After freeing himself from his restraints and taking Danny hostage, Sowande is no longer tight lipped when it comes to the plan of the Hand and Iron Fist. Stating that Danny is the key to their survival, Sowande is not able to make it to the door with his prize as Stick takes his head clean off. As the group stands in disbelief of what Stick just did, it is time to make a decision on what their next move is going to be, but they all agree that Danny needs to get as far away from the Hand as he can. Not agreeing with this decision, Danny tries to fight his way out past his new team, but three super humans against one, the odds are not in his favor. Knocking out the Iron Fist, the talk turns back to what is happening at the Midland Circle location and Matt lets the group know what he found there previously.
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Waking up in Matt’s bed, Elektra is starting to remember her past life with the man, even the secret that the Hand does not know yet about his identity. Digging through his locker, she finds the announcement of her funeral service and heads out to find her grave. Trying to find out who she really is, Elektra is approached by her giver of life once again. Alexandra is trying to explain to the Black Sky that Elektra’s body is just that, a vessel for carrying the prophecy forward. Finding out that there is a substance of life that she needs to survive as well, Elektra heads out to fulfill her current mission, to bring the Iron Fist back to the Hand so he can unlock it for them.

Getting a present from Stick, the head of Sowande, the Hand elders are trying to pass on their respects, but Alexandra is not having it. As everyone in the group dislikes each other and have even tried to kill each other in the past, she knows what needs to be done next and is ready to move forward. But Murakami and Bakuto are not on the same page as their leader, knowing that the fight will be more difficult than they could have imagined. Madame Gao on the other hand continues to back Alexandra in her pursuits, even though she does not have the same beliefs. Getting a private audience with her leader, Madame Gao sees the pain that the woman is suffering from and knows that Alexandra is only trying to move forward to save herself and not the betterment of the Hand. With a new plan being devised, Alexandra is about to get a rude awakening since she might become a possible target by her own family.  

Telling the group about the large hole he found under Midland Circle, Jessica comes up with the idea of trying to follow up with John Raymond’s family to see what they might know about the building.  Arriving at the Raymond house and getting invited in to speak to his daughter Lexi, Jessica starts her normal form of questioning. Hearing that her father changed his habits drastically, Matt sees that Jessica is not going to get what she is looking for directly. As Lexi continues to talk about her father, Matt grasps on to one thing that she said and heads over to sit at the piano to play a song for the group. Hearing a distortion in the keys, the two find that the blueprints for the building have been hidden inside. But that is not the only thing that Jessica sees as she finds plans for something that is thirty stories underground.  Knowing that they have hit the jackpot, the two head back to their hideout, only to find it is far from hidden.
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Staying behind to keep an eye on Danny, Luke knows that he is the only one that can handle the Iron Fist’s powerful punch. Seeing his new teammate waking up, Danny wants to know why he is being treated like a prisoner when the two should be out looking for the Hand. Luke tries to keep his buddy calm and the two get to chatting about their battles from the past and why they should never get on Jessica Jones’s bad side. Listening to everything that is going on, Stick is sure to remind Luke that he and Danny are not on the same side of the fight, at least not yet. Getting his own clarity of the situation, Stick has a new plan that was not discussed the group, but it is the only way he can guarantee that the Hand will not get the Iron Fist. Getting ready to take his final blow at Danny’s neck, another person emerges from the shadows who cannot allow the Iron Fist to be taken just yet.

This has to be my favorite episode of the season thus far, you get a little bit of everything and you are just exhausted when the credits roll. I must admit that I did not see that ending coming, but finally Elektra is taking back what is hers, her life. The distrust runs strong with both the Defenders and the Hand in this episode, as each group has their own internal struggles and no good way to resolve them.  There are some good fight scenes in this episode as well, which I have not brought up in many reviews yet, since very few have managed to amaze me. The working as a team thing is starting to come together for Matt and Jessica as they are able to find a vital clue about the Midland Circle building, Danny and Luke kind of had some good bonding time and Stick got to face off against his second favorite student when Elektra was able to track the hideout down. My mind is blown a little bit right now, so I hope that is not the biggest surprise that the series has to offer.  

