#1.1 "Into the Ring"

[darkphoenix21]

Just one more week until the premiere I'm sure many of us will binge watch the entire first season by the end of the weekend but, hopefully some discussion can still be had for each individual episode after repeat viewings.

[KSiteTV]

I may have ultimately liked Episode 2 more than Episode 1, but this was still a pretty flawless first episode. Loved the worldbuilding and I love the characters so far.

[Backward Galaxy]

The pilot was strong. High production value, solid performances, well thought out in terms of building the world and establishing where everyone stands. The fight choreography was excellent.

My biggest issue with the pilot is the pacing. A couple of the scenes run long. They linger on a few moments a few extra (read: unnecessary) beats. This is a minor quibble. My overall satisfaction level is high.

[Degobunny]

Good episode and strong pilot. I like Matt and Foggy's friendship and Karen being thrown into the mix. I also like that Karen seemed less like a victim, then she does in the comics and the same time is not a warrior woman archtype. I also liked the religious aspect as something that was not overdone and yet still clearly a part of Matt.

On a side note, a daredevil/ SHIELD crossover would be interesting, especially given the direction SHIELD is heading with people divided over superpowers.

[spotteddog]

Almost word for word I agree with BG on this first episode. As advertised this show is much more grounded than other Marvel properties - it's about the streets, not attacking aliens and flying heroes. I was a bit surprised that Matt's "radar sense" - his substitute for sight - was not explicitly explained, but maybe later or maybe never - either would be OK by me. We all know how it works.

[darkphoenix21]

I loved the pilot. It had great world building for sure. It felt/feels like a self contained story that wasn't/isn't reliant on the MCU; though the subtle hints are there.

The action scenes were so well done. I loved how in the beginning Murdock went to confess to what he was about to do and surprised those thugs as well as the scene at the apartment. The way the fight was cherographed was excellent especially how it transitioned to the flashback and then back to the fight.

The pacing wasn't an issue for me. It actually helped me to focus on the characters, dialogue and the scenes.

I can't wait to see the rest of the episodes.

[KSiteTV]

I loved the pilot. It had great world building for sure. It felt/feels like a self contained story that wasn't/isn't reliant on the MCU; though the subtle hints are there.

I like that too. It's subtle, but also it shows that this is the corner of the Marvel Universe they're playing with - the Defenders' world is different from the one we see in the Marvel cinematic universe. They're still the same world, but different parts... kind of like how I can live 5 minutes from Hollywood yet I don't get to go to the Oscars. They're there, just the characters aren't involved.

Though I do wonder how Matt would fit into Civil War, for example.

[DoubleDevil]

Nice intro, got a little bit of everything. A self contained episode revolving around Karen Page with decent character intro on Matt, Foggy, Karen, Wesley and Leland, not real heavy on the intro but gave enough to know who's who and basically what they're up to and leaving the viewer wanting more. Gave us a taste of the lawyer Matt Murdock and the vigilante Daredevil, set up the season arc with the "big bad" conspirators, teased the MCU just enough to acknowledge it but not be dependant upon it. Pacing is a little slow but seen as a 13 hour movie instead of weekly installments I can handle the slow burn they're taking, jumping ahead just slightly we see that the episodes tie together almost seamlessly with nearly no time lost between episodes (episode 1 ends just before DD tries to rescue the kid while episode 2 picks up after his failed attempt to save that same kid, a loss of what 2-3 hours?) which means they can take their time and don't have to cram everything into 2-3 hours or drag it out over 8 months. Fight scenes felt realistic (as realistic as a bullet dodging superhero fight can be), we actually saw exhaustion during the fights unlike most TV/Movie fights.