Marvel / Netflix : Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist (The Defenders)

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

First Luke Cage teaser trailer.

 

 

[Jay 37,263]

Game of Thrones' Jessica Henwick Will Play the Female Lead in the Iron Fist TV Series

[Jay 37,263]

The Defenders crossover show films later this year

[nightscape94 965]

Looking forward to it, although I have no interest in Iron First's forthcoming series.  I have little interest in Luke Cage as well, though I'll probably watch it.  Too many cross over powers and sameness.  Luke and Jessica are very similar and Daredevil and Iron First are similar.

[Jay 37,263]

Daredevil showrunners will also tackle The Defenders series

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Wait, Luke Cage is the black bar guy from Jessica Jones, right? That character is getting his own show? 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Indeed!

[Thor 7,453]

Just finished season 2. I'm not totally addicted to this like other shows, but it's a good one, and I like the way they're expanding the universe. I'm not sure about the inclusion of paranormal phenomena in this one, though, as they strive for such realism otherwise (people actually getting hurt and needing time to recover). Are they making this part of the MCU as well? There's a poster with a newspaper clip in Karen's office that says "Battle of NY". I'm wondering if this is a reference to the Avengers battle or something about a crime spree. If it's the former, it doesn't really make sense as they're so critical of paranormal phenomena otherwise.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Thor, all the Marvel TV shows, Daredevil, Agents Of Shield, Jessica Jones, Agent Carter and Luke Cage are part of the MCU and have been from the beginning.

[nightscape94 965]

There are clear verbal, albeit brief, references to the Avengers in both DD and JJ.

[Thor 7,453]

Do they reference The Avengers in DD? I hadn't noticed.

[Jay 37,263]

Thor how did you miss all the references? They reverence the alien invasion (the events of The Avengers) throughout season 1. That's why Fisk and others are rebuilding the city!

[Jay 37,263]

Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey will play Harold Meachum's (David Wenham) kids, Joy and Ward in Iron Fist

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

Here I was thinking Wenham's not old enough to have kids that age... and then I realized The Two Towers was 14 years ago. Yeesh.

[Jay 37,263]

Jessica Jones 1x09 AKA Sin Bin

 

The imprisonment scenes with Kilgrave and Jessica were uncomfortable.  First with just them talking, then later with her going into the boot to try to taunt him into using his powers.  

 

Was kind of interesting to see the way Kilgrave interacted with some of the other characters, like Hogarth.  It seemed like he was kind of able to get under her skin without any powers at all.  And you have to wonder if Trish would have actually pulled that trigger if Hogarth hadn't arrived as she was pulling the gun out.

 

The Hogarth / Wendy divorce storyline as well as the Hope storyline continue to be least interesting ones week to week.... hopefully both have a good payoff coming.

 

Loved how Jessica tracked down Kilgrave's mother and recognized her from the support meetings.  That was a nice little twist.

 

"I wish I had a Mother of the Year Award so I could bludgeon you with it"

 

Didn't like these funky pills that doctor guy had to cure Trish's boyfriend guy.  Seemed like an odd type of thing to introduce into a show like this, not to mention it makes it weird that this wasn't just a random cop who got caught up in Kilgrave's mess, but that he had dabblings with some kind of super powered something or other in the past... blah.

 

Did not like how Jessica thought it would be a good idea to bring that cop dude into things.  Also not sure about the need to go into the emotional past of Kilgrave.  This is the same thing they did with Daredevil, completely humanizing the villain and saying that a messed up childhood with messed up parents made the villain who he is.  The part where the mom tried to stab Kilgrave with scissors was a great idea, but poorly executed; She slowly fumbles to get them out of her clothes and no one notices, then she stabs him in the back instead of in the neck, etc.

 

Man, what a crazy ending!  I didn't understand why the button didn't work at the exact right time; It was almost like Kilgrave knew it wouldn't work so didn't mind using his powers on camera, yet they made it seem it was a random electrical failure, too?  And come on, was there really a cheap power outlet involved in a electrical shock situation like that?  LOL.  So I guess Kilgrave's powers don't work on Jessica any more.  Or is it supposed to be that once he's controlled you and releases you, he can't control you again?

[Jay 37,263]

Netflix Officially Orders A Marvel's Punisher Spinoff Starring Jon Bernthal

 

[Jay 37,263]

 

[nightscape94 965]

You knew that was coming.  I hope they don't rush it.

