The Finest Dumpster in Hell's Kitchen (MCU netflix thread)

For all your unseemly metaborfing needs on the topic of comic-book derived Netfix serials, rating You Don't Tell Me What To Do.

Or anything else MCU related, should it come up. Hell, even the comic books, I love rants about continuity of shit I haven't read.

Spoiler: It just occurred to me to spoiler this whoops

OH SPEAKING OF COMIC BOOKS was anyone else irritated with the hard swing into cartoonitude the last few episodes of Daredevil took this season? Like, OK, I wouldn't have minded the fantastic elements if they'd at least tried to integrate them into the established setting, and also, if they hadn't stopped treating the antagonists like people. We got no sense of what these people were about, who they were, why they're doing this shit.

Like, fine, they're doing these scarybad things. Murder and blood-zombies and... serving their weapons? (That had to be a lie, they had that kid chained to the floor of a bare shipping container for fuck knows how long, Nobu reacted to his death by complaining how long it would take to find another one, but suddenly it's "We serve the Black Sky?" Hell no, that's ridiculous!) Anyway. Ok. WHY?

And then when they get away, suddenly Nobu's all "KILL DAREDEVIL," and what the fuck? Daredevil isn't the mission objective, Elektra is! Are we supposed to think an ancient quasi-immortal ninja with centuries of combat experience under his belt is just that stupid? Ok, maybe, being immortal doesn't make death or defeat into much of a learning experience. Let's go with that (even though I'm pretty sure the writers just forgot that anyone besides the protag was of any importance at all.) OK. Maybe Nobu's kinda dim and hotheaded for reasons, and he's that high up in his organization's hierarchy despite it for also reasons.

Why Daredevil? Why the youngest, dumbest ninja who's not-quite-a-member of the sect Nobu's been at war with for, what, also centuries? Why not Stick? Stick's an asshole! He's got to have been antagonizing this guy under any other name for-fucking-ever, Stick is the sort of person endless ninja grudges are fucking made for!

Also, also, suddenly killing's OK? Just because we have (shaky!) evidence that at least some of these guys might be able to get back up, under unknown circumstances? It's OK because they're zombies, probably, which we know because of a healed Y-incision and the fact that the blind guy can't always tell where they are? (see And Another Thing below) It's OK because they're brainwashed ninja? A term that equally applies to Matt and Elektra and probably Stick, so let's throw that the fuck out.

No, the answer is it's OK because they're designed by the narrative to be cannon fodder, and what a fucking coincidence they just happen to be mostly Asian (no it's fucking not, it's racist as hell.)

AND ANOTHER THING! Bodies in motion are loud. Even without a heartbeat you should be able to hear the contraction and relaxation of muscles, you should hear the motion of air around moving limbs, of rustling clothing, you should hear the friction of feet against the ground. "No heartbeat" shouldn't be anything more than unnerving to Matt once actual combat starts, ditto no body heat.

... okay that is maybe half of my metaborf done, I am going to go do IRL stuff now.

 

cannon fodder doesn't count as people, we all know that!
don't worry, that bugs me too.

 

I loved Jessica Jones. I love ... to hate Daredevil? I seriously don't know, I spent the entire first season complaining about the fact that Matt spent too much time moaning about the morality of punching people and not enough time actually punching people, which is what I am here to see. I'm only a few episodes into season two and I don't know what to think except that Elektra is MESSED UP and I love it.

...If they're killing people now what was all the whining in season one for? "Killing people is bad and makes you a bad guy! Unless your hot ex thinks it's a good idea." - Matt Murdock, apparently.

I guess I must like it because I keep coming back to it?

Also *bangs knife and fork on table* CLAIRE! CLAIRE!!

Claire is my favourite and I am sad that she is too smart to stay involved with all these messed-up superheroes and things.

 

I think the writing in the last few episodes just got rushed. The quality took a nosedive, the pacing got weird and jerky, stuff started just... being kinda ridiculous?

Spoiler: I am remembering spoiler tags this time.

And the narrative started acting like it had been fully established that killing a Hand member doesn't really count cause they're already dead and they'll come back anyway, but it really hadn't. And like it was a given that the Hand was definitely worse than the Chaste, purely on Stick's say-so, when we know approximately jack and shit about either of them and every word of it comes from the same murderous, orphan-brainwashing source. And basically AARGH.

