After I watched the show Daredevil on Netflix, I found this show suggested to me by Netflix, and decided to give it a try. However, it not only featured the famous Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) but also the heroes Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), and Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Finn Jones). After I finished each of the following shows and had an idea of who each of these heroes were and the plot leading up, I watched the series. Although it told the story from multiple viewpoints and seemed a little fast at times, I really enjoyed the show and believed that it deserved a second season before its untimely cancellation by its owner at the time, Netflix.

The story takes place in New York, as each of these heroes face a common enemy in The Hand, a villainous organization that fought Daredevil and Iron Fist prior to the series and desired one thing above all — immortality. The stable consisted of the leader Alexandria Reid (Sigourney Weaver), Bakuto (Ramon Rodriguez), Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho), Murakami, Sowande, and Elektra (Elodie Yung) as they stormed New York, which held the key to their goal. As their plan involved the destruction of New York, these four heroes united to protect the city that they lived in and swore to protect.

Each hero faces their own conflict in the series caused by the Hand. Elektra turned out to be Daredevil’s lover who died fighting the Hand alongside him and became resurrected and manipulated by Alexandria to join and fight for the Hand, which burdened Matt and motivated him to try to bring back the Elektra that he knew. Danny faced a plane crash that killed his parents and nearly killed him before he became rescued and trained by a group of monks to earn the Iron Fist, a weapon earned by killing a dragon – before he learned of the Hand’s role in the crash. Luke Cage witnessed as Sowande forced Harlem boys to partake in illegal activities for the Hand and even killed off any potential threats to the organization. Jessica Jones failed to help one of her clients, who was worried about her husband as he helped the Hand in their business and died at the hands of Elektra, unbeknownst to his wife.

Despite the Hand threatening everyone whom the four heroes loved, the Defenders manage to overcome the Hand and save New York from mass destruction — at the price of a tear-jerking sacrifice and a heartbreaking end sequence. As the final episode came to an end, each of the heroes’ upcoming season storylines became teased and introduced before the end credits rolled.

Although the organization of the seasons to watch was very confusing at first, I still enjoyed watching the show very much and definitely recommend this show to anyone, especially Marvel fans. This show, along with the shows of the four heroes, are streaming on Disney Plus after being transferred by Netflix. It can be watched at any point, however, to get the best experience, the recommended order of the show is to start with Daredevil Season 1, then Jessica Jones Season 1, then Daredevil Season 2, then Luke Cage Season 1, then Iron Fist Season 1, and then finally getting to The Defenders.