[Jay 37,263]

JESSICA JONES Season Two Details Revealed

[nightscape94 965]

"Rosenberg also gave us some insight on how season two will veer away from needing to rely on having Krysten Ritter‘s Jessica Jones in every scene. "

Good.  That was actually an issue I had with the first season.

 

[Jay 37,263]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nightscape94 965]

Coming soon?  Hope they don't rush it.

[Jay 37,263]

Marvel / Netflix schedule announced

 

Sep 30 2016: Luke Cage Season 1

2017: Iron Fist Season 1

2017: The Defenders

2018: The Punisher Season 1

2018: Jessica Jones Season 2

2018: Daredevil Season 3

 

If Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher are all popular enough to warrant continuing seasons, they're really gonna be cranking these shows out

 

Not to mention I have to imagine some of these characters will be involved in Avengers 3 & 4 in 2018 & 2019.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Till we are all sick of it!

[Brónach 1,301]

All these shows look identical to me from the outside.

[Jay 37,263]

They are very similar, intentionally.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

They really are. Same as the Marvel films. Slight variations on the same theme.

[Brónach 1,301]

Only with, like, five times more footage?

[Jay 37,263]

No, the Netflix shows are not written or directed to be similar to the Marvel movies, they are similar to each other.

 

I mean, only 2 have aired so far - Daredevil and Jessica Jones - but they have a lot in common.  And the trailer for Luke Cage looks like its cut from the same cloth as well.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

 

1 minute ago, Brónach said:

Only with, like, five times more footage?

 

And about 10 times less budget, which means they actually have to tell stories and have characters interacting in meaningful ways rather then ahve an expensive action scene every 10 minutes.

 

But yes....

1 minute ago, Jay said:

I mean, only 2 have aired so far - Daredevil and Jessica Jones - but they have a lot in common.  And the trailer for Luke Cage looks like its cut from the same cloth as well.

 

It wouldnt surprise me if Netflix if the others are much of the same. Netflix seems to be going for the "darker and grittier" style. Which might be another reason why they didnt get Peggy Carter.

[mstrox 6,637]

Their street-level-NYC shows all share a tone, certainly, and by design (since eventually these characters will all share a screen).  Iron Fist should add something a little different to that tone stylistically - or so I would hope.

[nightscape94 965]

No DD S3 until 2018?  Crap.  Was also expecting another JJ season before Defenders.

[Jay 37,263]

New Luke Cage trailer

 

 

[Jay 37,263]

Jessica Jones 1x10 AKA 1,000 Cuts

 

Not sure how to feel about Kilgrave forcing Hogarth to take him to a doctor, and it's her ex-wife... kinda felt forced, but that "stab her 1,000 times" stuff was dark!!  But then it was REALLY forced that her new girlfriend shows up to kill her before she can kill Hogarth.. jeez!

 

And then right after her, the detective is killed too!  

 

And then, Hope is killed too!  WTF!  They are really thinning out the supporting cast!  It's Daredevil all over again (these shows really have a lot of parallels as they go on)

 

Hopefully the cop boyfriend is next; Still not a fan of him and his enhancement drugs, etc.

Really not sure how I feel about Kilgrave's powers being a virus that a vaccine can be created for....

 

The worst thing about this episode is that it starts with Kilgrave escaped, but then he's captured again, but then he escapes again.... ugh!

[Jay 37,263]

Jessica Jones 1x11 AKA I've Got the Blues

 

The flashbacks showing Jessica being taken in by Trish's family as a child are actually good backstory I enjoyed  

 

Not a fan of Jessica randomly finding the detectives body, and instantly figuring out the cop boyfriend must have done it instead of Kilgrave 

 

Speaking of the cop boyfriend, the whole fight with him, and Trish taking the pills... meh.

And at the end, Luke Cage is suddenly back in the show.  Does Kilgrave not know he's invincible, did he thinking blowing up the bar would kill him?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

He probably didnt. Jessica didnt tell him and i dont see how else he could know.

 

Trish' boyfriend is the dud of this season.

[Jay 37,263]

Jessica Jones 1x12 AKA Take a Bloody Number

 

Jessica and Luke teaming up to track down leads wasn't as compelling as I think they wanted it to be.. maybe the actors don't have enough chemistry?  Or maybe just the death of Luke's wife by Jessica just hangs over everything too much.

 

Trish and her mom's scenes aren't that compelling either.  With so much else going on in this show, its hard to care too much about their relationship.

