MCU: Is The Defenders, Already Better Than The Avengers?

I don’t know if readers of this blog have noticed, but I’m not the hugest fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I know, it’s shocking. I actually like movies with, like, plots and stuff. Maybe some character development.

For the people who actually do read this blog (if such people exist), the really surprising revelation will be that I actually don’t hate everything that’s come out of the MCU. I liked the first Iron Man movie, for example. Guardians of the Galaxy was good and fun. Ant-Man was solid entertainment. Agent Carter was better than Agents of SHIELD and should have been renewed instead of AoS… but that’s a whole other topic.

The real gems of the MCU, however, are the Netflix series. In fact, I’m of the opinion that these shows are of such different quality that we shouldn’t even pretend that they exist in the same universe as the rather cartoonish Avengers. Every time they make references to the events of those movies, it feels awkward and wrong.

This summer, all four of the current Netflix/Marvel series will come together into one big monster event series, called The Defenders. Will this series be an amazing convergence of awesomeness? Or will it be another Avengers, feeding more into the fanboy dreams of its creators than into a solid story of its own? Let’s examine the situation, both pros and cons.

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Thirteen Reasons Why

Watching Thirteen Reasons Why on Netflix isn’t fun. A teenage girl, Hannah Baker has killed herself (spoiler alert), and she’s left behind a series of thirteen audio recordings, each telling the tale of another person who contributed to her decision to commit suicide.

Overall, I think that the series was a success, for what it was. It was an interesting look at a downward spiral. At times, it was a brutal, sad, or painful series to watch. At one point, it also made me gag a little, which is weird because I’m not usually one to react to Hollywood gore. However, by that point, I was invested in this character, and no amount of knowing that she was going to kill herself could make that scene any less difficult to watch.

Rather than go through the entire series and write a normal review, I’m going to give my thoughts as they relate to certain criticisms that I’ve seen of the series. I’m not associated with the series in any way, and these are just my “top of the brain” responses. Make of them what you will: