Search results
Eric Calvin and Aaron react to and discuss season 1 episode 2 of Marvel's The Defenders Mean Right HookVote in our polls and see certain Blind Wave videos ea...
- 30 min
- 126.6K
- Blind Wave
- Another false start but with definite signs of improvement.
- Marvel's The Defenders Team-Ups and Showdowns We're Excited For
- The MCU: Where Are All the Major Players Right Now?
- Verdict
By Daniel Krupa
Updated: Aug 27, 2017 3:10 pm
Posted: Aug 18, 2017 7:05 am
Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode. Do not read unless you've seen it or don't mind.
Matt Murdock representing Jessica Jones, as she’s being interrogated by Misty Knight. Iron Fist going one-on-one with Luke Cage and almost breaking his jaw with a glowing punch.
Here we go… well, not quite.
For instance, when the action suddenly switches to Iron Fist, who despite returning to New York City to fight the Hand isn’t really that involved in the episode. So instead of seeking out The Hand, he’s on his back, recharging his chi, and listening to his iPod. It's not Iron Fist's fault, but once again he's made to look ineffectual. The show simply doesn't have a need for him right now, but feels duty-bound to check-in on him and Coleen.
Similarly Luke’s not yet encountered the Hand, so we see him milling around Harlem, loosely filling the role vacated by Pop’s death, but also picking up bits of masonry and moving them a short distance. (I’m not really sure what he’s doing in that scene. If he wanted to be helpful, he probably should've put it in a skip.) And Daredevil is retired and frustrated. It feels like these three characters are in a bit of a holding pattern, with Jessica doing the real legwork that will eventually unite them. I’m not against spending time with these characters individually, or the show focusing on more character moments – but what they’re doing just isn’t particularly interesting or something I haven’t seen them do countless times, and often in more interesting or compelling ways, in their respective shows.
Sigourney Weaver’s Alexandra grows more in this episode, yet her intentions and motivations remain frustratingly vague. Through snippets of dialogue – she appears to be personally acquainted with Beethoven and Brahms – there’s a suggestion she’s supernaturally old. In New York, The Hand has adopted a bourgeois exterior – we see Alexandra sat in opulent surroundings, listening to orchestras playing just for her. But it’s hard to perceive them as a really potent enemy at this point. We don’t seem they do anything particularly evil. Yes, they created an ‘earthquake’ at the end of the first episode, but the show doesn’t really focus on the devastation or the impact on civilians – how many died, how many were injured.
Two episodes in, and I'm told The Hand are a worthy adversary, motivated by a fanatical ideology, but I have no idea exactly what that entails. Alexandra speaks in the presence of other members of her organisation, yet she remains unnecessarily coy and cryptic throughout. I know they want to destroy New York, but right now it feels so intangible, refined, and bloodless that it doesn’t register as a threat in the same way as Kingpin or The Purple Man did.
But the episode definitely shows signs of improvement. Towards the end, as our lead characters begin to meet, the show definitely has more pace and purpose. While the introductory fight between Cage and Iron Fist isn’t the most impressively choreographed sequence, and seeing Danny try to punch and kick Cage with no effect might raise some unintenti...
Aug 18, 2017 · The forces of TV Talk and Heroes collide to bring you the review of "Mean Right Hook," episode 2 of Marvel's The Defenders, with Josh Macuga, David Griffin, ...
- 17 min
- 23.3K
- Collider Ladies Night
Aug 18, 2017 · recap: 'Mean Right Hook'. The Hero of Harlem comes face to face with the Iron Fist of K'un-Lun. The Defenders’ series premiere ended with a bang, and here, we pick up right where it left off ...
Aug 17, 2017 · Marvel's The Defenders Mean Right Hook. Drama Aug 17, 2017 42 min iTunes. Available on Netflix, iTunes, Disney+ S1 E2: As a new conspiracy takes shape, the heroes ...
Aug 18, 2017 · After New York City was literally shaken at the end of The Defenders’ series premiere, the world of these heroes has been turned on its side.“Mean Right Hook” opens with a shot of the city ...
Aug 18, 2017 · Like the show’s first episode, this doesn’t quite feel like The Defenders yet. Mean Right Hook still feels too much like a prologue, positioning characters ever closer and – since they all ...
