'The Defenders' Recap: 'Mean Right Hook'

8/21/2017

Written by Scott Edwards

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

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.

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.

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.

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