The Defenders S01E02 "Mean Right Hook" Recap

Following the earthquake, Matt overhears some crime underway and impulsively parkours his way to the location and disarms a criminal of his gun, despite still only wearing his business suit and no mask to hide his face.

When Trish Walker goes into her job, she must handle many callers expressing concern about the earthquake. She tries to reassure them as best as she can but is shocked when a geologist calls in to say that whatever happened was not a natural earthquake. The call gets cut off early when Trish's employee says they ordered to end the talk of earthquakes by the higher-ups in their company.

Misty Knight and other police officers are called in to the scene by Jessica Jones, regarding the large number of explosive devices found in the room rented by John, the missing man Jessica was hired to find. Misty tries to stop Jessica from leaving with some evidence but Jessica is too quick to be caught at that time.

Alexandra meets with Madame Gao and learns that there is a mystical wall blocking their plans. Alexandra surmises that the wall must serve as a door of some sorts and that every locked door must have a hidden key, but finding such a key would require tracking down an old enemy first.

The other Defenders are still working hard on their investigations. Jessica is following the leads she absconded with about John's disappearance but Jeri Hogarth warns her to stop this search. Jeri later tells Foggy, who now works for her, to keep whatever inevitable fallout will come from Jessica's pursuits away from the firm. Foggy also meets Matt for drinks, as the two begin to mend their personal relationship, even though they won't be working together professionally. Matt appears to be at a crossroads once again about returning to vigilantism. Luke Cage is following some leads on the disappearance of local kids in Harlem which leads him to a workshop where one kid has been sent with others to clean up a massive amount of dead bodies that the Hand murdered. Danny and Colleen are also there, having ended up there through their own investigation.

Jessica arrives back at her apartment and finds the missing man, John Raymond, already there and waiting for her and holding Malcolm hostage. He wants Jessica to stop following him, as he is intent on staying hidden.

Danny and Colleen begin attacking the workers cleaning up the crime scene, demanding to know if they are working with the Hand but Luke pulls Danny off a teenager, Cole. Luke is easily able to overpower Danny and is unphased by Danny's attempts to beat him until he uses magic to do so. Only then is Danny able to throw a punch that sends Luke flying into a wall. The conflict can't unfold any further, as Luke, Danny, and Colleen all make their respective escapes when the police arrive. Luke is disappointed that Cole is arrested, having been unable to help him.

Meanwhile, the stand-off between Jessica and John is cut short. John was frightened that 'they' (the Hand) will not only come after him but his family too. John says the explosives were to stop them from taking down the city but John is too frightened to tell Jessica anything more. Elektra arrives in order to kill John but he shoots himself first, refusing to let her be the one to kill him. Elektra met her escape and Jessica chases after her but when she gets outside, Elektra has disappeared and Misty has arrived. Misty arrests her and brings her in for questioning.

Alexandra is revealed to have kidnapped Stick, determined to torture answers out of him to help the Hand carry out their plans.

Jessica's interrogation by Misty is short-lived when Matt arrives and announces himself as Jessica's lawyer. Foggy had contacted Matt to help cover some of his extra work, including keeping Jessica out of trouble.

The Defenders is available for streaming on Netflix.