The Defenders (episode)

The Defenders is the eighth and final episode of the first season of The Defenders, as well as the series finale.
==Synopsis==
As New York edges closer to disaster, Elektra sees what's beyond the wall, and the Defenders make a last-ditch effort to save the city.
==Plot==
The Defenders continue to argue over the decision to blow up Midland Circle. Luke Cage insists that it is wrong and that he refuses be a part of it, but Claire Temple claims that they have to do it in order to can finally destroy the Hand. Jessica Jones also agrees with Daredevil and Colleen Wing. Outvoted, Cage agrees to do it, as long as no innocent people die. Madame Gao returns underground to see Elektra and informs her that the others are finding an escape as the end is nearing.
Wing pressures the team to let her go down with them, but Temple convinces her to stay up with her since she can't hold off Hand members by herself. Wing stays, but not before making Defenders promise that they won't fail Danny Rand again. 
Captain Strieber and Misty Knight talk about an intruder that stole the Midland Circle blueprints and explosives. Strieber suggests it was the Defenders, but Knight cuts him off. After a squabble, they begin to realize that the Defenders are going to use the bombs to blow up Midland Circle. Knight frantically calls the bomb squad. 
At the precinct, Karen Page does research using the evidence that the police had brought in. Trish Walker approaches her and is surprised at how much evidence there is. The electricity then comes back on. Page and Walker talk about their vigilante friends, until Foggy Nelson and Malcolm Ducasse walk in, telling them that cops are being sent to Midland Circle.
The Defenders search for a way underground. Murdock finds a secret opening to an elevator, which Cage opens with his strength. The three of them use it and descend. 
Wing and Temple wander above, planting bombs. Wing reminds Temple that she is a hero as well: she has saved just as many lives, but she simply doesn't make the headlines. Temple suddenly hears Bakuto coming, and they hide. 
An angry Knight wanders outside trying to get inside, before eventually calling Temple. 
Bakuto realizes that there are intruders in the room and threatens to find them. Wing reveals herself and slowly walks over to Bakuto. Temple's phone rings, alerting him of her presence as well. Temple answers the call, as Wing and Bakuto engage in a sword fight, which Knight hears over the phone, so Knight shoots open a locked door and breaks in. 
Wing and Bakuto continue to fight. Bakuto offers her a chance to join him again, and she responds that she doesn't need him anymore. More Hand men walk in. Temple subdues one, while Knight walks in right on time and shoots the other. Knight also shoots Bakuto, but the bullets do no damage. He then pushes her aside and returns to Wing. Temple tries to hit Bakuto and is quickly held with a sword to her neck. Bakuto goes for the kill, but Knight saves Temple, albeit losing her right arm to Bakuto's blade in the process. Wing charges at Bakuto and slices his throat, before decapitating him with a final blow. Wing and Temple try to get Knight to an ambulance. Wing notices with dread that the time bomb has initiated its countdown.
Underground, a stealthy Rand takes out Hand members around the room, Gao discovers him and notifies him that he has wasted his Chi. She uses Rand's feelings for K'un-Lun and his parents to get inside his head, but he quickly regains his composure, only to be punched by Gao. 
The elevator finally reaches the bottom, and Jones appears to be alone — as part of an ambush plan that Cage came up with. As Jones is making conversation with the Hand members to distract them, Daredevil and Luke Cage sneak up and begin fighting. Iron Fist is found by Jones, and he joins the fight. 
The Defenders finally properly team up. Rand uses his fist to punch Gao, starting the battle. Cage beats Murakami, while Iron Fist and Daredevil team up. Iron Fist eventually runs out of chi, losing the power of the Fist. Daredevil fights Elektra, but he holds back. Then, Daredevil suddenly hears the ticking of the time bomb upstairs. In his distraction, Elektra lands some hits on him, but Jones throws her across the cave. Daredevil tells the others to get to the surface while he stays below. They try to persuade him to leave with them, but he convinces them go. Daredevil whispers one last thing to Rand before they leave. 
