The Defenders: The Defenders

 "It's just a city, They rise. They fall..."

Hmm. I mean, there's nothing wrong with this. It's finale stuff. It does the job. It wraps things up. It's exciting. But... is it me who's feeling perhaps a little underwhelmed?

So Luke, Jessicaand map go down into the bowels of our metaphorical Hell beneath New York. They blow the baddies up. Matt stays behind to try and persuade Elektra to turn good... but she's a baddie precisely because she wants to be with him forever in deatyh and, as she says, "This is what living feels like." It's all very dramatic, but also a bit cliched.

There's so much weight placed on the police captain wanting our heroes arrested, too... but then, at the end, all charges are dropped, no questions asked, part of the cover-up. Oh, there are a few good character moments, I suppose, although not that good. Misty losing her arm is a genuine shock. I have no idea about these nuns who have in some way rescued Matt. But, well, this is a bit of a let down after some good recent episodes.

I'm going to continue blogging all of the formerly Netflix Marvel stuff, fear not. But there's less of a mad rush now, as Daredevil: Born Again won't be rushing upon us on Disney Plusas soon as we thought. Besides, despite Jon Bernthal's impressive performances, I'm not a great fan of the Punisher as a character, and next up is thirteen episodes of him. So I'll be taking a short break and watching a certain animated series in this "slot".Fear not, though. It will be just a short break.

The Defenders: Fish in the Jailhouse

 "Karen, this is my life."

Structurally, this is your typical penultimate episode, maneouvvring everybofy into position for the finale. Matt, Luke and Jessica begin in the police station with tough questiins to anseerr, but by the end they're ar the lair of the Hand, fighting its three remaining fingers. Meanwhile, Elektra tries to persiuade Danny to side with her, abandoning his prior allegiances as she abandoned hers.

But the heart of this episode is about character. It's about trust,and integrity. The integrity of Luke, who puts his city and its millions of people above the risk to his hard-won liberty. The trust placed in him and his friends by Misty, risking her entire career. And the trust of Foggy in Matt, smuggling in his Daredevil suit. The Hand and Elektra are divided, broken. But our gandg are, in the end, united. Even when it comes to Colleen's explosive plan.

Some of these relationships are fascinating. The deep mutual respect between Misty and Luke, and Misty's equally respectful understanding with Claire, perhaps the wisest character. The slow journey undertaken by Karen and Foggy to understand that Matt is Daredevil, and denying that is pointless.

It's all nicely done, and the characterisation is good. The episode is, perhaps, necessarily formulaic, and seeing protagonists in unfair legal trouble is never fun, meaning this episode isn't quite as entertaining as the last couple. But we seem set fair for a finale worth waiting for. Let's hope it lives up to its promise.

The Defenders: Ashes, Ashes

"Any questions...?"

Wow. The Defenders is on fire as we approach the endgame. So many twists and turns.

Not that it's all shock moments- we get lots of fun plotting and skulduggery between the four surviving fingers of the Hand. We get some good little chatracter scenes- between Luke and Danny; between Luke and Stick; between Matt and Jessica. We see Danny versus the others- who are right- in a hero versus hero fight that actually makes sense. We see Matt and Jessica make a significant discovery about the Hand's intentions, although I'm not sure exactly why Matt starts to play that piano.

And then we get the final few minutes. We don't expect Stick to drug Luke so he can kill Danny. No hard feelings, of course: Danny would be useful to the Hand, so he has to die. Fortunately everyone is able to race back... but so is Elektra. It's an even bigger shock when she kills Stick- who, to be fair, has just assured his own doom by the karmic rules of television drama- and brings Danny to Alexandra.

So Alexandra triumphs yet again. She's won the prize, she's got the Iron Fist, the key to K'un Lun and the elixir of life she seeks to cure the disease that is killing her. And she's proved to her restless colleagues that she was right....

So Elektra kills her. And takes over, her agenda unclear. Wow. Just wow. This is brilliant in every way. Yet the shocks work, because the characterisation does.

The Defenders: Take Shelter

 "You are the dumbest Iron Fist yet!"

This is a fascinating episode. The heroes are not yet fully a team, not least because Matt is hiding the truth about Elektra from them... but it's great to see them interact. But the greater friction is, of course, within the five fingers of the Hand. This is a particularly strong episode. All the pieces are out and the mid-game phase is underway.

