The Defenders finally work on actually getting together in episode 3, “Worst Behavior.” Unlike last episode, I don’t see a direct tie in for the title, aside from the fact that many of them are not exactly doing everything they should be. But there were some great scenes that made a comic book geek’s heart…
After the set up and surprise earthquake in episode 1, the Defenders leap into their second episode, “Mean Right Hook.” After seeing as many trailers as I had, I was pretty sure I knew what the title referred to, and it looks like I was right. They’re continuing their slow build as the characters’ stories are being drawn together.
Netflix and Marvel Studios have been collaborating for a while now, giving us some great shows. We’ve seen two seasons of Daredevil, and one each of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. Now, just as the solo heroes came together to form the Avengers in the Marvel movies, the Netflix characters are uniting as the Defenders. Also along for the ride are much of the supporting cast from the individual shows, and the enigmatic Madame Gao, as well as Claire Temple, the only character to appear in all four series so far. I’m presuming that if you’re watching/interested in Defenders, you’ve seen the shows that came before it, so I’m not explaining every reference.
Now that Iron Fist has finally come out, Netflix is moving forward with the big team up. The Defenders will feature all four heroes: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, much of their supporting casts, and there are rumors about the Punisher popping up. They have finally given us a release date: August…
Netflix’s Luke Cage wraps up season one with “Now You Know My Steez.” This is another one that I had no idea at all what it meant, so I went a-researching. According to what I could find, “steez” is “style with ease.” It’s a good episode, but no one has what I’d call an…
Luke Cage reaches the penultimate episode with “Soliloquy of Chaos,” which is one of their more poetic titles. Things start building up towards a major showdown for the finale, and they move the pieces around really well. They are setting up for what should be a really impressive last episode. They continue their trend of…
Luke Cage episode 11, “Now You’re Mine,” picks up right where episode ten, “Take It Personal,” left off. The gunfight is raging at Harlem’s Paradise, and people are wisely running for their lives. Cage is crouched behind the bar, shielding Misty as best he can with his bulletproof body. Cage signs for Claire to stay where she is, out of harm’s (at least immediate) way, and Shades is out on the street looking surprised. I keep thinking of Shades as Wile E Coyote and his succession of bosses (Stokes, now Diamondback) as the ACME products: Shades has things under control until something blows up in his face. I almost feel bad for him.
Luke Cage 10, “Take It Personal.” is a bit shorter on action than some of the other episodes, but makes up for it with surprise reveals and plotting. You can see things building up for what will likely be the big final conflicts. For someone who showed up so late in the story, Stryker is becoming a very central player to the various plots.
Luke Cage’s ninth episode is the somewhat confusingly titled DWYCK. They never explain this during the actual show, so I had to go hunting around a bit before I found out that means, “Do What You Can, Kid.” I don’t know where that’s from, but I’d never heard it/seen it before this. EDIT: Apparently the initials are from a song that had a somewhat shady meaning, and, as Cage tends to do, he gave it a better meaning.
Luke Cage’s eighth episode is “Blowin’ Up The Spot,” and opens where the last one stopped, with Luke and Claire both very surprised that he got shot. He gets taken away in an ambulance, which Claire says is being driven by a friend of hers who is “discreet.” It doesn’t matter how discreet he is, as the shooter follows them and uses some kind of explosive to knock the ambulance over. The shooter stalks them, and apparently knows Cage from his early life, as he calls him, “Carl.”
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