When we last left Jesse Custer on Preacher, he was facing quite the powerful decision; continue the search for God without any help, likely drawing out his search for an extended period of time. Or…he could take Herr Starr’s offer and abandon his quest for the Almighty altogether and use his power to ascend to the top of well, everything and bring order to a world that so desperately needs it.
 
So, which path would Jesse take? That’s really the question that was on all of our minds when we settled in to watch last night’s episode, ‘Backdoors’ and thankfully, this story would waste no time in getting us to that decision and as it turns out…Jesse would make his choice not based upon some heroic moment. Oh no, instead Jesse would follow his gut and quite frankly his moral compass, in a tense episode that brought forth plenty of consequences for his actions thus far…
 
But before we get too deep into Jesse’s tale, we do need to take a few moments and talk about the fascinating events that transpired in Hell last night. Because at long last, the show followed up on a storyline that it set aside for a bit, in that we finally saw what Hitler’s worst memory is in life, and for this legendary monster…being reminded of the last day he was a good man is what has tortured him in the depths of Hell. If anything, showing us that speaks volumes to the fact that Hitler is still one evil man because if being good is his worst memory, he’s clearly stewing internally and that makes me incredibly nervous over the fact that he’s working hard to help Eugene walk out of Hell…

​However, despite the fascinating nature of that storyline, it’s time we get back to Jesse and the consequences he’s now facing for his actions. Because now that it’s known that Jesse didn’t kill the Saint, and that the monstrous Cowboy escaped his watery grave since the truck was empty when it was pulled from the swamp…his friends are beginning to challenge his intentions and his actions. We’ve simply never seen Tulip and Cassidy this angry with Jesse and well, Jesse isn’t exactly setting that particular wrong, right, since he’s sinking deeper and deeper into his quest rather than try and make peace with his best mate and his love.
 
But perhaps that is in fact the most powerful and fascinating part of Jesse’s story arc this year. That he is so obsessed with salvation on his terms that he will stop at nothing to achieve it, which brings us of course to the big decision of the night, would Jesse give in to Herr Starr’s temping offer? Because Starr went all out to close the deal, even going so far as to bring up Jesse’s prayers and sorted past to try and convince him to work with the Grail in order to find the salvation he so desperately seeks and thankfully, Jesse saw such an act as an absolute insult and he turned his back on Starr’s offer, opting instead to find God on his own, a decision that will endanger Jesse’s life.
 
After all, the Saint of Killers is back on Jesse’s trail thanks to the Grail and well, this is another episode that left me impressed with how much stuff was packed into it, and I love the fact that every single moment in this season is slowly coming together, including the whole wild occasion when the crew arrived in New Orleans and inadvertently met God by way the dude in the Dalmatian suit. If anything, this episode seems to add a sense of urgency to the season and it seems to hint that we are headed for a slam bang finale. One that may see the return of God to his throne and a grand showdown between Jesse and the Grail or, as this show is wont to do…something that will surprise us all regardless. Until next time.

With the Defenders in her sights, the reborn Elektra Natchios, also known as the Black Sky, is unleashing hell, but she is not alone as another member of the foundation of the Hand, Murakami, decides to attack from above. As Alexandra leaves the fight, the other groups of the Hand join in the fight with Madame Gao and Sowande’s forces coming in hot. Making sure that the teams of fighters know that they must take the Iron Fist Alive, Madame Gao lets one of her own go. Seeing that they are outnumbered, Stick gives the commands to his group on how they will be leaving alive, but once again, Matt heads off on his own mission.
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Singling Elektra out of the main battle, Matt is trying to see if there is any of his past love still in her body. Calling her name, Elektra once again hesitates in delivering the final blow to her ex, but does not know why. Crushing one of her own and fleeing the scene, Elektra’s loyalty to the Hand is questioned by Alexandra and while she claims to be fine, she is trying to find out who she really is. The Black Sky takes to the streets to find answers on her own and standing atop Matt’s loft, she finds it is the place that is really her home.

Retreating to the dojo, the group is one man down as they believe that Luke has been taken by the Hand, but quickly find out that he is able to hold his own, even against trash trucks. Bringing Sowande back as a present for the group, they start to question one of the eldest members of the Hand, but wind up getting nowhere. As the questions go unanswered about what the group’s obsession is with getting the Iron Fist to join the Hand, Sowande does not hesitate to tell everyone in the group what they can expect until he is freed from their clutches and it involves everyone that they love. As the members of their extended families are gathered reluctantly at the police station, they all want to know what they are going to be up against next.

