The Defenders

Our Review

The street-level Avengers team-up that proved less is more — and this was less. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist unite against the Hand’s plan involving a dragon skeleton under Manhattan. The good: Charlie Cox and Krysten Ritter’s reluctant chemistry (Matt and Jessica sniping at each other is the show’s best asset), Sigourney Weaver’s Alexandria — an immortal executive with a grandmother’s smile and a corpse’s agenda — and the Midland Circle building as corporate evil you can punch.

The bad: Iron Fist drags the average down hard, the Hand’s mythology is a soggy mess, and the show spends four episodes getting the team together for a finale that’s over in a blink. Eight episodes was the right length for a team-up with the weirdness sanded off.

Verdict: Watch it for Matt and Jessica. For the full street-level experience, Daredevil seasons 1-3 is the real deal — this is the postscript.