Defenders Reaction Post
Aug. 20th, 2017 06:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igrockspock"Your ability to get through [life], even as things get harder, is worth a hundred times more than your ability to slap a smile on your face and pretend that everything is just fine."
Thank you, Matt Murdock. I really needed to hear that this week. In other news, I streamed the entire Defenders series yesterday and wrote a short fic about Foggy dealing with the aftermath (spoilers, naturally).
On the whole, I liked it. It's not flawless, but it didn't have as much dead space as some of the individual series, and they improved some areas that were lacking in Daredevil season two and Iron Fist.
I know this isn't a popular fannish opinion, but I love Matt Murdock and always will. He's such a perfect depiction of an adult who grew up in dysfunctional circumstances and doesn't quite fit in with healthy people. That moment when he lied about Elektra being in his apartment hurt my heart, because I get it. You get so used to relying on yourself that you don't trust other people with your burdens, even when all evidence says you can. And that moment before the fight when he tells everyone he's glad they met! So small, but so cute! I love his friendship with Jessica and I hope she shows up in Daredevil season 3 so they can quietly tolerate each other's dysfunction and maybe help each other through some things. I also hope that Karen and Foggy come to a better understanding of Matt's choices. I understand why they were so freaked out at the beginning, but at a certain point, you just have to accept your friend for who he is.
Elektra surprised me by being so magnetic. I didn't love her story line in season 2 of Daredevil, but I cheered when she stabbed Alexandra. She's such an excellent villain, and I hope she gets to be the Big Bad in a future season of Daredevil or Defenders. Watching her be evil and yet also so turned on by fighting Matt was entertaining as fuck.
I can't think of any moment of television I've enjoyed as much as I enjoyed watching Jessica throw a car into that Chinese restaurant. I loved that she didn't want to get involved with this, but she saved the day so many times and she got all the best one-liners. The moment when she stole the beer from the homeless man broke me. In that ten seconds when she stares at it, you know how bad her problem is. Then she turns it into a joke and moves on, but you don't get to forget that she's an addict teetering on the brink.
No power on this earth will ever make me like Danny Rand, but it helped that other characters seemed annoyed by him too. Luke Cage telling him off was one of my favorite moments, as was the one where Luke finally let him talk about the dragon. Someone on FFA pointed out that his behavior would work better if he were 18 or 21, but it seems really childish for someone depicted in his late twenties, and I agree. Seriously, Danny, you can't just walk into a boardroom of evil by yourself, tell them you know who they are, and threaten them. I breathed a sigh of relief when he wound up tied up and incapacitated.
Other random thing I liked: mentoring people is hard!
Luke: Stop committing crimes.
Teenage boy: No. Leave me alone.
Yup, that's about how it works in the real world! You can tell Luke thought he'd just go talk to this kid and everything would be fine.
My biggest complaint is that the supporting cast was not used effectively. I would have happily sacrificed a few ninja fights to see everyone interacting at the police station. Claire's role seemed especially lacking after she was such a central figure in Luke Cage and Iron Man. Her lack of chemistry with Luke was disappointing, because I liked them together so much in Luke's series. This time around, he had more chemistry with Jessica.
Also, ugh, why is the white lady in charge of the ancient martial arts organization? Madame Gao is so cool, and I would much preferred her as the big bad. Sigourney Weaver is a good actress, but I didn't find her character very compelling.
Okay, one last thing: "Go tell Maggie he's awake." DOES THAT MEAN WE GET TO MEET MATT'S MOM? Is she nursing him back to health? Please please please say yes.
Thank you, Matt Murdock. I really needed to hear that this week. In other news, I streamed the entire Defenders series yesterday and wrote a short fic about Foggy dealing with the aftermath (spoilers, naturally).
On the whole, I liked it. It's not flawless, but it didn't have as much dead space as some of the individual series, and they improved some areas that were lacking in Daredevil season two and Iron Fist.
I know this isn't a popular fannish opinion, but I love Matt Murdock and always will. He's such a perfect depiction of an adult who grew up in dysfunctional circumstances and doesn't quite fit in with healthy people. That moment when he lied about Elektra being in his apartment hurt my heart, because I get it. You get so used to relying on yourself that you don't trust other people with your burdens, even when all evidence says you can. And that moment before the fight when he tells everyone he's glad they met! So small, but so cute! I love his friendship with Jessica and I hope she shows up in Daredevil season 3 so they can quietly tolerate each other's dysfunction and maybe help each other through some things. I also hope that Karen and Foggy come to a better understanding of Matt's choices. I understand why they were so freaked out at the beginning, but at a certain point, you just have to accept your friend for who he is.
Elektra surprised me by being so magnetic. I didn't love her story line in season 2 of Daredevil, but I cheered when she stabbed Alexandra. She's such an excellent villain, and I hope she gets to be the Big Bad in a future season of Daredevil or Defenders. Watching her be evil and yet also so turned on by fighting Matt was entertaining as fuck.
I can't think of any moment of television I've enjoyed as much as I enjoyed watching Jessica throw a car into that Chinese restaurant. I loved that she didn't want to get involved with this, but she saved the day so many times and she got all the best one-liners. The moment when she stole the beer from the homeless man broke me. In that ten seconds when she stares at it, you know how bad her problem is. Then she turns it into a joke and moves on, but you don't get to forget that she's an addict teetering on the brink.
No power on this earth will ever make me like Danny Rand, but it helped that other characters seemed annoyed by him too. Luke Cage telling him off was one of my favorite moments, as was the one where Luke finally let him talk about the dragon. Someone on FFA pointed out that his behavior would work better if he were 18 or 21, but it seems really childish for someone depicted in his late twenties, and I agree. Seriously, Danny, you can't just walk into a boardroom of evil by yourself, tell them you know who they are, and threaten them. I breathed a sigh of relief when he wound up tied up and incapacitated.
Other random thing I liked: mentoring people is hard!
Luke: Stop committing crimes.
Teenage boy: No. Leave me alone.
Yup, that's about how it works in the real world! You can tell Luke thought he'd just go talk to this kid and everything would be fine.
My biggest complaint is that the supporting cast was not used effectively. I would have happily sacrificed a few ninja fights to see everyone interacting at the police station. Claire's role seemed especially lacking after she was such a central figure in Luke Cage and Iron Man. Her lack of chemistry with Luke was disappointing, because I liked them together so much in Luke's series. This time around, he had more chemistry with Jessica.
Also, ugh, why is the white lady in charge of the ancient martial arts organization? Madame Gao is so cool, and I would much preferred her as the big bad. Sigourney Weaver is a good actress, but I didn't find her character very compelling.
Okay, one last thing: "Go tell Maggie he's awake." DOES THAT MEAN WE GET TO MEET MATT'S MOM? Is she nursing him back to health? Please please please say yes.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-21 03:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-21 05:27 am (UTC)Elodie Yung was indeed mesmerizing. I was really surprised by how much I liked her performance. ....also Black Sky!Electra breaking into Matt's apartment, reading his diary? and sleeping in his bed was so totally fanfic, I loved it.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-21 01:48 pm (UTC)Yes, this!
I can't think of any moment of television I've enjoyed as much as I enjoyed watching Jessica throw a car into that Chinese restaurant.
That was a great moment, but I think my overall fave was her holding the elevator and Luke and Danny staring up at her in shock. She was so great.
Also, ugh, why is the white lady in charge of the ancient martial arts organization? Madame Gao is so cool, and I would much preferred her as the big bad. Sigourney Weaver is a good actress, but I didn't find her character very compelling.
Agreed.