Keeping any eye out for the Hand while Luke is getting Claire, Danny and Colleen spot a group of vans that are going to be up to no good. Following them, Danny is met with a little bit of resistance, while Colleen sees her old formerly dead sensei Bakuto is back. Playing with the woman’s head, Bakuto wants her back in the Hand again, but she would rather take her pound of flesh back for her life that has been taken away. While picking up Karen, Matt is forced to come clean that he does miss being the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and he will be donning the outfit once again. Getting to Trish first, Jessica and her friend are flanked by the Hand, including Murakami who is more than happy to report back to Alexandra about his findings on the street.
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As the founders of the Hand finally get to meet and the formerly dead Bakuto has returned, they are still a man down until Sowande is able to return to them. With a place to finally voice his objections to the Black Sky being used and Daredevil being in the equation, Murakami is afraid that it will rekindle Elektra’s emotions for her former lover. The other elders of the Hand agree and it seems like Alexandra is starting to lose control of her group. But there is still much more that needs to be done before her time is up and with a special guest coming from South America to help hunt down the Iron Fist, their complaints will have to wait for a better time. 

It feels like this episode was a little rushed to be honest, that’s not a bad thing, but there was just so much to cover in such a short amount of time. All of the original series friends have been put in one room, Karen, Foggy, Trish, Marcus, Claire, Colleen and with Misty trying to ask them questions about what is happening on the streets, I am sure that someone will actually tell her what they know. Bringing back Bakuto was a surprise for me at least, and playing with Colleen’s head may cause her more issues than she is used to, especially when it comes to her relationship with Danny. The secret that Danny and Stick have been holding onto about knowing who Elektra is has started to back fire on them, causing a little rift between them and the rest of the group. The questioning of Sowande was probably my favorite part of this episode, since he does not directly answer, even when his life is on the line. Too bad he will not be able to answer any more questions in the following episodes, as Stick finally got to do his thing. Only three more episodes to go, well, dang, this is going way too fast now.

After defeating the first wave of the Hand, Matt, Jessica, Luke and Danny find refuge in a Chinese restaurant to come up with a new plan. Trying to wrap his head around who these strangers are, Danny is happy to introduce himself and sit down with the group to see if they are willing to join forces. Matt is having a hard time with the idea, but after a talk with Jessica about who he really is, he removes the scarf from his face and decides to hear the group out. Knowing that it was not just coincidence that the group all arrived at the Middle Circle building at the same time, Danny believes that they were destined to join the fight against the Hand to save the city.
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Seeing that the Black Sky is having a hard time finding out what her body has been through, Alexandra continues to treat Elektra as her one and only child. Explaining that the body is only a vessel, she is able to keep her control over the newly reborn woman, which is good because she will be forced to fight again and soon. Finding her old friend Murakami after his recent hunting trip, Alexandra is calling together the elders of the Hand to take control of the Iron Fist and finish what they have started in New York. But time is not on her side as her body continues to fail her, so a full effort is underway to get Danny to see the light and command her army.

Hearing the door open in the back of the restaurant, Matt is surprised to see his old mentor Stick has found the group. Talking with the group of heroes, Stick believes that they will all join the fight and decides to give them a little background about what they are about to experience. Telling the group about the founding members of the Hand, Danny is learning much more about what his destiny really is and wants to know more, but Matt continues to caution everyone in the room against what Stick is staying. But the old, now one-handed Stick will not be deterred by his prodigy’s objections, and knows that if they are going to win this war for the survival of the city, all four of the heroes will have to fight together for the greater good.

