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.

Iron Fist: Bar the Big Boss

 "I know a good family therapist that could help... should any of you survive the night."

This is an excellent season finale, wrapping everything up, or at least wrapping enough things up. Yet there's an episode to go after the surprise cliffhanger. It'll be interesting to see where this is going.

The episode is all about family relationships.We see Ward for the first time in a while, offered freedom from the, er, psych ward by Bakuto and the Hand, causing an almightily dramatic hostage situation with a helpless Harold and Joy. Harold and Joy continue to have a lovely daddy/daughter relationship- poor naive Joy. Yet Harold's ultimate reaction to Wards's betrayal, the betrayal of the son he called a "disappointment" when seemingly about to be beheaded- is admiration. We learn that he, too, killed his father out of ambition. Which is, well...

Meanwhile we have the total breakdown of trust between Danny and his "brother", Davos, who continues to feel abandoned by his bettrayal of his duty to guard K'un Lun... and be with him. They clash over everything, not least the trustworthiness of Colleen, who goes on an admirable redemption journey with the loving help of Danny... who has regainedthe power of the Iron Fist. Fittingly, it is Colleen who defeats Bakuto. Yet she refuses to kill him out of ethics... only for Davos to do so, angrily fight Danny, and leave all mardy like. Well then.

We end with Danny and Colleen declaring they've found family in each other. Good, because it seems the Meachums, or at least Harold, have utterly betrayed them...

Superb telly. But what happens now?

Iron Fist: Lead Horse Back to Stable

 "I wasn't chosen. You were. And you took it and ran."

Again we get a bloody good episode. You never quite know what you're going to get with Iron Fist, but this is two very good ones on the trot."

It's fascinating seeing the dynamic between characters here. First there's Danny and Davos, friends, brothers and rivals to be chosen as Iron Fist. Yet Davos sees his brother chosen instead of him... only for Danny to be seen to desert his post. Why? We're still not really told, although we see that Danny is supposed to guard the pass to K'un Lun until he dies. "You know what the rest of your life is going to be. Quite.

Then there's the newly reunited Harold and Joy, soon plotting with Danny and Davos to take down Bakuto. Joy has made financial jiggery-pokery possible, to lure Bakuto into a trap. Yet cracks begin to appear between father and daughter. Harold's new temper once more, and Joy's qualms about the plans to kill Bakuto.

Then there's poor Colleen, the only person in the show at this point who believes in Bakuto and the Hand. Even Claire, the conscience of the show, is disappointed in her. The attempted reconciliation with a bitter Danny doesn't go well, but her loyalties are divided. It's only when she's betrayed to Bakuto by her own former proteges- that must hurt- and about to be killed by the Hand that she heroically escapes, to be reunited by Danny. Yet she's broken, betrayed by the very thing she always believed in.

Intriguingly, Danny hints at understanding how she feels. There's more to be learbed here. But first, Bakuto...

Iron Fist hasn't exactly been consistent. But it looks to be headed for a strong finish. And yes, I know, Secret Invasion. I'll get round to it.

Iron Fist: Black Tiger Steals Heart

 "Wow. You are the worst Iron Fist ever."

Oh, Iron Fist, why so inconsistent? This episode is actually pretty good, all about lies, the murkiness of the truth, whom we should believe, whom we should trust. For 2017, it's a pretty accurate harbinger of the directions in which society has moved.

Joy, of course, has been lied to, in that she was not told of her father's resurrection. Now she knows, and Harold is busy gaslighting her, with some success. Yet his temper briefly shows, and he tells his first outright lie. Yes, by murderous means, Harold performs a boardroom coup, getting the Meachums and Danny reinstated. But is Joy beginning to see through him? It's all cleverly done, with much ambiguity.

But the A-plot, with Danny and Colleen, is even murkier. All starts in a lovey-doyey way, with both of them waking up together, the adorable couple. Then Danny is properly introduced to Bakuto, who shows him more about his powers... and shows him footage of an earlier Iron Fist, from 1948.

But secrets are being kept, as a conversation between the seemingly idealistic Bakuto and the certainly naive Colleen attests. And the secret is out- Bakuto, as much as Gao, is part of the Hand, and so is Colleen. The argument between the lovers is heartbreaking. Colleen is sincere... but Danny is right. Bakuto may be less brutal than Gao, but it seems clear that his wider goals are the same- he even slots right into Gao's place in Harold's life.

And then we find out who Sacha Dhawan is playing- Davos, sent to rescue Danny and return him to K'un Lun. Danny's doubts and anger have lost him his power, his chi. And he's accused of abandoning K'un Lun... why? Worse, the two of them are only able to escape because of Colleen deciding what side she's on. I'm genuinely excited to see what happens next, and I haven't always been with Iron Fist.

Iron Fist: The Mistress of All Agonies

 "Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is leave."

Argh. This episode could have been really good. The ideas are good, the plot is even good. It's just... the script and some of the performances are not up to par.

I'd exempt Wai Ching Ho from that though. She's a chillingly evil, gaslighting power who seems powerful even when tied up and interrogated, perhaps partly because she "spend most of the 17th Century being interrogated. Then there's David Wenham as the resurrected Harold, a kind of evil Captain Jack Harkness who, Ward is told by a rival, is fated to become a little more evil with each resurrection.

Harold has quite the journey, first acting like the wandering monster in Frankenstein before remembering who his is, ultimately killing his underling suddenly and callously on a whim. He's a dangerous man, manipulating Ward into the clutches of the same psychiatrist who "treated" Danny. And then Joy has the shock of her life, falling right into his manipulative clutches. If handled better, this could have been superb, with both Gao and Harold being manipulative and evil.

But there's more- Sacha Dhawan as an assassin after Danny. Our- and Danny's- proper introduction to Bakuto. Who is he? He certainly knows a lot, to the point of knowing more aboiut what the Iron Fist can do than Danny does.

This should be good. This is a fascinating plot, on paper. Why am I not enjoying this? Because by this point things are feeling a little off.

Iron Fist: Felling Tree with Roots

 "And it makes my hand light up..."

Wow. This series is bizarrely all over the place. Last episode was pretty awful. This episode is pretty damn good. Yes, we get a very sweet, heartwarming sex scene between Colleen and Danny, the sort that feel very real between two people who genuinely feel an intimate bond. Yes, Danny has the courage of his convictions and gives a defient speech to the board of Rand, showing himself to be media savvy in the process.

Yet it's a dark, dark world. Madame Gao visits Danny in Rand's offices, where she has a pass: "I've been in Rand a lot longer than you have." She's there to troll him, yes, to annoy and disorient him, but also to warn him off. As it turns out she uses the thirteentrh floor of the building for her heroin trade. The continues to goad Danny about his father. Yet, by the end, after Danny, Collen and the Hand's rivals have trashed the heroin factory, it turns out that the whole operation is now, like much Western industry, outsourced to China. And it seems Danny's own father may have had connections to heroin too. Wow. Quite the bombshell.

The opiatre addiction between Ward and a frustrated Joy is not quite working, but it certainly shows the stress Ward is under from the way he's exploited by his manipulative, amoral father, who has Danny eating out of the palm of his hand. Ward's sudden patricide i shocking, yes, But not foreshadowed. It's quite the ending to quite an episode. Oh, and who is Bakuto? And what happens now that the board have removed Danny and the Meachums? This really feels like a turning point. Unexpectedly good.