Plot-wise, things are pretty simple. The heroes' loved ones are threatened by the Hand, so Misty is persuaded to give them protection. Elektra is the catalyst to everything. Matt is forced to confess her backstory, and insists that some part of the resurrected "Black Sky" remains Elektra- something which the ending seems to prove. Meanwhile, the baddies turn against Alexandra for her going off-piste in resurrecting Elektra. Oh, and Stick beheads Sowande, as you do.

There is so much lore being hinted at. Does Gao blind her acolytes, and does this explain Stick's origins? There are hints that there may be more to K'un Lun than is known to Danny. The Hand has "always" owned New York. Alexandra had a daughter before her pilgrimage to K'un Lun.

Deeper than this, though, is the characterisation. Karen and Stick are pulling Matt in opposite directions. Claire is utterly devoted to Luke, and a wise friend to Colleen. This is very well written and acted. It's nuanced, fascinating television, balancing the action with intrigue and solid characterisation. I'm impressed. The Defenders has been good from the start, but this is more.

The Defenders: Royal Dragon

 "Who hears neon?"

This is my favourite episode of The Defenders thus far. I suspect, although I can't comment on what to come, thatI'm not alone in that. I mean, all four heroes all interacting over a meal for the entire (well, close) episode! Stick turning up after a decent interval both to act as a delightfiully interesting catalyst and to provide much-needed exposition about who the Hand are, all five fingers (including both Gao and Alexandra), the link to K'un Lun, the obsession with immortality... and, as Jessica discovers, Alexandra at least is very old indeed. 

And it's wonderful. Yes, there's a lot of reveals and a lot of cool moments, but the episode wisely takes its time, letting the interactions between the characters not be rushed. So Jessica gets to persuade a sceptical Matt at the start, only to leave when she realises what she's getting herself into... only to return once again when she realises her own case, and the widow and orphan clients she cares about, are themselves threatened by the Hand.

Yet both Luke and Matt are reluctant,,, and Matt is in denial about Elektra no longer being the woman he loved. Or is he right and Stick wrong? Even Alexandra finally gets to feel her terminal illness a little. But it will come to us all. And the rest of us have certainly not lives for two centuries, potentially much, much longer.

A superb episode ends perfectly, with Elektra and a crash. This series took a couple of episodes to build, but right now it's bloody good.

The Defenders: Worst Behaviour

 "The Black Sky! We have it!"

The opening is thrilling. After Alexandra once again hints she may be older than she looks- did she know Istanbul when it was Constantinople and if so under a sultan or a basilius?- we get an incredible sequence in which a vaguely amnesiac Elektra is resurrected, trained, and used by the Hand. Wow.

What follows is equally awesome, as our four heroes follow their different leads to follow Midland Circle and all meet up fighting the rather combat-proficient board of said company... but not without some great character moments along the way. The early meeting between Luke and Danny is priceless. Luke's scepticism about the dragoins and mystic monks is a nice little meta touch, reminding us they're not quite from the same genre. But Luke's reminding Danny of his privilege packs a puch. As does the poor old lady's reaction to the news that Cole, her last surviving son, is dead.

Then their's Stick, escaping from Alexandra like the cool customer he is, casually mentioning a "lifetime of serving "K'un Lun": he's a proper dark horse, he is. And Jessica's private eyeing, finding out about Midland Circle by pretending to be some eccentric tech sis(?), and of course wondering what that suspiciously fleet of foot blind lawyer is up to.

But now, at last, they've all met! I'm loving this, and I can't wait to see what will happen next. But I'll have to, because I'm struggling to keep up with Loki and Gen V...

The Defenders: Mean Right Hook

 "We just go and find another team to join? An army?"

Oh boy. This is quite the episode. Our heroes are all investigating what seems to be a big, multifaceted conspiracy involving the hands from different directions, in what seems to be a well-constructed plot. There's so much going on, but the story is easy to follow, not an easy combination. I'm enjoying this very much.

Sigourney Weaver's dying Alexandra continues to fascinate, and not only because she can order around Madame Gao like an underling. Is she hinting, after her private performance by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, that she may be considerably older than she looks? Is this why Jessica traces the shell companies back to 1820 and finds it doesn't stop there?