Being on the fence about what is happening to her and the group, Jessica has had enough and leaves. Not believing the stories that are being told about magic and such, it is not her fight, she is only trying to finish her investigation. Returning to her office to start deleting things that do not matter from her last fact-finding stint, Jessica notices that there is a common thread in the asset transfer documents. Going back to the 1820’s, she notices that the signatures with different names are all signed by the same person. Trying to piece together what is really happening, Jessica visits Mrs. Raymond to put some things in perspective and seeing that she is being watched by the Hand as well, it may be time for her to join the fight.
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Everyone in the restaurant seems to be hesitant about Stick and Danny’s plan to unite under one banner. While Luke only wants to get his payback for the kids being killed in his neighborhood, he sees that there is plenty more that is about to happen to not only Harlem, but New York in general. Matt and Stick continue to hold something back from the group, as they have both encountered the newly risen Elektra and don’t know what to think about it. As the night continues to be quiet however, a new visitor has entered the restaurant with an offer that the group should not refuse. Talking to the Iron Fist, Alexandra is willing to give him everything that the Hand can offer, but Danny is not having it. Seeing that the conversation is not going anywhere, the Black Sky is called in to take care of the only people that can keep the Hand from achieving their goal.

Now that we are getting into the real story, the series is finally starting to take off. Like I said for the last episode, the characters are starting to show who we are used to from their respective series and that is making it much more enjoyable. It seems like Jessica is going to be the foundation for this group overall, which would be great as she is able to convince Matt to stay and at least listen to what the group wants to do. Leaving and coming back after seeing what the Hand is willing to do to the innocent, she has a vested interest in the upcoming fight. Danny keeps trying to understand who these other heroes are and what they are capable of doing, kind of like a kid in a candy store and is forced to make the decision of a lifetime that may save or destroy lives. Although being hesitant, Matt will join the fight against the Hand once again, but wants to understand what has happened to Elektra. Stick has a way of getting people to do the right, or wrong thing, hopefully by sticking with the group, he will have them do the right thing. Luke knows that the fight is bigger than himself and will do anything he possibly can to keep his friends and family safe. Elektra is still growing into the killing machine that she formally was, and during this cycle, she may be able to get some of her memories back of who she used to be. The Defenders is really cooking now and I don’t know if we will be able to catch our breath until the fighting comes to an end.

With a lawyer to come and help her out, Jessica Jones is not too happy about what Matt Murdock has to tell her, but she does not need to listen for too long as she is free to go. As her home/office has become an active crime scene, Jessica will need to steer clear of it for a while, so she decides to follow another lead, the mysterious Matt Murdock who might not be blind after all. Knowing that he is following her, she is able to fall back and see how this man seems to be able to do things that no blind man should.  Knowing that there is something wrong with the picture, Jessica turns her attention back to the Raymond case and gets permission to look deeper from the family. Putting on her best smile, the P.I. is able to find out the latest building that Raymond worked on that may have cost him his life.
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Getting back to Claire’s house with a messed-up jaw, Luke tells her about the fight and Cole being locked up by the police. Hearing that the man that messed up her man’s face had a glowing fist, Claire is easily able to connect the dots and gives her old friend Danny Rand a call. Getting the two men in a room together at the dojo with the hope that they can work on the same side, the stories that are told are unbelievable, but the two find out that they are fighting the same fight. Luke however does not like the way that Danny is trying to fight this mysterious Hand group and with all the money in the world, he could be fighting with more than his fists, he should be fighting with his money instead. Knowing that teaming up will not work between the two, Luke goes to visit Cole and his mother, but when doing the latter, he gets the news that no one wants to hear…that Cole was killed in prison.

Listening to what the bulletproof Luke Cage has to say, Danny starts to understand that there is much more that he will be able to do. With all of the power in the world, he decides to holster his fists and do a little research in his database. Telling one of his employees about the Hand who previously were involved with Rand Enterprises, Danny and Colleen name off all of the places that they have found that the Hand was associated with. As the database cross checks all of the locations, it comes up with three accounts that were closed on the same day by Middle Circle Financial. Being a powerful business man, Danny is ready to assert his status with this group since he knows who they really are.

The overall story of this episode is the rebirth of Elektra Natchios and her being brought back to life by the Hand to become the Black Sky. After falling to the Hand the last time they fought, Alexandra had the foresight to know that she is the weapon that will be needed to take down anyone that opposes her. Bringing her along slowly after being reborn, Alexandra is able to form a bond with Elektra who has not developed any memories of who she used to be, but her motor functions and the urge to kill has never left. Turning into the warrior that the Hand needs to survive, Elektra will be forced to face off with the best of the best.
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Arriving at the Middle Circle Financial building and demanding to speak with the senior executive team, Danny is not willing to back down from a fight. Armed with the threats of getting all kinds of charges brought up on them; from insider trading to human trafficking, he is ready for a fight, but so is the leader of the group, Alexandra. Ordering her team to attack, Danny sees that he is outnumbered and outgunned when his new friend Luke Cage enters the fight. These two are not alone as Jessica shows up in the lobby to get answers and is stopped by Matt who can hear the commotion in the penthouse. Joining the fight with the other two, Danny, Luke, Jessica and Matt are able to take care of the normal warriors, but a new one joins in and the reborn Elektra is only about one thing, killing.