Hand soldiers climb the elevator shaft to get to the three heroes on their way up. Daredevil and Elektra square off. Murdock tells her that he's lost her once, and he doesn't want to do it again. He continues to try to get her to stop, but she keeps hitting him. She then slices his chest, leaving him on the ground. Elektra throws her sword at the elevator shaft which sends it falling down, but Jones leaps up and catches the wire just in time, holding the wire in one hand and the elevator in the other. Rand and Cage climb up the wire and meet her at the top. At the bottom, Daredevil takes Elektra to the ground. She tells him that she's not afraid of death because he will be with her, where he should be.
On the surface, officers enter the building and try to arrest the vigilantes, but Cage apologizes saying he can't let that happen. Everyone except the Hand and Daredevil evacuate the building. 
Meanwhile, Elektra has Murdock in a chokehold. Murdock remarks that this is karma for ever thinking their relationship could work. She counters that it did work, as they are together now. Gao approaches a lethally wounded Murakami, who asks her what is happening. Gao replies, "the end." 
The timer of the bomb then hits zero, blowing up the building and making it collapse on itself. Murdock holds Elektra close; she apologizes for all of the pain she has caused him. He then leans in and kisses her, as the building comes crumpling down on top of them. 
The rest of the Defenders watch in anguish from the streets. Rand tells them that Murdock had no intention of making it out alive, but he said one thing to Rand for they left: "Protect my city." 
At the precinct, Jones walks in to meet Ducasse and Walker, who embraces her with relief. Cage walks in with Temple, and Rand walks in with Wing. Nelson and Page stand up, anticipating Murdock, only to be left with an empty room. They realize the implication of this and hug each other in grief.
A few days later, Walker addresses her fans on her talk show, covering up the Destruction of Midland Circle as a result of the unstable supports. Nelson meets with Temple and Cage as their lawyer, saying that the destruction is being covered up by the DA, meaning there will be no criminal charges. Cage tells Nelson that he is sorry for his loss. Temple talks with Nelson about their mutual friend. Nelson blames himself because he brought Murdock the Daredevil suit, but Temple insists that there would have been no talking Murdock out of what he was going to do, anyway. Temple tells him he loved the city and the people more than himself.
Knight wakes up from surgery to see Wing at her bedside. Knight looks down to see the stump that has replaced her right arm. Wing offers Knight the opportunity of a robotic arm from Rand Enterprises. She tells her she'll think about it. 
Jones finds herself at a bar. Cage walks in to talk to her about their past together, expressing regret that they didn't handle it differently. They promise to keep in touch this time. 
Rand meditates in Chikara Dojo when Wing walks in. He asks her how Knight is doing, and she responds that she is strong. Rand strives to be the protector of the city that Daredevil was. 
At Alias Investigations, Jones finds her door unlocked. She cautiously opens it up, only to see Ducasse working to fix up her apartment. 
At Clinton Church, Page stands at the alter crying when Nelson approaches to ask how she is doing. She struggles to grasp the idea of Murdock actually being dead and suggests that he could still be alive, noting they're still digging. Nelson tells her it's been days. They then sit down together. 
Meanwhile, Iron Fist looks over the city from a rooftop, just as Daredevil once did. 
At Saint Agnes Orphanage, a nun tells another nun to get Maggie. A bruised and bandaged Matt Murdock lies unconscious on a bed.
