Up to episode two of "The Defenders". This is a ridiculously easy watch following the entire "Iron Fist" season one experience.
Can you tell the lack of a big budget (that was required to pull this off adequately)? the fight scene in episode 3 was EPIC
Just saw it. That was indeed nicely done. Also, is it just me or is Finn Jones somewhat better at the martial arts thing in "The Defenders" than he was in "Iron Fist" season 1? I know it was done for dramatic effect, but I think it was a bit dumb to have Matt need so long to figure out that was Elektra. He could hear a silenced bullet up in the penthouse from down in the lobby but he couldn't smell that was Elektra from like a foot away?
Supposedly when he was cast as Iron Fist, he had a very short period of time to get in shape and prepare for the stunts before filming was to begin. And even in case of specific fights; he'd get like only one time to rehearse before they shot it. For the Defenders, he had a longer period. He looks a lot better in season 2 doing the fights. I agree. But they wanted to "stretch the surprise" until the actual fight.
Saw episode four. I liked it. I think the writers are trying their best to make the individual characters voices and decisions fit with their own shows. I think Danny Rand fits in best with "The Defenders" and "Jessica Jones" worst, with Matt Murdock and Luke Cage somewhere in between (and in that order). I guess it was always going to be a struggle to make it seamless because the four shows are tonally very different from each other. Speaking specifically about episode four, one thing that I thought was a bit silly was Scott Glenn's fake arm. That was just incredibly badly done. So much so that it was distracting in some serious scenes.
Up to episode six of "The Defenders". The Iron Fist doll they used at the end of episode six was hilarious. This far into the show, some trends are becoming apparent. Mainly about the four principal actors. Finn Jones is giving this his all and there is no noticeable difference between his performance here and in "Iron Fist". Charlie Cox and Mike Colter both mostly take this seriously but they aren't as good as in their own show. Krysten Ritter seems the one most obviously not into it. It's not that she's bad, but I don't think she necessarily loved the material.
Done with "The Defenders". I thought it was mostly fun. Very different in tone from all of the other Marvel Netflix shows. But then it had to be. Not enough time to have character deep cuts when you have only eight episodes and four central characters as well as a significant amount of supporting characters to devote time to. My revised ranking would probably look like this: The Punisher Daredevil season two Daredevil season one Jessica Jones season one Luke Cage season one The Defenders Jessica Jones season two Iron First season one So now should I have enough background to understand most of what will go on in "Daredevil" season three? I still am probably going to take out the time to watch "Luke Cage" season two and "Iron Fist" season two as well, but not right now. I think 21 straight episodes of Marvel Netflix shows is enough for now.
I don't get all the HYPE for The Punisher season 1. It was good for sure, but I'd rank season 1/2 DD over it.
I think all three of those are good TV but both of the "Daredevil" seasons had a dip in quality in the middle imho. "The Punisher" was great throughout.
So I said that I was probably done with Marvel Netflix shows for a bit but I started on "Luke Cage" season 2 and now I'm three episodes into it. I like it alright so far. The things that always worked about this show in season 1, like the strong atmosphere and the great soundtrack are still here. I do think that they still struggle to give Luke Cage story lines worthy of his character. I think I enjoyed nothing more than the great Colleen Wing and Misty Knight scenes so far. Which is fine, but also probably tells something about how well they are doing making the Luke Cage story lines interesting enough. On the subject of Wing and Knight, those two actresses have great chemistry.
Up to episode six of "Luke Cage" season two. I'm coming to the point where the solid atmosphere and exciting couleur locale do no longer make up for the fact that the plot is moving at a glacial pace. In truth, this has always been the main issue with this show, the only exception being the first six episodes of season one, in which Mahershala Ali who is an electrifying performer papered over that fact with his terrific Cottonmouth. In general I feel like the situations they put Luke Cage in feel too small for his powers.
I always like to think of Luke Cage season 1 as A and B. A being Cottonmouth alive and B being once he's dead. Cause A was among the best of MCU while B was devastating. Season 2 featured the villain way too much for me. I don't get why the villain must be in every episode. 10 of 13 episodes is enough. The protagonist can have a 1 episode foe that still add to the story. I wish they had a larger budget too. That being said, Luke was less stiff than season 1. More relateable.
I think the problem is, with his powers, it gets boring to see him beating up street level thugs after a while. Also, a lot of the drama with Mariah and Bushmaster is moving ridiculously slowly. Certainly it's not interesting enough to justify the amount of time they devote to it. And I'm saying this as someone who thinks the actors who play those characters are good performers who are doing the best they can with what they are given.
It def felt a lot of this season was Mariah. And I agree, we just see him slap someone and they're unconscious. Literally "slapstick comedy".
I'm up to episode nine of "Luke Cage" season two. I think it was Louisiana who predicted I would have trouble getting through "Iron Fist" season one. The irony is that I find "Luke Cage" season two to be much more of a chore. The continuing problem is that some of the writing is not as interesting a they obviously think it is. Some scenes which should be no more than two, maybe three minutes long are turned into 6-7 minute scenes even though the content of the scene has not earned that kind of playtime. I hope to still finish this but unless this season ends incredibly strongly, this might end up as my least favorite of all the Marvel Netflix shows & seasons.
A lot of season 2 is a lot of talk and conniving and back n forth between the warring clans. And Luke just happens to be there. But it's interesting if you enjoy season 1 of IF over this. I quite enjoy that about you.
What I actually ended up enjoying most about season 2 of Cage was them digging more deeply into the underlying racial issues and general fallout of slavery both in this country and Jamaica. It wasn't in your face necessarily but it was central to both Mariah and Bushmaster's motivations, and it caused me to think about things in a different way than I had before.
So I finished all of "Luke Cage" season two. That was a chore at the end. What this show needs more than anything else is a very strident editor with enough authority over the showrunner to overrule some self-indulgent TV-making. I think there is an 8-9 episode cut of this same story I would have liked a lot more, but so many scenes are drawn out far long than necessary for no obvious reason. It was a relief just to get a Danny Rand episode, because it was a welcome change of pace. It's a shame because I do love this cast. It's perhaps the strongest ensemble of all of the Marvel Netflix shows. I would gladly watched any of them in other shows. My revised ranking: The Punisher Daredevil season 2 Daredevil season 1 Jessica Jones season 1 Luke Cage season 1 The Defenders Jessica Jones season 2 Iron Fist season 1 Luke Cage season 2 I didn't think that's where it would end up when I started it, but Iron Fist wins out just because I find it easier to finish and even though I found many of the Meachum scenes to be a bore, they were comparatively short compared to some showpiece scenes in Luke Cage that were ultimately far too long. I know I said I was done with these shows for now, but since I only have one season of Iron Fist left to be caught up completely before "Daredevil" season 3, I might give it a go. Especially since it's just ten episodes, which sounds like a breeze.
A thing I didn't mention before, but I thought with the amount of time devoted to some meaningless scenes, they might have better devoted some time to more properly prepare us for Luke Cage's semi-heel turn.
So I'm four episodes into "Iron Fist" season two and I'm really, really enjoying this. I think they learned from what worked in season one and to a certain extent what didn't work. So we get plenty of Colleen Wing and less (but still too much I'm afraid) of the Meachum siblings. Also, Misty Knight!