"The Defenders" was an anticipated show for me that I only got around watching now. I'm a big fan of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, like Luke Cage, and didn't have much of an opinion on Iron Fist (besides hearing how horrible the first season was), so I was excited to see them all get a mini-series. I've heard mixed opinions on it, but generally more positive than elsewise. I can see why that is having watched it now.

The Defenders' plot revolves around the clan of ninjas knows as the Hand, who played a big part in Daredevil Season 2 and Iron Fist Season 1 from what I can presume. As such, Matt Murdock and Danny Rand are at the centerfold of the story. As villains, I can't say I was too ecstatic about The Hand, especially with how great some of the antagonists were in the Netflix series (Kingpin, Punisher, Kilgrave), but they weren't bad either. I found them largely uncharismatic, though the return of a certain character[spoiler], Elektra,[/spoiler] added the necessary tension and kept me invested in what was going on. The conspiracy itself was kooky, but certainly interesting. Overall, "The Defenders" gets pretty crazy, yet somehow manages to make this work with its grounded superheroes. It takes itself a little too seriously at times, but works for the most part and has its share of fun and comedy.

My biggest issue might really be the overload of drama that is present throughout the 8 episodes. It makes sense and is necessary, even good when properly timed, but there is so damn much of it. Matt is far too secretive, a personality trait that has been set up and is an important character flaw. As such, he is often in conflict with the rest of the group, but the frequency of this gives the show a tonal inconsistency that takes away from the fun. Jessica is an asshole, that is a big part of her charm, so I don't really have any gripes with her. Luke isn't too argumentative either. Danny, on the other hand, being such a vital part of the plot, brings a lot of annoying arguments with him as well. Thankfully, there are many other interactions between these characters that make up for this. Some of the best relationship include Matt and Jessica's, Luke and Jessica's, and Luke and Danny's. Besides the four, we get a lot of cast members coming from across the shows. Stick had a very strong presence here and an important role; Trish was enjoyable to watch, no matter how small her role might have been; Foggy had some great moments as well.

"The Defenders" suffers from some objectively bad writing. [spoiler]My least favourite scene would be Jessica following Matt, who at first senses her and decides to swerve down a back alley, then parkours his way out, somehow completely oblivious to what he just noticed. I cannot make any sense of the scene, it barely had a reason to even be there.[/spoiler] Unfortunately, there are other missteps in logic throughout.

The action scenes were good, even great at times. They could also be lazy, but I think the show did a good job altogether with managing 4 characters, each having their own distinct fighting style. Nothing as ground-breaking as Daredevil, but of quality and entertaining.

Truly, the biggest strength of "The Defenders" is how damn fun it is. The pacing is said to be an issue and I would agree, particularly with how much time it takes to actually gather the team. It left me a tad dissatisfied with how little time we got to spend with them, when this was the biggest draw. Still, I like that each of them had their time to shine. Matt had a great arc here and in spite of some of my issues with how he was written, he was one of my favourite characters to watch. Tied with Jessica, who was probably the most out of place and as such one of the most relatable and down-to-earth heroes on the team. Every scene she was in was good in my opinion. Luke contributed a lot and had great charisma. Danny was honestly not as bad as I anticipated. His edge was definitely tacky at times, but most of the time he had this naïve charm to him and was even funny on occassion.

Overall, "The Defenders" was a very flawed, but very entertaining mini-series. While the plot itself might not have been the most engaging and there were plenty of other flaws, I had a lot of fun simply watching each of the characters interact and their stories develop. I wouldn't call it a must-watch, but I wouldn't mind watching it again. As much as I have issues with it, "The Defenders" is just that damn fun.