I like the handling of the characters. Jessica is her irrepressible, irreverent self. Luke may be all loved up with Claire, but nothing will stop him doing the right thing. Matt, complete with an intervention by Foggy to give him work to be "another type of hero", is struggling with not being Darevevil: heroism as addiction. Danny is a right mardyarse: I fail to see what Colleen sees in him. Oh, and Misty is awesome.

At the end, excitingly, our protagonists meet. There's a hero vs. hero fight between Luke and Danny, in which we get to see what happens when the unstoppable force that is the Iron Fist meets the immovable object which is Luke. And Jessica's attorney is... Matt.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

The Defenders: The H Word

 "People call me Foggy."

"And you let them?"

It's so good to see so many of these characters for the first time in ages. Danny and Collen I've only just seen, of course, and Darevevil was in She-Hulk, but I've missed the others.

As a first episode, of course, this just establishes where the characters are and develops them a bit. So Luke is freed from prison due to the sterling work of Foggy... and finally gets a room with Claire. About bloody time. Jessica is... drinking lots of bourbon, until she's drawn into a case by sheer stubbornness. Matt lis laying off the old vigilianteeism and realising he's in love with Karen, and the love triangle stuff with Elektra was unwise, despite his real feelings for her. Danny and Collen are back in New York in search of the Hand... the only possible Big Bad.

We meet an intriguing new character played by Sigourney Weaver who is told, in her very first scene, that she hasn't long to live; a fascinating writing choice. And we then find out that Madame Gao, no less, takes orders from her. That's quite a surprise.

For now it's slow, with the heroes not yet meeting. But that's fine; lots of characters to share screen time and be developed. So far I'm very much enjoying this.

Luke Cage: You Know My Steez

 "Most of these guys wear spandex. Who would have thought a black man in a hoodie would be a hero."

And so- later than expected, due to so much current television absolutely having to be blogged in such a short space of time (Stranger Things; Obi-Wan Kenobi; The Boys; and now Pistol)- we conclude the first season of Luke Cage in my everlasting quest to complete the formerly Netflix Marvel stuff before turning to the more recent series on Disney Plus.

This series has been superb. Much as there is some truth to the criticism of a mid-season lull after Stokes is killed, this is superb telly. The fight between Luke and Diamondback (using his suit from the comics!) is epic superhero set piece, chreographed like- and echoing flashbacks of- a boxing match. 

The goodies don't win; Mariah and Shades get off, while Luke is taken to prison in Georgia despite being cleared of his "crimes" in Harlem. And yet this is far from depressing viewing, and not only because Bob finds the folder which will presumably establish Luke's innocence; indeed, narratively, it has to. So we can bask in Luke's nobility- and nobility he has; this gent would fit in as a Knight of the Round Table- as he's taken back to Seaview, yet with a note of hope.

Because this episode makes clear that Luke has the adoration of all of Harlem including its admiring police deparment. And he gets a very meaningful snog from Claire, who finally lets slip her real feelings.

There's more; Misty struggles with the failure of the system todeliver justice as Candace is murdered and Mariah walks free. The world is not perfect, and that is, perhaps, while superheroes are necessary- a theme of all these Netfix Marvel shows. Yet there is hope. There are good people like Luke, Claire and Misty. The world is not beyond redemption.

I shall now catch up a bit with my current telly rotation, and Breakng Bad too, before Iron Fist joins The Green Hornet in my regular rotation.

Luke Cage: Soliloquy of Chaos

 "What are you, a pimp stormtrooper?"

I know, it's been a while: a confluence of Stranger Things, Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Boys meant new telly had to overshadow my planned content. But, now that only The Boys is still going, I can plough on.

Anyway, yes, as ever with penultimate episodes, this is an exercise in getting the pieces in place for the finale, so Misty can go after Mariah and Luke can give Diamondback a good kicking. And yes, it's a little eyebrow raising not only that Shades has a folder conveniently clearing Luke of the crimes Diamondback framed him for in the first place. Also, Luke doesn't even bother to check. And since when did Americans free black people from prison after their innocence was proven without dragging their feet? There's no justice in that country. And don't get me stsrted on their bail scams, their plea bargain corruption, their not letting people vote after they've served their time.

But this is a superb bit of telly despite the above plot hole. I'm no hip hop head, but the stuff with Method Man is profoundly moving, with the Harlem community coming behind Luke, a black man unjustly harassed by the police. I noticed the Trayvon Martin reference, which was highly appropriatre. Yet we also have Priscilla, by now established as hard but fair, as a counterpoint to a Misty who by now is entirely on Team Luke.