And even if we had established any of that, I would still kinda be grinding my teeth about where Matt's arc landed on the ethical front this season- which point I've summarized elsewhere as "Fuck due process, let's go shank some ninja!" And various other sundry when it comes to how we treat white boys who think they're better than the law. *edit* also I still wouldn't agree with the narrative that undead ninja = OK to kill. */edit*

... which is I think part of why I tolerated Matt's hand-wringing over the morality of punching in the first season, when I usually find that kind of thing insufferable. White boys who think they're better than the law stopped being fun a while ago. Granted, the genre kind of pre-supposes law-breaking, but it felt kind of refreshing to address it at all. But then this season Matt

Spoiler: inside a spoiler!

turns around and calls Frank a hero on the witness stand? And no he damn well is not. Look, I have absolutely no problem treating Frank as a person, but you don't then get to turn around and treat a whole crowd of faceless soldiers as not-people Because Reasons and expect not to get called on the fecking hypocrisy! Aaargh!

...Also, kidnapping a busload of unrelated civilians from all over town to hold hostage as superhero bait is the dumbest plan ever, especially when you consider they already had operatives watching his damn apartment.

... I honestly feel a little guilty for latching onto Matt as a character more than I did Jessica Jones. ... eheheheh, that's why though. You pick the character that speaks to your own neuroses. Plus also that power set is my jam.

Also, v much agreed re: Moar Claire. And Elektra is a delightful sack of crazed stoats.

... aaahaahaa. I just got a joke that flew straight over my head when I read The Tick as a kid.

*edit* gah that's the second time this week I accidentally called Jessica Jones Jennifer. (I had a cousin named Jennifer.) (Jessica though. The name that I am trying to remember is Jessica. I accidentally reinforced the wrong name last time, that's why I did it again. Jessica!)

 

i've linked it in another thread, but: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6351970 my (very explicit) Matt Murdock/Jessica Jones fic, now with two chapters!

i love both shows, although i felt that the acting in Jessica Jones is better than the actual plot. the storyline felt kind of scattered. but it's still a fucking powerful show, that hits way way too close to home for me. (i was raped by a guy who wears nice suits, has a british accent, and insisted he was in love with me. also, in the episode where she stays at the house with Kilgrave, she basically goes down the list of everything i've ever imagined saying if i had to be around him again.) the only thing i don't like about JJ is the action scenes, actually; the fight choreography, while completely in-character and appropriate for Jessica, just bores me. Matt's fighting style (PARKOUR ALL OVER YER FACE) is way more fun for me to watch. there are some amazingly shot fight scenes in Daredevil, really; the hallway fight in s1 and the stairwell fight in s2 are both just fucking masterful cinematography.

Matt <3< Elektra! Matt <3< Elektra! Matt <3< Elektra!

 

the writing process: re-watching Jessica Jones to figure out which surfaces in her office are suitable for sex.

why yes i'm working on the third (final?) chapter of my fic.

edit: i've written a thousand words today and i'm still not at the porn. this pwp is turning out to have an unexpected amount of plot.

 

I'm watching JJ for the first time, and I gotta say, it's a testament to David Tennant's acting that he can manage to be terrifying while doing nothing but staring intently at wallpaper.

 

So I'm trying to finish season two again and I've forgotten like, half of what I already watched since it's been so long since I watched it, but I cannot believe this just happened twice:

Spoiler: Spoilers up to S2 E12 1/2

Matt: These ninjas keep giving me the slip, they just disappear into thin air!
Foggy: Did you check in the abandoned railway tunnels? The ones under the manhole covers? You know, those big round heavy metal things that make a noise when they move?
Matt: Oh, right! *finds the ninjas*

Matt: These ninjas keep sneaking up on me, I can't hear their heartbeats at all! Even their voluminous clothing is totally silent!
Stick: Ever think of listening for breathing? You know, that thing that alive people do, often at volumes audible to non-superheroes?
Matt: Oh, right! *kicks the crap out of the ninjas*

Am I missing something obvious, like the introduction of a mechanism whereby a group of ninjas plus a prisoner could remove a manhole cover, jump into a watery tunnel, and replace the manhole cover without making a sound, or the part where it turns out Matt is selectively deaf, or the part where apparently breathing is harder to hear than heartbeats, or is this what you meant by "rushed writing"? I'm just sort of shocked that two whole problems in the path of the super-powered-hearing-having hero revolved around him not hearing things that don't even seem like they would be that hard to hear. I mean, wouldn't it have made more sense to have hearing-heartbeats be a level up from hearing-breathing, instead of the other way around?

It was neat to see small Elektra though. And apparently she hasn't changed a bit in however-many years, haha. Her inability to hear "let's go fight" without interpreting it to mean "let's kill people" seems to be negatively affecting all of her relationships, though.

 

jessica jones was good! i havent rewatched it or anything but my one binge was great

daredevil is absolutely gorgeous but i havent been able to get into it enough :<

 

So apparently Luke is getting a TV show and Claire is in it, yay! I'm ready for it to be September 30 now.