It appears that something clicked with the writers in this episode as they finally found the voices from the character’s series that led up to this. I did not know what was holding me back from saying I’ve seen a good episode yet and that was it, the little quips that the characters had in the past were not in the show until now. That and there was an epic fight scene that left many people down on the ground and through walls as the superheroes of New York head out of the building. Now that the story is starting to take shape, the protagonists have met the antagonist and the war is about to begin. We also have Stick who should have more information about what is going on with Alexandra waiting in the wings to tell us what this fight is going to be all about. I will admit that I was not sold on this series until this episode, so I hope the rest of them keep this sort of pace, because it looks like final showdown, is going to be arriving soon.

Over the course of its two-season run, AMC’s Preacher has been a great many things. It’s been a rip-roaring comedy from time to time, or a wonderful foray into horror, and a cinematographer’s dream come true as well. But despite its ability to be a chameleon storytelling wise, one thing has remained at its core, the fact that it is a story about a man desperate to find meaning and direction in life by way of Jesse Custer’s plight.
 
Yet, what has made such a journey so incredibly fascinating over the past couple of years is the sheer fact that it has told Jesse’s tale without ever once dropping us into familiar territory. This isn’t the age-old story of redemption that we’ve seen time and time again, Jesse Custer has always been a renegade/anti-hero who is fully aware of his actions in life. It’s been all about that personal quest I made mention of a moment ago, which is why I found last night’s episode, ‘Dirty Little Secret’, to be such the jaw-dropping surprise.
 
Because this particular story not only managed to push the envelope in incredible fashion as this series is wont to do, but it finally put Jesse in a truly tough place, one that could change the course of the series and his world in ways we never expected by challenging his fundamental beliefs, and it accomplished all of this by once again dropping exciting new concepts into our lap, all while doing the unthinkable…and giving us a story that quite frankly was rooted in some core concepts of Christianity.

​After all, the best moments of this episode, were the ones that Jesse and Herr Starr shared together. Wherein Jesse learned how Jesus Christ fathered a son and how that son eventually fathered his own and how generations later…the Grail’s plan to keep a pure Messiah through a specific inbreeding process forced Starr to lose his faith in the Grail’s greater plan because the Savior is simply not fit to lead when trouble arrives and the genius of those twists and turns, is the sheer fact that Starr believes that Jesse, should step into that leadership role and bring order to the world with the power of Genesis.
 
I call such a plot line genius simply because…how often do you see a tale about good versus evil…where evil, actually admires the hero enough to the point where they want to work with them and eventually…for them? I honestly cannot think of one, and racked my brain trying to find an example of this. Either way, it was amazing to see everything Jesse’s ever believed in shatter before his eyes and to see him deal with the fact that he is going to be forced to choose between continuing his search for God on his own, or succumb to the temptation that the Grail is offering and enjoy unbridled power.
 
That’s where the story becomes supremely religious, since resisting the temptation of evil is a core theme of the Bible and Christianity for that matter, and it’s oddly refreshing to see it pop into the story now. If anything, this is hands down the best episode to date that Preacher has offered up since it challenged the audience and their beliefs in lighthearted fashion and challenged our character in new ways and a day after watching this one, I’m still smiling over how good this episode turned out to be and I cannot wait to see where the series is headed after this powerful and fascinating twist. Until next time. 