The tension, the action (Shades escaping his planned murder in the lift), the calm chess playing grace of Bobby, the characterisation of Mariah and Diamondback, the acting throughout, the fact that Luke has the cops on his side... my God, I'll miss Luke Cage. This is damn good telly.

Luke Cage: Now You're Mine

 "What you talkin' about, Willis?"

This is a taut, exciting episode crammed full of action and drama in equal measure. It's a hostage situation in Harlem's Paradise, with Luke in hiding protecting Misty, who now at last believes wholly in his innocence. But Stryker is willing to kill hostages, and happy to manipulate the police outside into blaming Luke for everything.

It's gripping drama, full of Luke being stoic, noble and heroic as ever in a world that doesn't deserve him. But Claire, too, is awesome, as is the wounded Missy, realising the truth and being big enough to apologise to Claire. We hear more of Stryker's backstory, and his unfair prison term while his mother died alone. It's intertesting that it should be held back this late.

There's a guest appearance from Blake Tower of Daredevil, making these Netflix shows (which they still are) feel more of a coherent unit. There are also signs that those who matter, if not those higher up, are beginning to believe in Luke's innocence. Perhaps. But he does the right thing regardless.

The ending, with Luke in custody, Misty badly injured and Diamondback free, leaves everything up in the air. This is brilliant telly. Two to go...

Luke Cage: Take It Personal

 "I am my brother's keeper. Whether I like it or not."

This is an episode of answers, as the season starts to inch towards its denouement. Yes, the new team of Maria and Diamondback are cleverly manipulating all of Harlem- including the cops, by framing Luke for a cop killing- against the ever-decent yet unfortunate Mr Cage, who also suffers the heartbreak at this point of realising that Reva, whom he loved, betrayed him from the start. At least Claire is a true friend... just a friend? She's certainly a far better medical professional than that Dr Mengele assisting her...

But answers there are. Luke and Claire discover the true scale of the experiments at Seagate, and learn more of his powers- he is ageless. Meanwhile, Misty learns the identity of her attacker, that Luke was Carl Lucas, and that he and Stryker were tried together for grand theft auto, I'm sure wew shall hear more of this.

There are bigger bombshells, though, in Georgia- Luke realises, through the medium of flashbach, that Stryker is his half-brother through his father's affair. Wow. 

Mistry is extraordinary here, going a long way to redeeming herself, even as the rest of the police disgrace themselves with reckless and racist witch hunts. She finds Stryker, he shoots... and all hell breaks loose. Once again, after last episode's cliffhanger, it's topped this time as Luke protects an injured Misty from an armed mob with his body...

This is a wonderful television series, with so much social subtext. There's so much here about the interplay between racism, business and police brutality. Superb.

Luke Cage: DWYCK

 "What's up, Doc?"

So much happens in this extra-long episode, in which Luke truly reaches rock bottom and literally everything is in flux. There's clearly a lot to happen as the season enters the final stretch. This is bloody good telly.

Luke is wounded, seemingly dying, and lucky to be looked after by the awesomely determined Claire as he ends up with the doctor from Seabrook prison who originally experimented on him, zooming towards a dramatic cliffhanger as the dramatic and tortuous cure turns out, perhaps, to be as deadly as Diamondback's bullets. It's extraordinary stuff.

Speaking of Diamondback, who is he? Is he Luke's brother, unacknowledged? He's certainly a chaismatic villain, with his Biblical quotes and his slow taking over of all that Cottonmouth once had... including Mariah, clever and manipulative as she is, whose talents are now to be used by him in an extraordinarily murderous gangland scene which changes Harlem's underworld for good.

Finally, and mostvimportantly, we get some extraordinary character stuff for Misty, with an extraordinary performance from Simone Missick as a psychiatrist teases out of her why she snapped at Claire; the fact that Diamondback performed that sadistic mock exacution, something that's going to take a lot of healing.

Action, drama, suspense... this is top telly.

Luke Cage: Blowin' Up the Spot

 "Who the Hell is Luke Cage?"

... And suddenly, the status quo is gone. Cottonmouth is shockingly dead, with the actual season big bad being either Mariah, Shades or both. Luke is on the run, crrudely but effectively framed for Cottonmouth's murder, but his innocence will help him: any scrutiny threatens to expose his status as a fugitive.

