The Defenders recap: 'Mean Right Hook' 

Mike Colter, Krysten Ritter, Charlie Cox, Finn Jones

The Defenders’ series premiere ended with a bang, and here, we pick up right where it left off. Despite his retirement from being Daredevil, Matt can’t help but overhear the chaos outside engendered by the sudden earthquake. It’s not enough to get him to don the costume again, but Matt does got out and fight some crime in a suit.

The next morning, New York residents have more questions than answers about the earthquake. Trish talks to a geologist on her radio show who says that the earthquake was only 300 feet deep rather than three miles, which sounds weird — but before Trish can ask any more, the call is cut off by her bosses and she’s ordered to move to the next topic. That’s not suspicious at all.

What IS suspicious, however, is finding a stash of explosives in an empty apartment. Jessica Jones was smart enough to call in the cops, which makes this her first encounter with fellow ex-Luke Cage lover Misty Knight. Jessica doesn’t linger long, but before she leaves Misty spots her take a piece of evidence with her.

Colleen Wing tries to get Danny Rand to cheer up, telling him that the man they saw die fighting the Hand in Cambodia proves that they’re not alone in this fight. Now that they’re back in New York, maybe they’ll find allies here. Indeed there are some, and they’re busy actually helping people. Up in Harlem, Luke is lifting debris out of the road and helping with clean-up while Claire (Rosario Dawson) administers some first aid to people in the neighborhood.

While our heroes are helping people, our villain is busy wallowing in luxury. Thanks to her many gracious donations, Alexandra is currently being treated to a private philharmonic concert. While talking to the conductor, she suddenly provides some personal knowledge about the rivalry between Beethoven and Brahms. She might be dying now, but it sure seems like Alexandra’s lived a pretty extensive life. If not immortal, she seems pretty old — so why is she vulnerable now? We’ll have to wait a bit for answers there, but Gao does stop by to address a different mystery. The Hand’s forces may have killed the elders of K’un-Lun, but the city itself is still blocked by some kind of wall filled with inscriptions. Alexandra is smart enough to realize that this is not a wall but a door, and to get in they just need the key. Given everything they and we know about the mythology at work here, it seems pretty likely that Danny’s iron fist is the key to unlocking it.

On the less mystical side of things, both Matt and Jessica touch in with their respective lawyer friends. Foggy notices the bruises on Matt’s knuckles and instantly knows he’s been out and about again. He offers to help, but while it’s nice for the two friends to reconnect, they’re still not quite on the same page. Jessica and Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) are never on the same page, obviously, but nevertheless, the latter tries to protect her former employee by telling her to stay away from the Raymond case. Later, the two lawyers themselves meet up, and Hogarth asks Foggy to watch Jessica’s back for her. The pieces are moving closer together… 

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