After the shaking in the city has come to an end, people are trying to get their lives back in order, but some things are not the way they were the previous day. Getting to work without her car, Trish is taking calls with concerned citizens about the earthquake and gets a very disturbing call. A woman identifying herself as a geologist tells Trish Talk that the epicenter was only three hundred feet deep and that is not a natural occurrence as the shallowest of quakes would have to be thousands of feet down. Having the call cut off before more facts can be revealed, Trish’s producer has been told to let the earthquake story die. But Trish’s inquisitive mind will not let a story die, so she does the next best thing and lets her friend Jessica know about what is going on.
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Calling the cops to alert them as to what she has found in John Raymond’s apartment, Jessica is forced to stick around until their investigation comes to an end. As the apartment is filled with enough explosives to level a couple of square blocks of the city, they may be looking at an act of domestic terrorism. Being granted the right to leave, Jessica takes a bit of evidence and does some more digging on who this Raymond character really is and finds that his company has been transferring money from one place to another for over a hundred years with no record of what the company actually does. With a new lead, Jessica is greeted by old friend Jeri Hogarth who tells her to back off whatever it is she thought she found. Not listening to her old boss, Jessica returns home to find the elusive John Raymond waiting with a big surprise for her.

After the shaking of Hell’s Kitchen has come to an end, Matt Murdock hears plenty of screams, but not any sirens. Hearing a robbery down the street where kids are about to get gunned down by the store owner, Matt jumps into action and discovers that the lies he has been telling himself about wanting to retire the Devil are just that, he was made to protect people. Getting a call from Foggy, Matt is happy to reconnect with his old friend and is called out for his late-night activities. Not being angry that his friend is back on the job, Foggy offers him a large pile of case files that could help fulfill his time a little bit better. While this will not stop the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen from jumping in when lives are at risk, it may limit his involvement for a short while.

Checking out her studio after the quake, Colleen is happy to report that it seems to be in good shape, which is good because she does not have earthquake insurance. Danny is taking time to refocus and come up with a plan to take out the Hand and this mysterious warrior that killed their only lead on where to go next. Colleen has been doing a little bit of research and has found out that the warrior’s sword is not a common one and there is a renowned blade smith in the city that might be able to help them track down who this person is. Arriving at the shop and seeing the carnage that was left in the back room, Danny once again believes it was the Hand behind the attack, but does not have much time to investigate as a cleaning crew has come to rid the shop of the evidence. Being able to stop one of the cleaners, Danny finds out that the young man has a bodyguard that is built like a mountain.

Needing to figure out what the kids are doing in Harlem to get themselves killed, Luke Cage finds his old friend and snitch Turk to get answers. Hearing about a new player on the streets called White Hat, Luke is ready to get some answers. Tracking down where the White Hat lies his head, Luke sees the brother of one of the most recent victims is working for the man and follows the van to the scene of a crime.  Seeing the boy getting detained by Danny, Luke jumps into action since he does not know who this curly haired stranger is, only that he is hurting the boy that he vowed to protect. After the fight, the familiar sound of sirens approach and Luke fades into the shadows, watching as his young friend is taken into custody. 
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Being happy with the results of the quake, Alexandra is trying to relax by enjoying some music. Being interrupted by Madame Gao, she is told that the blasts last night uncovered a massive wall with K’un Lun writing on it that cannot be taken down. Knowing a little bit about the culture, Alexandra knows that it is not a wall, but a door that when opened will give her the power that she requires. Needing to find someone to open it however will be the problem, but she seems to have something up her sleeve.

This story featured better pacing than the first episode and thank goodness. Getting the story started very quickly, the episode ends with Luke and Danny having met, along with Jessica meeting her new lawyer Matt Murdock thanks to the investigation revolving around what is happening at her apartment. There really was a ton going on in this episode. We also get to meet John Raymond who is too afraid to name who is pulling his strings and would rather end his own life than have them find out that he talked. I am guessing that the mysterious warrior we have been seeing is Elektra Natchios, but I am not sure yet, as she has not said a word, much less been acknowledged in the series yet. So, Jessica is in trouble with the law, there was a blasting event in Hell’s Kitchen last night, Matt fought, Danny found clues and Luke has entered the shadows trying to protect his friends. Now things are starting to get cooking in the city and I want to know what else the Hand has found under the city, as I remember a massive hole from the end of Daredevil.

