1x01 The H Word

Echolocation! Super-strength! Imperviousness! A super strong punch thing! By your powers combined, I am Captain Defender!

Alright, The Defenders may not be the new Captain Planet, but it is the latest superhero team-up for the MCU, and this time it’s centered on the four heroes in the Netflix sub-universe, with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist joining together to fight (presumably) Sigourney Weaver and whatever her Batman Begins-like plan is.

But before they can do that, The Defenders has to reintroduce all of the good guys in its roster, both to help fans keep straight who’s been doing what over the course of five seasons of television that have aired over the past few years, and to roll out the red carpet for anyone who decided it’s not worth it to rumble through 68 prior episodes just to be ready for this one.

You can feel the television mechanics in action, but it works. Before The Defenders gives us the inevitable team-up, before it slips into the personality clashes and personal issues and fated begrudging respect these borough-based heroes will eventually develop for one another, the show checks in with each of them separately. It gives us a glimpse at what they’ve been up to, and in its own way, interrogates what it means for each of them to be a hero.

That starts with Danny Rand, because who says you have to lead with a strength, right? The mini-series wastes no time in delivering on its promise of action, having Danny fighting an impossibly fast and powerful woman who remains hidden in shadow, but who was obvious, obviously Elektra, even before they do the big reveal at the end. He’s been hunting The Hand over the past few months, but even when he gets all the way to Indonesia and finds the man he’s looking for, he can’t stop the mysterious assailant from killing the guy before Danny has a chance to get his help.

For Danny, the problems with “The H Word” stem from his sense of survivor’s guilt at what happened to his brethren in K’un-Lun. In a flashback/hallucination, he has his “Aang at the Southern Air Temple” moment, reckoning with the fact that he was the chosen one and yet wasn’t there to prevent his people from being slaughtered. Thankfully, we don’t get too much of Danny here. Finn Jones’s acting skills haven’t improved much in the few scenes we get of him, but it’s a solid tack to take and a nice way to show that the closing teaser Iron Fist ended with has some lasting impact.

For Jessica Jones, “The H Word” is brought up via Trish, who once again charges that Jessica is ignoring her potential and responsibilities. One of the nice things about this episode is that it doesn’t just check in with the heroes (uh oh, I used The H Word), but it takes time out to reintroduce the secondary characters like Trish. Both she and Malcolm (who has great friendly chemistry with J-Jo) confront her for the fact that despite her notoriety, despite her scoring one for the cause of justice, Jessica is brushing off her job and the fact that she could be out there fighting.

She may not answer her phone, she may brush off potential clients asking for help at her door, but tell her that she shouldn’t do something and suddenly she’s on the case. It’s what makes Jessica the most likable lead of any of The Defenders. In a way the rest of them really aren’t, she’s flawed and ornery and a little different, which makes her recalcitrance giving way to helping work better.

Speaking of which, gone is Luke Cage as the guy who spends thirteen episodes wavering over whether he wants to go fight the bad guys and back is the man who’s chomping at the bit to go defend Harlem. Before he can do that, he has to have his “coffee” with Claire (and the two still don’t really work, but it’s a little better), and get the latest bead on Harlem from Misty. She tells him that someone is using the local youth at couriers and the brother of Candice from the first season of Luke Cage is caught up in it and killed.

What I like about Luke Cage’s portion of the episode (aside from his fun exchange with Foggy) is that of the four Defenders, so far he’s the only one dealing with being an icon. Luke is an inspiration to everyone in Harlem, and while he wants to go out and strike blows for justice, Misty suggests that he can do more good by using that notoriety to influence other young men to follow his example (more in terms of righteousness than in trying to knock heads). His confrontation with Candice’s other brother (J. Mallory McCree, who’s as good in short spurts here as he was in Homeland) is a nice reminder that the challenges of helping young people break out of this system are a lot harder than just punching the latest big bad. Not everyone can be a hero, and figuring out what the non-bulletproof parts of the community need is a taller order.

And last but not least, there’s Matt Murdock, who’s back in the courtroom (and not blowing it off to fight crime) and seems in a good place. He has the expected romantic tension meal with Karen Page, and claims he doesn’t miss his old life, but admits to his priest friend that it’s a lie. He feels the pull to be back out there, but there’s a conflict between mind and soul about whether he should be a hero in the streets or in the halls of justice.

I wish they didn’t tie his desire to become Daredevil again to Elektra. Setting Elektra and Karen as the “be Daredevil” “no be Matt” on each shoulder is silly, and ties into the Betty and Veronica shtick that didn’t work in Season 2 of Daredevil. Still, it gives him an inner conflict, which is worht something, and he also gets a hell of a scene with a young disabled kid for whom he wins a big judgment, leveling with him about the struggles he’ll face but offering comfort and evincing his philosophy on life at the same time.

We also learn that Sigourney Weaver has months or weeks to live, that Madame Gao answers to her, that she has Elektra in her employ, and that she’s connected to an explosion that rocks the city. Gotta set up the obstacle that unites our four heroes I suppose.

“The H Word” is a perfectly solid opening salvo for this team-up show. Some of what it does is table setting -- establishing Weaver’s characters and putting out hints for each good guy that will no doubt coalesce at some point. But more than that it takes a little time, just enough really, to explore and reestablish who each of the characters, what they want, and what they’re dealing with. With any luck, that’ll make the guaranteed joining of force and personality clashes a bit more meaningful, and give us something to look forward to.