Marvel & Netflix’s “The Defenders” Recaps By Penny Episode 6; Ashes Ashes

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Alexandra is listening to more Brahams, but it’s on an antique phonograph with an obviously warped record as the piece sounds painfully distorted. As is wont to happen with such things the record starts to skip and Alexandra takes it off the machine to just stare at it sadly. Meanwhile the Defenders are still in shock at how efficiently Stick murdered Sowande. He says they finally know what they want in Danny. Luke says they already know they want Danny. Stick says it was more than that. Sowande’s exact words gave it away; he’s a key. Danny of all people decides to hold the Arbitrary Skeptic Ball this time, thinking the idea of him being an actual key is ridiculous. Everyone thinks they need to just keep Danny safe and hidden, and Danny gets paranoid. They start fighting amongst themselves, literally, and Matt is kicking Danny’s ass. Finally Danny uses the Fist on Luke again and creates a mild sonic boom. Jessica says sorry and kicks Danny into unconsciousness Orton style. Opening credits.

They take Danny upstairs to hide and restrain him, as Jessica teases Luke about how he’s spending his Just Got Out Of Jail time. They have an awkward moment. Matt and Stick bring up the giant hole in the construction site from DD Season 2 that has now ended up being Midland Circle. Luke and Jessica chastize Matt for keeping secrets again, and after some petty bickering, Luke and Matt decide to go talk to Raymond’s family while Luke stays to watch Danny with Stick.

Elektra appears to be dreaming about season 2, waking up on Matt’s couch as he brings her coffee. A passing police siren wakes her in real life and she resumes looking around. She finds a braille bible with a bookmark for the cemetery she was buried in, adorned with Revelations 21:4. Stick gathers up Sowande’s head in a box. Luke questions his plans, Stick tells him plausible deniability, and Luke agrees to stop asking. Matt and Jessica are at his loft, thankfully after Elektra has already left, so Matt can put his civvies on.  Matt notices the bookmark missing but plays it off and they leave.

Alexandra shows the other three Fingers Sowande’s head, which Stick left in his warehouse. The three are angry they didn’t try to find him. Alexandra nosells their anger and grief, reminding them they’ve all tried to assassinate each other over the years. Murakami and Bakuto both want to see the Black Sky but Alexandra lies and says she’s hidden somewhere safe because she fears Elektra will kill THEM if she senses disloyalty to her. Gao tries to play peacemaker between them all and gets everyone to calm down, citing their mutual goals to get beyond the Wall under Midland Circle and retrieve more of the Substance so they can be immortal again.

Matt and Jessica arrive at the Raymond townhouse but only Lexi, the daughter is home. They tell her there’s more to her dad’s story than what the police theorize, and she lets them in. Meanwhile Gao intrudes on Alexandra taking pills. She sucks up in classic Gao misdirect style, telling her she’s convinced the others to play nice but only if she lets them go catch Danny WITHOUT Elektra. She says they’re no closer to getting more of The Substance or returning to K’Uhn Luhn. Alexandra reminds Gao that she lead the last mutiny attempt. Gao plays it off.

Danny wakes up and he’s chained to a chair, understandably pissed. Luke jovially taunts him, very playfully. Danny questions where the others are. He talks like they all betrayed him, Luke says he should have just stopped acting likea whiny child and listened. Danny tries to play the “you need me out there fighting at your side” card. Luke says he hates fighting and only does so when necessary. Danny says keeping him chained up isn’t smart. Luke says neither is fighting people trying to help you. Stick is meditating and Luke mocks the whole mysticism stuff again, and anny misses the sarcasm. They somehow end up talking about things that hurt them physically, and finally what happened when Luke and Jessica were together. They start to bond even in a shitty situation.

Raymond’s daughter thinks her dad was a coward who abandoned her. Jessica surprises Matt by telling Lexi the story of HIS dad to show her that sometimes you don’t know the whole truth and people are sometimes better than you knew. Alexandra finds Elektra at her own grave, and lies to her about who Matt was to her, telling her it was Matt who let Elektra Natchios die and that his attempts to reach her are a deception. She then explains that she’s dying, and that she used the last of the Substance to revive Elektra. She sells her the “we serve life” lie and it seems she has her swayed again.

Stick notices Danny is slowing his heartrate and they discuss chi and the war they’re in. Danny says winning the war is their duty. Stick says fighting it might be but winning it will take something else. Danny says it sounds like he’s improvising. Stick says of course he is, that’s how he survives. Lexi is talking about her dad when Matt abruptly asks if she plays piano. Lexi leads him to the piano while Jessica just looks confused. Matt plays a little of the goddamn tv show’s own theme and discovers a few notes are off, and lift the lid to find hidden building plans Raymond stashed to keep safe. The plans show something at the bottom of the hole under Midland.

Luke asks Stick about his incense, and Stick says to not let his guard down with Danny. He asks Luke about prison and accuses him of limiting his own effectiveness by holding back. He tells Luke about his own prison days when he was young and how it was there that the Chaste found him and gave him purpose, and that Luke needs to accept his own purpose and fight to win. Matt and Jessica talk about how i appears Raymond’s plan for all the explosives was to collapse Midland Circle into the hole and bury whatever is down there. He also asks her how she knew about his dad. She says a blind parkouring lawyer had to have an interesting backstory so she dug his up.

Luke wonders about the unusual amount of smoke from Stick’s incense and Stick wafts some in his face. Luke coughs and passes out, as Stick decides the best way to keep the Hand from using Danny is to kill him. Matt hears Luke collapse from outside and he and Jessica run in to try to stop Stick. Stick tells him there are worse things than him but Elektra shows up right before he can behead Danny. Danny inhales the knockout smoke while Stick and Elektra fight. Matt and Jessica arrive just in time to watch her kill Stick. She then easily dispatches Matt and Jessica, and Luke is still groggy so he’s not much challenge either. Finally she cuts Danny’s chains and runs off with him.

Alexandra is dining alone in an empty restaurant when Murakami shows up. He presents her a vintage bottle of wine and tells her a story of why he was reluctant to leave K’Uhn Luhn in the beginning; he didn’t want to leave with her. He tells her he wanted to make her last meal happy, suggesting he’s here to kill her and take over the hand. They trade barbs, but before they can start fighting Elektra walks in dragging Danny behind her. Alexandra glots and Murakami gives up his mutiny.

When Danny wakes up the four surviving Fingers are there, and she screws with his head. He resists and she has him taken away. She gloats about her victory and how the others should never have doubted her while they still say that much has NOT gone to plan and that losing Sowande was too high a cost. Alexandra goes into full on villain rant mode, ordering Elektra to go kill Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen whoever he is. She then rants how SHE did this and SHE did that and blah blah blah STAB!!!

“His name is Matthew.”

Elektra finally took her sai and kills Alexandra with them. She tells the remaining three that her name is Elektra Natchios and they work for her now. She then beheads Alexandra’s corpse and says “Any questions?”

End of episode.

Penny is a now divorced intersexed disabled lesbian in BC Canada. She's been watching wrestling and reading comics since she was a kid, and knows her stuff. She lives with her pets and passes her free time writing, drawing, doing paid photoshop work (including logos done for Pulse's Own Mike Gojira), and is a part-time Queer model.