The time has finally arrived where superheroes are ready to join forces and I have not been this excited to see another team take on the evils of the world in a long time. The Defenders has arrived on Netflix and our four Marvel characters are ready to come together to take down the Hand, since there does not seem to be a way to destroy them. New York City may never be the same again as Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock assemble, but will they be able to get along? I guess we will find out.
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Winning his latest case, Matt Murdock is approached by an old friend as Karen Page comes to congratulate him and get a statement for her next article. Going out to grab a bite with his former love, Matt has given up being the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and has excelled in his law practice. Seeing that they are both doing okay, it is obvious that they both wish things had gone another way and that the team never broke up. Saying that he is good with leaving the Devil behind, Matt is only lying to himself and needs to find out who he really is and is given advice from his old friend Father Lantom who knows what secrets his parishioner has been forced to hide from the rest of the world.

Even as the sun comes up, Jessica Jones is not done with drowning her sorrows in a bottle. Not taking a job since her final fight with Kilgrave, she is a mess and needs something to get her out of her rut. Getting greeted at her office by Mrs. Reynolds and her daughter who have a job for her, Jessica is quick to dismiss it as a cheating husband, but the two women do not want to accept her answer. Receiving a call in her office telling her not to take the job however piques her interest and she starts to do a little digging. Being able to track the telephone call to a part of town where people like to go to disappear, Jessica takes a little trip only to find something nasty in a box, but that is not the only thing that seems out of place.

Trying to find a man who may have insight as to the whereabouts of the Hand, Danny Rand and Colleen Wing are not fast enough to save him. Being told that the battle is back in New York, the two head back to their former home, but all is not well with Danny. Putting the blame on himself for the deaths of his brothers at the monastery, it is apparent that Danny must do something to clear his conscience. Not telling Colleen any of this, Danny is trying his hardest to keep his demons at bay but with a new assassin in his sights, they have bigger things to worry about.

Getting out of lockup with the help of Foggy Nelson, Luke Cage is ready to get back to Harlem. Getting off the bus and having his coffee with Claire, Luke admits that she was the force that kept him out of trouble with her letters, but she left plenty of things unsaid about the old neighborhood. Knowing that things have started to resort back to the way they were when Diamondback was running things, he knows that Mariah still has her hooks into what is going on. Getting a visit and talking a walk with Misty Knight and getting caught back up on what is happening, the deaths have risen over the past couple months, along with people getting out of the projects. Thinking that it is a courier program of some sort, Luke will do anything in his power to help, but instead of throwing fists, he needs to be the icon that the people have made him out to be, the Hero of Harlem. 

Going into the hospital to get her final diagnosis, Alexandra has gotten the news that she expected, that she is dying. With no way to combat her illness, she decides that she will leave her mark on New York before she is gone. Contacting Madame Gao, Alexandra tells the member of the Hand that their project must be moved up and there is no time to waste.  Even though Gao is not too happy about the change, she does not put up a fight and gets everything escalated as quickly as possible. Watching from her rooftop as the city starts to shake, Alexandra has put something into motion that is about to bring New York City to its knees.

One of the things that I feared about bringing all of the Defenders together has happened in this episode. They tried to make it watchable for anyone that has not viewed any of the previous series. While that is a good idea, because not everyone loves all of the characters, it resulted in a half-hearted attempt to recap each series and that just left me wondering why they even tried to do it. You need to go all the way when doing this, or not do it at all, but the series premiere of the Defenders was far from impressive until something actually happened in the last minute. I hope that the following episodes do not suffer from this form of storytelling, because being only an eight-episode season, it will leave a lot of people wondering what the heck went wrong.

Well my dear friends, we have come to the end when it comes to Broadchurch. Not only in regard to the current and powerful storyline, but when it comes to the series as a whole. That’s right, last night’s episode was indeed the series finale, which made the conclusion of the Winterman case, bittersweet  to say the least. Sure, there's joy to be found in that the person that committed this heinous crime was finally brought to justice, but in reaching that point…we also say farewell to a fictional town that has meant so much to us.
 
But before we say our goodbyes to Hardy and Miller, let’s revisit the closing of this case because after discovering that Clive Lucas’ DNA was all over the sock…everything came to light. We learned that Ed was innocent after all, and that his obsession with Trish as of late was related to the fact that the heard the crime in question being committed and he wanted nothing more than to protect her to make things right. We also learned that Jim and Ian were in the clear as well…because after plenty of pressing on Clive, it turns out that Leo Humphries was the mastermind behind this whole nightmare, and he forced Clive’s step-son Michael to commit this disgusting act.
 
