), and Luke Cage's Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali). However, while I haven't fully grasped her plan after four episodes, it currently sounds somewhat familiar, lacking much novelty.

Besides the action sequences, what I appreciate most is the production team's meticulous attention to set design, lighting, costumes, and color grading. From the very first scene of the first episode, the series establishes a specific color palette based on the characters present in each scene, complementing their personalities and styles: Daredevil's red, Jessica Jones's blue, Luke Cage's yellow, Iron Fist's green, and Alexandra's white. These color schemes aren't merely added in post-production; they are intentionally designed into the lighting and sets of each scene from the very beginning, demonstrating the production team's thoughtfulness during pre-production. The restaurant scene particularly impressed me: when the four heroes gather, the background lighting and set design still manage to convey each character's unique color scheme in every shot, even the fish tank behind Jessica Jones is blue, truly showing incredible detail. As for the cinematography, the first two episodes were directed by S. J. Clarkson, who also helmed the first two episodes of Jessica Jones. As a result, the editing style during location changes also reminded me of Jessica Jones's visual style, a style that recurs in later episodes. Moreover, S. J. Clarkson's camera angles are comparatively more innovative, possessing her unique personal style, while the framing in the subsequent two episodes by other directors is noticeably more traditional.

Based on the first four episodes I've seen, The Defenders definitely benefits from its cast, character lineup, and reduced episode count, making it more enjoyable than Daredevil Season 2 and Iron Fist. Sigourney Weaver's performance as the villain Alexandra is particularly brilliant and significantly elevates the series. However, the series ultimately remains focused on the main storyline of combating The Hand, with character development for the heroes and New York City still feeling somewhat lacking. This means the series' depth and distinctiveness still fall short of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (their first halves). Regardless, I believe audiences will still find this series incredibly entertaining!