 

And this whole thing where Kilgrave is using his dad to expand his powers and make them work better....  not liking the turning of a comic book power into some kind of scientific thing.  I get that it ups the stakes, but the way they are upping them isn't really working for me.

 

Pretty decent confrontation at the end between Kilgrave, Jessica, and Luke.  So in the end, Kilgrave's had enough and just wants Jessica dead.  And Luke was working for him since the bar explosion!  And he never forgave Jessica for killing his wife! I was actually surprised how well her powers stood up to his attacks.  The fight was pretty well done!

 

Not really a fan of Kilgrave's powers suddenly going away long enough for Jessica to shoot him and get away, though...

 

One episode left.  Curious to see if it sets up The Defenders or Luke Cage at all, and if they kill off Kilgrave or let him live to return in Season 2!

[Jay 37,263]

18 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Trish' boyfriend is the dud of this season.

 

Totally, yea.  I already didn't like him when he was just kinda weird, but then the introduced the power pill stuff and it was a lot of meh.

 

I'm not liking how with both this and Daredevil, they spend a season building up great supporting characters then just kill them all off.  Seems like its just an attempt to be edgy.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Who died?

[Jay 37,263]

Daredevil killed off D'onofrio's best friend guy (Wesley?) and the black reporter guy at least

 

Jessica Jones has so far killed off Hope, the black detective, Horbach's ex-wife, the weird brother down the hall, Kilgrave's mom, and probably others I'm forgetting - and I haven't even seen episode 13 yet!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

And you are presenting this as a problem?

[Jay 37,263]

Yes.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's action TV. People get killed! (but don't worry, it's not real) Better to be characters you actually have some interest in.

The fact that you complain about this means that they are creating good characters.

[Jay 37,263]

Jessica Jones 1x13 AKA Smile

 

I thought it was pretty odd that Jessica took Luke to the hospital at all - I figured the shotgun blast just like temporarily knocked him out or something, since he's so invulnerable.  And what did she think the hospital would even be able to do?  But it actually led to fairly good things, such as the introduction of Rosario Dawson's Daredevil character Claire Temple from Daredevil to this show, and a scene where Kilgrave sets a whole hospital after her.

Sadly the hospital sequence was a big let down from its potential; When Kilgrave ordered the entire hospital to find her, I thought we'd be in for a really cool and interesting prolonged escape sequence,  but it was over in a minute!

 

And the introduction of Claire was kind of off....  She just kind of shows up, and immediately decides to help Jessica, essentially walking off the job, for no clear reason.  Even if you've watched Daredevil before this, I dunno if that adds anything at all.

 

At least once they were in Jessica's apartment, there was some good scenes between them.  She sets up a bridge between her, Luke, and Daredevil that isn't paid off here, but clearly will be next year in The Defenders.  Unfortunately, they have her point out onscreen the similarities between Daredevil and Jessica Jones, which I've been pointing out the whole time!  Why bring attention to it?  Hopefully Luke Cage and Iron Fist will be more original.

 

And we arrive at the final Jessica / Kilgrave showdown.. with only 20 minutes to go in the episode, and season!  And... it was a big letdown.  First we have him sending an entire police squad against her, which should have been a good chase/escape scene, and a way to explain why the former Hospital escape was so brief... while that would have been the more interesting scene just because random people with access to different things could have attacked her in different ways, this would be a precise attack by professionals who now how to use their equipment... but sadly it was another letdown, another one over in a minute.  Oh well.

 

Then she goes outside, and for some reason all the cops are gone.  The scene where he tells the people outside to kill each other could have been shocking and gruesome, but it basically amounted to a bunch of extras swinging arms at each other half-heartedly.  Kilgrave himself points out that Jessica could have just jumped over them all and killed him immediately, but her response is that she wanted him to tell them to stop, because she didn't know if him dying would break his instructions to them or not.  That's fine.  

 

But then its a shame the final confrontation was also over so quickly.  It seemed obvious to me the whole time that Jessica was faking it, and I don't see why Kilgrave believed she wasn't?  Just beacuse she shed a tear as he was leaving with Trish?  Oh well.  Kind of a bummer they killed off Kilgrave, but then again, he's so powerful I dunno how the show would be able to keep him as a recurring villain.  I wonder what kind of villain Jessica will face next year?

 

Luke waiting up and leaving instead of hanging out and talking to Claire is about right for his character.  I wonder if his show will be any good?