==Cast==
Main Cast:
*Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil
*Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones
*Mike Colter as Luke Cage
*Finn Jones as Danny Rand/Iron Fist
*Eka Darville as Malcolm Ducasse
*Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson
*Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing
*Simone Missick as Misty Knight
*Ramon Rodriguez as Bakuto
*Rachael Taylor as Trish Walker
*Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page
*Élodie Yung as Elektra
*Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
Guest Stars:
*Wai Ching Ho as Madame Gao
*Yutaka Takeuchi as Murakami
*Ron Simons as Captain Strieber
*Brandon Morris as Cop #1
*Zenzi Williams as Nun
*Roger Brenner as FDNY / EMT (uncredited)
*Merritt Matthew Chase as Harlem Precinct Detective (uncredited)
==Appearances==
===Locations===
*New York City, New York
**Midland Circle
**29th Precinct Police Station
**WNEX Station
**Soledad Temple's Apartment
**Chikara Dojo
**Jessica Jones' Apartment Building
***Alias Investigations Office
**Clinton Church
***Saint Agnes Orphanage
**New York City Hall (mentioned)
**Royal Dragon (photo)
*K'un-Lun (mentioned)
===Events===
*Excavation of Midland Circle
**Destruction of Midland Circle
**Attack on John Raymond (mentioned)
**Kidnapping of Iron Fist (mentioned)
**New York City Earthquake (mentioned)
**Rescue of Trish Walker (mentioned)
**Murder of Alexandra Reid (mentioned)
*Trial of Shou-Lao (mentioned)
*Attack on the Hand (mentioned)
*Duel of Delaney Hall (mentioned)
===Items===
*Daredevil's Suit
*Daredevil's Billy Club
*Colleen Wing's Katana
*Elektra's Twin Sai
*Mark of Shou-Lao
*Bakuto's Katana
*Trish Talk
*
*Steel Serpent (newspaper)
*Resurrection Elixir (mentioned)
===Concepts===
*Chi
===Vehicles===
To be added
===Creatures===
*Dragons (remains)
**Shou-Lao (mentioned)
===Organizations===
*Defenders
*Hand
*Alias Investigations
*Rand Enterprises
*New York City Police Department
*New York Bulletin
*Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz
*WNEX New York
*Fire Department of New York City
*Order of the Crane Mother (mentioned)
*DEA (newspaper)
===Mentioned===
*Cole Miller
*John Raymond (photo)
*Heather Rand
*Jerry
*Alexandra Reid
*Blake Tower
*Linda Carter
*Elias Wirtham
*Tony Isabella
*Arvell Jones
*Maggie Grace
==Trivia==
*Spider-Man is mentioned in the Wu-Tang Clan song "", which is featured in this episode.
*A teaser trailer for The Punisher was included in the original Netflix release in the end-credits of this episode.
==Music==
Song title 	Artist 	Location(s)
A Bone to Pick 	John Paesano	
*Madame Gao tells Danny Rand a story about seeing him as a child with his mother, then says it's time for New York City to fall. Jessica Jones exits the elevator and announces she's come to talk.
Kung Fu Party 	John Paesano	
*Jessica Jones gives Danny Rand a hand up. Bakuto offers Colleen Wing one last chance to switch sides. Claire Temple takes on a pair of Hand thugs with a wrench. Misty Knight orders Bakuto to drop his sword. The Defenders pause to regroup.
 	Wu-Tang Clan	
*The Defenders take on Elektra, Madame Gao, Murakami and the rest of the Hand.
Protect My City 	John Paesano	
*Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Danny Rand fight members of the Hand while taking the elevator to the surface. Matt Murdock tries to reason with Elektra while they fight. Elektra uses a knife to stall the elevator's ascent.
*End credits.
The Defenders 	John Paesano	
*Elektra and Matt Murdock continue fighting as the New York City Police Department are evacuated from Midland Circle. Madame Gao finds Murakami impaled. The Defenders run from the building as it explodes. Murdock and Elektra kiss as debris falls around them. Foggy Nelson embraces Karen Page as they realize Murdock did not come back from the Midland Circle.
Red Rose in the Cold Winter Ground	The Dig 	
*Jessica Jones drinks at a bar when Luke Cage arrives. He speaks of how their last meeting ended and his happiness that it was not her who got stuck in the hole, then asks for her to stay in touch.
==References==
==External Links==
*
*
*
Category:The Defenders Episodes