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The Defenders, Weekend Reading, & Textbooks
For some reason I never got the memo (or else got it then completely forgot) that The Defenders is a miniseries and only eight episodes long. I'm not complaining--it made blowing through the entire thing in two days that much easier. In the end I'm glad that I didn't hype myself up too much for this show, since it's nowhere near as much of an emotional gut punch as Daredevil or Jessica Jones. That's not to say it isn't good, though, and that's definitely not to say that it isn't fun--watching all the banter, eye-rolling, and awkward maybe-found-family-ness was an absolute joy.
I haven't got around to watching Iron Fist yet, but I was still prepared for Danny to be an absolute twerp. He was. Maybe not completely irredeemable in his twerpiness, but yeesh, does he have a long way to go. That being said, his heart's in the right place, and I loved watching both Luke and Matt treat him like an annoying little brother. Also have to give him credit for making a line like "I am the Immortal Iron Fist" sound more cool than cringey. (I mean, it's still kind of cringey. Nowhere near as cringey as it could have been, though.)
There is no way, in any universe, that anyone could give Misty Knight enough credit for how much she puts up with from these people. Seriously. I'm kind of hoping for an eventual friendship between her and Jessica, seeing as Misty seems pretty perceptive when it comes to Jessica's true feelings. (Like in the last [or maybe second-to-last] episode when she mentions to Matt how scared Jessica is. It's a small moment, but I loved it.)
The plot's tighter than the some of the other Marvel shows', but I have to admit I wasn't as emotionally involved with the characters. I think part of that comes down to the type of show The Defenders is--very plotty, with a big focus on the characters' interactions instead of their inner emotions. Not that there's no focus on the inside stuff, but when you're juggling that many characters and storylines it's going to be darn near impossible to go too deep into any one person's head. It's not a problem or a weakness, really; you just end up with a different kind of story.
The only other thing I did a lot of this weekend was reading. I've been on a YA kick lately and just finished The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley. Now I'm a quarter of the way through the first book in the Monstrumologist series. The first time I read these books (the first three, anyway; I still haven't worked up the courage to read the last book) I adored them. Now my feelings are a little more complicated, especially towards one of the main characters. The first time around I was on a major Sherlock kick, and the Monstrumologist is similar, personality-wise, toward Sherlock, so I was quick to forgive all the parts of his personality that, a few years down the road and one major Sherlock disenchantment later, aren't quite as funny or charming. I do think that these books get how terrible he can be in a way that Sherlock (so far, anyway) never has. It's been an interesting reread.
Oh, yeah, one last thing--I finally sat down and ordered my textbooks today (classes start in exactly one week). I had barely anything to buy compared to last semester. Since I bought all the books used, the bill wasn't too bad...and then I realized I've gotten to the point where paying over eighty dollars for three used books feels like a bargain. Oh well. It is what it is.
I haven't got around to watching Iron Fist yet, but I was still prepared for Danny to be an absolute twerp. He was. Maybe not completely irredeemable in his twerpiness, but yeesh, does he have a long way to go. That being said, his heart's in the right place, and I loved watching both Luke and Matt treat him like an annoying little brother. Also have to give him credit for making a line like "I am the Immortal Iron Fist" sound more cool than cringey. (I mean, it's still kind of cringey. Nowhere near as cringey as it could have been, though.)
There is no way, in any universe, that anyone could give Misty Knight enough credit for how much she puts up with from these people. Seriously. I'm kind of hoping for an eventual friendship between her and Jessica, seeing as Misty seems pretty perceptive when it comes to Jessica's true feelings. (Like in the last [or maybe second-to-last] episode when she mentions to Matt how scared Jessica is. It's a small moment, but I loved it.)
The plot's tighter than the some of the other Marvel shows', but I have to admit I wasn't as emotionally involved with the characters. I think part of that comes down to the type of show The Defenders is--very plotty, with a big focus on the characters' interactions instead of their inner emotions. Not that there's no focus on the inside stuff, but when you're juggling that many characters and storylines it's going to be darn near impossible to go too deep into any one person's head. It's not a problem or a weakness, really; you just end up with a different kind of story.
The only other thing I did a lot of this weekend was reading. I've been on a YA kick lately and just finished The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley. Now I'm a quarter of the way through the first book in the Monstrumologist series. The first time I read these books (the first three, anyway; I still haven't worked up the courage to read the last book) I adored them. Now my feelings are a little more complicated, especially towards one of the main characters. The first time around I was on a major Sherlock kick, and the Monstrumologist is similar, personality-wise, toward Sherlock, so I was quick to forgive all the parts of his personality that, a few years down the road and one major Sherlock disenchantment later, aren't quite as funny or charming. I do think that these books get how terrible he can be in a way that Sherlock (so far, anyway) never has. It's been an interesting reread.
Oh, yeah, one last thing--I finally sat down and ordered my textbooks today (classes start in exactly one week). I had barely anything to buy compared to last semester. Since I bought all the books used, the bill wasn't too bad...and then I realized I've gotten to the point where paying over eighty dollars for three used books feels like a bargain. Oh well. It is what it is.