Oh, and he's been shot- and hurt, by a special bullet fired by Stryker, or Diamondback... and is shot once again at the end. He and Stryker clearly have a history; he once wronged Stryker and was framed as a result. Yet more is to be revealed. And, through it all, Luke never stops being decent, upstanding and honourable. No wonder Claire sticks with him through thick and thin, unlike Misty, who has her doubts and makes some very serious mistakes, losing Claire's respect in the process. That's a nice touch; a characyer we like proves to have flaws and nuance.

The status quo has utterly changed, and it's shocking to see. Luke is desperate. Stryker, Mariah and Shades all seem to have linked plans. I don't generally enjoy stories of framing and injustice, but this is fresh and exciting.

Luke Cage: Manifest

 "Sometimes, if you want justice, you have to get it yourself."

Wow. The middle episode, just after all seemed so neatly wrapped up last episode, and we have such a reversal of fortune here. Without Scarfe to testify, the evidence won't stick against Cottonmouth, so he's released. Misty's captain is replaced by a hardarse who suspects Misty, but especially Luke. Cottonmouth uses his knowledge of Luke's past to blackmail him. Suddenly, he has things to fear.

Yet he has two women with conflicting advice. Misty, despite her soft spot for him, wants him to top meddling and leave policing to the professionals. But then there's Claire, positively evangelical in urging him to use his power for good, and not to run from his demons. It's moving how he trusts Claire enough to tell her everything.

Mariah's political career is falling apart after last episode. Yet Shades, displeased with Cottonmouth on behalf of his boss, has plans for her. The flashbacks of the two of them are fascinating; we learn of Mariah's studying, the sexual abuse she suffered, and of the young Cottonmouth's piano playing proclivities, neglected in favour of the family business of crime... and we see his first murder, at his matriarch aunt's bidding, of his traitor uncle who was also sexually abusing Mariah.

And then the episode finishes with real force as Mariah, goaded by Cottonmouth about the sexual abuse, throws him through a window to his death... and there is Shades, to suggest blaming Luke, about whom the police are now suspicious. Ouch. And, if that isn't bad enough, we end up with someone (Diamondback?) shooting him with bullets that can actually hurt him.

Wow. It's an interesting structure to the season to seemingly end things and then do this. And it seems Cottonmouth is not the big bad after all. Who is Diamondback...?

This is compelling telly.

Luke Cage: Suckas Need Bodyguards

 "Bugger off!"

This is, I must hasten to point out, a splendidly clever and entertaining episode in its own right,  but it's surprising in how suddenly it seems to tie up the first half of the season and offer what looks like an ending of sorts, with Cottonmouth arrested on the strength of Scarfe's detailed notes of his work for Cottonmouth and the full scale of the police corruption, now exposed and destroyed. The subplots of Cottonmouth's increasing desperation reach their climax, their nemesis here.

Also in serious triuble, both from her dodgy cousin's arrest and from a rather gleefully well-executed media ambush. It seems the baddies are defeated. Except... early in the episode, Maria suggests to Cottonmouth various ways to kill or hurt Luke. I suspect this will have consequences.

Luke's powers, too, have become very visible, at least locally. This, too, will have consequences. And there is much musing over this. From Trish (remember her, from Jessica Jones?) supporting him on the radio to the more determined suppirt of Claire, Luke has his friends. 

Yet there's another emotional heart of this episode; Scarfe's confession and death. His last few scenes may be mostly action, but he redeems himself by destroying Cottonmouth. But poor Misty loses her mentor. She's a decent person while he's a despicable human being who is directly responsible for his son's death by keeping a gun in his house. 

We end with... an ending. or do we? I'm calling it: Cottonmouth will in some way use Luke's fugitive past against him. This is good telly.

Luke Cage: Just to Get a Rep

 "Don't you need a gun?"

"I am the gun!"

This is yet another superlative episode. On the surface it's about the deliciously bad yet nuanced Cottonmouth- a bit man, but much reduced after Luke's coup last episode- against Luke, who has almost no resources but is super-strong and invulnerable. And Luke, by now, is determined to fight the good fight, despite Misty's entreaties that vigilanteism will just cause more suffering in a debate we've seen many times here, and in both Daredevil and Jessica Jones. The climax has Luke following Cottonmouth's nasty, populist speech at Pop's memotial- denouncing "foreigners" and "arcane abilities"- with a veiled and uplifting denunciation of cottonmouth.