Spoiler: Daredevil S2 E13

I made it! Impressions of the last three episodes:

• PLEASE STOP TAKING AWAY CHARACTERS THAT I LIKE. Also give Claire more screen time, I still like her best.
• Someone please put Frank Castle into therapy (and jail).
• What was up with the murder cabin in the woods? Was that the Blacksmith's? Why would you put a murder cabin that close to your house?
• Karen is still doing that emotional manipulation thing and it is still skeeving me out
• Like it's not even really good emotional manipulation, she basically goes "I'm having feelings! Look at all these feelings I'm having! Don't you want to do what I tell you to now?"
• I don't like it.
• There was totally a scratch in Betsy's armor.
• If I were Karen I would totally jump to the conclusion that Matt had found Daredevil's helmet lying around and then things would be really awkward while he tried to explain.

Maybe it's because I watched season two in bits and pieces and forgot most of everything between bits, but I feel like I don't have a really good grasp of Elektra's character. She had this thing about "being good" but never hesitated to kill anyone, as if "killing people is bad and should be a last resort" is something that just didn't compute for her. Maybe part of being a super secret weapon ... thingy...? She doesn't have a stun setting, I guess.

Anyway I hope she has fun being a weird ninja mummy until next season.

 

thread necro! i'm watching The Defenders, and i'm only one episode in, but it DID prompt me to finally look into why the lighting in the Daredevil show is so freakin' yellow in so many scenes: apparently the original Daredevil costume was yellow, plus there was a miniseries in 2001 titled Daredevil: Yellow.

this of course doesn't explain the prominent use of yellow in non-Matt scenes in The Defenders, which i've already noticed being a thing. just an extension of the #aesthetic established in Daredevil? could be a reference to the yellow tint of sodium lights used in NYC, but then again the scene of Matt in his apartment near the end of ep 1 is tinted very red. so they're obviously ok with a highly symbolic use of color. i just don't know what the yellow would be symbolic of.

 

The defenders TRIES to use blue/purple for jessica, red for matt, yellow for luke and green(?!) for danny generally, i think, and does it... VERY unsubtly

quoting here because of reading upthread - perhaps @hyrax is who i was thinking of :3

 

yeeeeeeeah i'm only 2 eps in and so far the whole show is. not subtle.

the reason i'm even watching it at all is because my fic has suddenly gotten like, 50 more kudos in the past 4 days, and i was like "ok i guess i have to watch their canon interactions."

 

Their canon interactions made me interested in the ship, but MAN watching most of it was a chore. Jessica is a treasure and Luke is great and I still like Matt a lot, but there was much too much mystic ninja stuff and much too much Iron Fist.

But hey, new seasons in 2018 for errybody, so that's exciting at least

 

I quite enjoyed it. Wonder if my taste is going downhill...

It's possible it's because I didn't mind Iron Fist that much. (I know a lot of people were boycotting but dammit, it had Claire in it. And frankly I found it less racist & facepalmy than the second half of Daredevil S2. Not that plenty of facepalms didn't happen, but. Claire. Yey Claire.)

 

5 eps in and Defenders is just OK, but i am L I V I N G for Jessica and Matt.

"You look like an asshole."
"It's your scarf!"

"Nice ears."
"THEY'RE HORNS."

 

JESSICA LETTING MATT TAKE HER ARM IS SO IMPORTANT

Spoiler: a completely out-of-context frame that doesn't actually spoil anything but JUST IN CASE

(i know he doesn't actually need assistance to get around, but i headcanon that he prefers it when he's not Daredeviling, because focusing his senses to exclude all the background noise and get a full picture of a room takes a lot of mental energy)

HOW DO I CARE THIS MUCH ABOUT A HET SHIP. normally i only get this invested in gay ships and ships with terrible fucked-up power dynamics, neither of which is the case here.

 

... Maybe because the individuals themselves are fucked up enough to make up for the lack of upfuckage in their dynamic, and also Jessica isn't a fucking boring cardboard cutout placed on the scene primarily to serve as a love interest/fridge bait for a dude who is the Actual Protagonist?

Maybe because they're both fully realized characters with an interesting dynamic, which you generally just don't see in mainstream het relationships?

 

hahaha YEP you've got my number all right. they're both damaged people who regularly make bad decisions, which makes for a great dynamic

 

Spoiler: spoilers for the finale of Defenders

Matt's dead OH SHIT NOT REALLY was. a very predictable "twist". but Matt and Elektra kissing as a building collapses around them was a very fitting metaphor for their whole relationship. i still think that Matt needs to realize that his attraction to Elektra is very much blackrom and he'd be a lot happier. (i'd apologize for being a dirty homestuck, but tbh homestuck just gave me a word for the kinds of relationships i've always loved in fiction.)

but man, Foggy is gonna be pissed when he finds out Matt's alive.