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4 Not-So-Great Things in “The Defenders”
Disclaimer: The Defenders is great. It’s an almost-perfect final act for this “Phase One” of the Marvel Netflix Universe. Oh, and SPOILERS GALORE.
The side characters. This one almost isn’t a fair criticism. They all advanced the story in some way and had important scenes. But especially toward the end of the run a lot of the interactions seemed artificial. The writers literally forced them together in the police station and too many of the conversations were either rehashed plot points or underdeveloped character moments. The one that stuck out the most to me was Trish and Karen looking at photos and talking about how much they love Jess and Matt, respectively. Sure, it’s a nice scene. But it’s totally unnecessary for the audience. They’re all great characters, so I’m sure it wasn’t easy for the writers, but that brings me to the next gripe:
There were only 8 episodes instead of 13. Now, a lot of reviewers complain about the individual seasons having 13 episodes and somehow this notion that they should only be 10 or 8 episodes has gained traction. What absolute rubbish. If any of the series’ needed 13 episodes it was The Defenders. Who wouldn’t have liked to see a flashback…