This round is to Luke, then. Especially as he successfully puts a stop to Cottonmouth trying to make Harlem's businesses suffer to get revenge on Luke. But it seems there's trouble ahead. Cottonmouth may be in financial trouble, but he's acquiring special bullets (an alien metal?) that may be able to hurt Luke. And Shades finally recognises Carl Lucas, and explains all to Cottonmouth: this could prove equally troublesome.

Yet it's not just about that; there are character moments aplenty. Cottonmouth has a genuine pride in refusing to sell his club because "No one black has ever done anything like this". He may be a bigot, like his cousin, but he is what he is for a reason. And there's lots of subtle social commentary on Harlem and what it means to be a black man in America.

There's also Claire, fresh from quitting at the hospital after the cover-up in the second season of Daredevil, arriving home and reminiscing on the strange things she's seen. It's clear she's going to do something.

I'm loving this. Excellent telly.

Luke Cage: Step in the Arena

 "I'm kind of strong..."

Wow. I'm on record as saying, several times, that superhero origin stories often disappoint. I'm not familiar with the no doubt very '70s original from the comics, but this was superb. Perhaps we had something of a textbook prison drama with, as the esteemed Mr Zimmerman once put it, "an innocent man in a living hell", complete with overt Deep South racism, illicit gladiator fighting, an evil governor you love to hate, lots of exercise equipment, violence, and a doomed best friend. 

Thje sheer number of cliches is a strength here, though, not a weakness. Sometimes a cliche can provide a short cut to allow you to whiz through lots of events at pace, which happens here. This is absolutely in tune with the thoughtful mood of the series while also being absolutely a superhero origin story. Best of all, we get a glimpse of Luke dressed, briefly, in a version of his proper Power Man costume until he catches himself in a mirror and remarks that he looks like a "damn fool".

We even get links to Jessica Jones as Luke first meets Reva in flashback, although not all is revealed- we still know not how or why Carl Lucas was originally framed in the first place. But this is a massive and superb episode, framed by brief sequences in the present day as Luke helps Connie to escape from the rubble. 

Surely Misty has to be wondering what Luke's secret is?

Luke Cage: Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?

 “He was fine!"

This episode has, in contrast to the last two, a relatively simple plot. Luke Cage decides to strike back at Cottonmouth by attacking several of his stash houses and then his main fortress so that the money is all confiscated by investigating cops. The centrepiece is a big set piece of his doing exactly that, to a rather fitting Wu-Tang Clan soundtrack.

There are consequences though, not the least of which is Cottonmouth gettig his very personal and very fiery revenge at the end. Luke, I suspect, can't be hurt by this, but his friend at the rerstaurant very much can. The peoople he cares about are very much vulnerable, even if he isn't.

Misty Knight knows damn well what Luke is up to, as shown by an amusingly confrontational yet flirtatious conversation. A later conversation between Misty and her partner Scarfe is fascinating, and eches debates about vigilanteism in Daredevil- should we approve of what Luke is doing?

Yet all this, and the various criminal diplomacies and wars around Cottonmouth and Mariah, is overshadowed by the big reveal that Scarfe is working for Cottonmouth- and kills Chico to stop him talking.

This is good. Very, very good indeed.,

Luke Cage: Code of the Streets

 "Jesus saves." I don't."

Wow. That was an unexpectedly eventful and deeply layered second episode with a lot going on. This is classy, richly textured television.

There's a lot of development here. We get the backstory of Pop, Chico's dad and Cottonmouth all being young thugs together, until Pop turned himself around after serving a ten stretch in prison as his lady was pregnant. Ouch. That goes to show how the concept of prison is so problematic- it punishes not only the guilty, but their innocent family and children too. We get more of Pop encouraging "Power Man" to be a hero. We get the We get emphasis that the barber shop is "Switzerland", so it's a betrayal, and shocking, when Pop dies the way he does.

We get some fascinating philsophical debate between Cottonmouth and Mariah, much of it framed by black history. We get an eventful appearance by Turk. We get Luke learning who Misty really is. And we get a superb shot, by the same Paul McGuigan who directed similar scenes in Sherlock, of Misty standing at a scene of a crime and literally seeing what happened. She's pretty good at basketball too.

This is extraordinary, easily as good as Daredevil and Jessica Jones so far, in a similar style but definitely its own thing. I'm loving it.