1x02 Mean Right Hook

[7.6/10] I know we’re only two episodes in, but I’m really digging the pacing of this season so far. Episode one is reestablishing all of the heroes separately, and episode two continues each on their own individual mission but nicely sets up way for their missions to intersect.

For the Heroes for Hire (Iron Fist and Luke Cage, for the uninitiated) that means Danny is tracking a unique sword his deceased would-be ally used, and Luke is finding out what side gig the youth of Harlem are being roped into, and it leads them to the same place -- presumably, Stick’s hideout

It works nicely for a few reasons. For one, finding the maker/user of unique swords feels true to Iron Fist and Colleen’s M.O., and Luke trying to protect his neighborhood’s young people being used as “cleaners” for The Hand’s dirty work provides natural reasons for each to do what they do but intersect. At the same time, I like the hints that we’re getting of a bigger, interconnected world, where Stick knows about K’un-Lun and despite his guilt, Danny is starting to realize (with Colleen’s help) that there are allies out there, naturally setting up the team up.).

Last but not least, it’s leads to a very well done fight between Luke and Danny. Superhero battles are a cliché, but the episode gives a good reason for it -- Luke trying to protect the kid he knows, and Danny trying to get info out of him. The actual choreography and structure of the fight is superb. Danny using his all his usual martial arts moves and being totally ineffective, while Luke uses more brute force and wins creates a distinctive style for each of them that tells the story of them feeling one another out. And Danny turning the tables with his titular “mean right hook” is a great moment, with the Matrix homage adding a nice touch and giving Luke reason to be intrigued at the guy capable of knocking him down.

The other half of the episode provides good reason for Jessica Jones and Daredevil to unite. For one thing, I like the fact that Jessica is actually getting to use her detective skills here. Much of her part of the episode involves Jessica doing some real investigating and starting to find how deep the conspiracy goes. Whether it’s Trish being told from above to stop talking about the earthquake of Hogarth warning Jessica to back off, there’s a sense that there’s something bigger at play and trying to wave J-Jo off just leads to her kicking more hornets nests.

The standoff between her and Raymond (who holds Malcolm hostage) is appropriately tense, and Raymond’s fear does a nice job of selling The Hand as a bigger threat than the generic ninjas we’ve seen thus far. The hints that Alexandra (who has a name now!) lived long enough to know Brahms personally matches her up nicely with Gao in the sense that there are larger things happening from experienced people who know more than our heroes.

Of course, it ends with a fight with Elektra, a run-in with Misty (who makes a surprisingly good foil for Jessica), and good ol’ J-Jo stuck at the police station where the episode ends with Matt Murdock declaring he’s her lawyer.

But it’s not as cheesy as it sounds! The episode does a nice job with Daredevil here. When the earthquake strikes, he can’t help himself. He can’t let the innocent suffer when the police aren’t willing or able to do their jobs. His fight with the robbers/shotgun wielding is clerks is short but sweet, and evinces the sense that this is an addiction he wants to kick but can’t.

That’s where Foggy comes in, knowing that the chaos of the earthquake will attract his old friend, and trying to give him pro bono cases to keep him otherwise occupied so he’s not tempted. Filtering things from Hogarth down to Foggy and then to Matt makes for a nice organic connection between him and Jessica, which earns that big moment at the end.

We’ve got our four defenders in pairs of two now. It’s a nice way to have the team slowly coalesce. Let’s see where they go from here.