 

The fact that Jessica got arrested for killing Kilgrave and has to be defended by Hogarth is all kinda weird.  There's been so much murder and other illegal stuff happening all season, and this is the one they have a scene like this for?  What was the point?

 

I like that Jessica and Trish made up and are good friends again after they started the season in a rocky place.  Good character arcs for both.

 

Interesting ending with her ignoring all the calls for help.  I liked how the neighbor finally answered the phone for her.

 

 

 

Jessica Jones Season 1

 

Overall, I'd say this is a pretty good show, and superior to Daredevil.  The season was uneven though; It started out quite strong, then seemed to falter for a while.  I think the problem was introducing Kilgrave and his powers so early, and then just kind of go in circles all season until it was over.  For about half a season there was a nice buildup of their relationship, but once the house arrest stuff was over, it was just a series of her capturing but not killing him, him escaping, and then repeating all over again.  Daredevil made much better use of Wilson Fisk and his relationships with several others for sure.  Part of the problem lies with that other than Jessica herself, the only other people he really had important scenes with was his parents.

 

Like Daredevil I will check out season 2, and am slightly more interested in a Luke Cage show than a Punisher show (though I say that not having seen Punisher on Daredevil yet).  I think the Defenders show actually sounds more interesting than any of these options.  I think they will do a teamup radically different from how Marvel Studios does The Avengers teamups.  Though at the same time, I hope whatever reason they join and whatever big bad they fight somehow ties into Infinity War. 

[Jay 37,263]

 

[Jay 37,263]

Luke Cage 1x01 Moment of Truth

 

Kind of a slow start, but that's the deal with these Netflix shows; They don't need to hook you with a pilot as they know most will keep watching for several episodes if there is enough interest, especially when this is their 4th season set in the same universe as other popular shows.

 

As I expected, the show is already quite similar to both Daredevil and Jessica Jones; They don't seem to want to explore too many different avenues with these shows, do they?  We have another person wanting to rebuild the city, another person with powers that doesn't want to use them for good, another person haunted by their past, etc.

 

I thought it was kinda strange that Luke was working in a barber shop and night club after we saw him last in Jessica Jones.  The man used to own a bar, can't he find better work than that?  It seems he's trying to hide / get paid under the table so he can't be found for reasons I don't remember from Jessica Jones, but still - seems like a guy like him could easily make more money doing something else.  But I suppose its the settings they wanted for plot reasons (a place for some light scenes every week, and a place where Luke can see people coming to meet the season's villain).

 

He slept with that cop pretty easily dispute claiming to still be grieving for Reva and only recently done with Jessica, etc.  I suppose that could play into future plot points, though, since she's the cop investigating the weapons sale gone bad.  Speaking of which, when Stokes told Shades it was not an inside job, did he not yet realize that the bartender taking the night off could be connected, or was he lying?

 

The episode's only action scene was a low-key one, well below the action seen in all the show's teasers and even his action scenes in Jessica Jones, but I'm sure they didn't want to blow their wad right away.

 

The villains seem pretty good, but that's never been a problem with these Marvel shows at all

[Jay 37,263]

Luke Cage 1x02 Code of the Streets

 

I liked the scene with Stokes comes into the barbershop, it was really well-done.  Had some nice tension to it.  Overall, I'm liking the early introduction and development of the villain, as opposed to the slow reveal that Daredevil and Jessica Jones went with.

 

I'm starting to REALLY like Misty Knight, the detective investigating the weapons deal gone wrong.  She's not only a pretty interesting character, but the actress playing her is one of the hottest women to be in these Marvel shows - and thats no mean feat to pull off!  I'd watch a spinoff of her investigating other crimes no problem!  Though, the scene where she visualizing how the weapons deal shootout would have happened was ripped straight out of my beloved HANNIBAL.

 

Man, what a heartbreaking scene, the barbershop shootout!  Of course when that guy saw Chico hiding out there I knew something would come of it, but once Stokes' goon that got the text and told Stokes about it and he decided he'd meet with Pop as planned instead, I thought it would come into play some other way.  When the goon took matters into his own hands and shot up the place, that sucked!  I really wasn't expecting the show to kill of Pops; I thought he'd be a character on it for the long run, and the barbershop would be a recurring set.  Guess not!

