The Defenders - The H Word

For a show that had 65 previous episodes to set-up all the characters necessary to tell a combined storyline, the first episode of The Defenders spends an awful long time reintroducing us to the characters from each show. Luke Cage (Mike Colter) is released from prison, thanks in part to the help of Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), and returns to Harlem and Claire (Rosario Dawson). Danny Rand (Finn Jones) and Colleen (Jessica Henwick) stop their worldwide travels searching for the Hand and return to New York after an encounter with a familiar deadly warrior. Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is slowly drinking herself to death and refusing to take any case until threatened to stay away from the search for a missing architect piques her interest. And Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), long since putting his horned-mask and billy-club aside, continues to struggle against leaving that part of his life behind.

The opening episode is preamble, and can probably be skipped as the important pieces (such as Jessica's case and the deteriorating health of Weaver's character will be gone back over multiple times in the next few episodes). We're also introduced to the Hand's leader for the first time. Sigourney Weaver stars a the dying head member of those kicked out of K'un-Lun who accelerates the Hand's plans after learning of her condition. Of the different threads only Jessica's really ties into the larger story at work which will eventually unite the four heroes in their fight to save New York City from the Hand. The episode's final scene, an earthquake which shakes the entire city just as Iron Fist returns is the Hand's opening move foreshadows looming trouble for New York and our heroes.