Leo as it turns out, worked hard to become Michael’s absolute best friend, taking the isolated and lonely teenager under his wing to mold him into Leo 2.0. That included a series of events that made it clear that Leo believes women are property/objects to be used and eventually…his tutelage led to the assault of Trish Winterman, and that was merely the beginning when it comes to the horrible things he has done. Because taped to the back of his desk, was a phone in his name with videos of four other assaults on the device, one of which included Laura Benson, and while it was supremely satisfying to know that Leo was going to go away for a long time because of this, it was equally chilling to see how unrepentant he was in the matter since he seemed to not understand in the slightest the crimes he had committed

​Yet, with this being the series finale, it wouldn’t make sense for the story to simply solve the crime and fade to black. This is a series that has been poured over and analyzed for its intelligent storytelling and rightfully so for that matter. So, it needed to provide proper closure for its loyal audience and it did that by bringing us the best possible finale to the entire Latimer storyline that kicked off this powerful series…in realistic fashion. Because Mark and Beth both came to the realization that they were a couple in love but in different places in their lives and in order to ever be together again or find any semblance of happiness, Mark had to heal and the only way he felt he could accomplish that was to leave the town and put himself back together.
 
If anything, that decision and Mark’s departure truly gave me pause simply because, it brought the series around full circle. Sure, it’s been a powerful examination on violent crime and what it can do to people that are victims of it, but really…at its core, Broadchurch is a story about life, and loss and how we handle that loss. Some folks recover quickly, like Ellie Miller, who did everything in her power to turn her life around after Joe killed Danny and others simply cannot let go of the pain, as was evidenced with Mark’s journey this year and well…it’s wonderful for a television series in a genre where often times the bad guy is captured and the story moves on to show us that sometimes, the pain lingers, the memories remain and the void of a loved one being gone forever can haunt us.
 
However, despite that being quite the heavy message, the closing moments of the show, were also a fine reminder that despite the pain we experience…life does go on. There’s a tomorrow waiting for us regardless and what we do with it matters more and that’s why I’m supremely sad that this show has come to its end. Because any series that can remind us that how we live is just as important as how we remember those we’ve lost is a cut above the rest and I’m thankful that I was able to enjoy a tale this refreshing, filled with characters that jump off the screen. Either way, our time in Broadchurch has come to an end, and it was an experience, that I will never forget…   

When it comes to the rich tapestry of the Star Trek universe I've had a lot of trouble finding true gems when it comes to the later years of the franchise. Voyager and Enterprise were not without their fluff and the powerful stories we enjoyed in the previous three television series were simply not as common in the two aforementioned shows.
 
I still watched both of them of course, because hey, it's Star Trek. But while I was enjoying a Netflix binge the other day, I found an episode of Star Trek: Voyager that managed to challenge the mind and deliver some incredible conflict in the two-part episode; ‘Equinox’.  

In this episode, the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager answer the distress call of another Federation vessel in the Delta Quadrant, the U.S.S. Equinox, and its crew has not fared as well as Kathryn Janeway's. They've seen plenty of hell since they arrived in this part of the galaxy, and with good reason. The crew of the Equinox, unsure if they will ever see home have abandoned the principles of the Federation and have created their own new enemies in an all-out attempt to get back to Earth. 
 
I've said it before and I will say it again, I love Trek stories that explore characters that abandon the ideals of the Federation. Not only because it creates great drama, because it does, but due to the fact that it adds a sense of realism to the show and the best science fiction stories always challenge the norm. In this case, the story was even more unique for Trek because it became a story about survival. The crew of the Equinox immediately encountered trouble upon their arrival in the Delta Quadrant, and half of the crew was lost in their first encounter with a new species. Such actions rattled the ship's Captain, Randolph ‘Rudy’ Ransom, to the point where he simply tossed Federation ideals to the wind in order to keep his people alive.

It's a stunning idea, one that I cannot recall the Trek franchise ever addressing before this particular tale and it made for one of the most thought-provoking episodes of Voyager and Star Trek for that matter that I have ever seen. This poor crew was broken at its core, frightened and desperate to see tomorrow. It was a terrifying ‘what if’ for the crew of the Voyager and a sad story that I was eager to watch again. If you have Netflix, check this one out, it's a reminder that while Star Trek: Voyager was not the strongest show in the franchise, it had its moments of glory.