 

It was no surprise at all that Stokes killed the guy once he told him Pops was dead, but don't they have to do something about the fact that the body would be in front of his club?  Maybe that will come into play next week.  I really like Alfre Woodard's character, she's kind of different from the usual ones on these shows, more in the middle of the two extremes characters in these shows usually have.  I have a feeling by the end of the season she'll be taken down a few notches though; These kind of characters who want benefits obtained  by nefarious ways but without doing anything bad themselves always are.

 

The scene with Luke and the random thug that opened and closed the episode was kinda random and pointless, I thought

[Jay 37,263]

Luke Cage 1x03 Who's Gonna Take the Weight?

 

Finally Luke Cage is taking an active role in things.  He's nowhere near wanting to be a hero, but he wants to get revenge on Stokes for killing Pop by robbing him.  Or at least, getting his money off the street and into police lockup, which he does at several stash sites and eventually "Fort Knox".  I didn't like that the episode opened with us seeing that Luke is successful at this before then jumping backwards to earlier in the day; That was not a good use of a cold open flash forward because it removed any tension the scenes leading up to it had.  Oh well.

 

Good conversation between Misty and her partner about vigilantism.  Her Will Graham crime scene trick again though was kind of annoying.  I didn't think this  was going to be a recurring thing.  And that's another thing - it seems like these 2 cops are investigating every crime that happens in Harlem!  We the viewer know that all these events are related but its a leak to think that they'd be right on the spot for all the right robberies, shootings, etc.

 

It was so obvious to me the whole episode that Knight's partner was going to turn out to be dirty, and as soon as he was alone with Chico it was obvious he was going to kill him.  Did anybody not see that coming?

 

Stokes firing a freaking rocket into the chinese restaurant to try to kill Cage at the end was kind of laughable.... but then again Luke's entire plan was laughable from the start.  As soon as he decided to rob Stokes, surely he'd realize that Stokes as well as the cops would figure out it was him? And that people he knew would therefore be put into danger?  Either he didn't think of that, which means he's dumb, or he did but decided to go for it anyway, which also means he's dumb.  Oh well

[Jay 37,263]

Luke Cage 1x04 Step In The Arena

 

Ah, flashbacks, a staple of all these Marvel shows.  Luke's a former cop?  Did we know that before?  Are we supposed to already know what he's in for?  And his real name is Carl Lucas?  Did we know that already?  The flashbacks to his jail time started out fine, then devolved into silliness.  His wife was his prison counselor?  There was underground fighting rings in the prison he was in, that he was forced to participate in?  He got turned into a superhero because of "experiments" that some mad scientist was doing AT the prison?  And Reva was the one who insisted the doctor do it?  All kinda OOT and not in-line with the tone of the show to this point.  Also the timeline seems wonky.... all these shows take place soon after one another, and all shortly after "The Incident" (Avengers 1 from 2012)... yet if he's flashing back to jailtime 5-10 (?) years before all that, how is he referrences Nicki Minaj and Zoe Kravitz as hot women he's into?  

 

I liked the cross cutting of Luke punching his way out of the jail in the flashback, and out of the rubble in the present storyline.  Nothing advanced at all in the main storyline though, the episode must have ben 95% flashback.  I'm a bit confused about Reva and how her ethics work, but I suppose we'll find out more as the season goes on.

[Jay 37,263]

Luke Cage 1x05 Just To Get A Rep

 

Nice opening montage showing Cottonmouth's "Luke Cage tax" in effect.  I liked that Rosario Dawson's Claire character was reintroduced not by our main characters randomly bumping into her again, but in its own scene unconnected to what is going on (for now).  I also liked that instead of just being a healer and exposition layer, she got to actually be proactive for once in fighting off her purse snatcher.  I figured since she was showing up like this she was arriving in Harlem for Pop's funeral.  Turns out she wants to talk to her mom about setting up some kind of superhero hospital.  Neat!

 

Luke fighting back was nice too, finally the slog of "I don't want to be a hero" is (seemingly) over and he's finally going out and using his powers for "good" (though motivated by revenge).

 

Luke's visit to Stokes' club was kinda weird and too soon I thought at first,but set up an interesting plot: Shades finally recognizes him, and realizes Stokes' backer Diamondback may  have a weapon that could kill him.  But Shades warns Stokes that if Stokes accepts Diamondback's help, he could take Harlem from him.

 

The funeral for Pops was very nice, as both Stokes and Cage gave good speeches.  Misty's crooked partner seemingly having a change of heart with the sale of confiscated weapons for Stokes was... odd.