The war has begun. The Defenders are battling the Hand’s goons at the Royal Dragon, while Gao, Murakami and Sowande’s troops are coming, too. They all want Danny for their ultimate plan, or hope Elektra doesn’t kill them.

In this episode, though, the gang hope to get some answers, and wonder if Daredevil’s affection for Elektra may cloud his judgement.

SPOILERS BELOW

Even though things are bad, the crew is able to handle the Hand, while Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver) sneaks off. Matt still hopes the Elektra (Elodie Yung) he knew will return. They do make progress by grabbing Sowande (Babs Olusanmokun).

Trying to get him to talk, though, is tougher. He’s able to do Jedi mind tricks on all of them by bringing up their failures so far. He is certain he and the other Hand leaders will prevail.

Meanwhile, Alex is back with Elektra, who nearly pokes Alex with her sword. Alex has a story about how she lost a daughter long ago, but realized she was meant to raise the Black Sky. Alex has treated Elektra as her own, but also as a weapon for the Hand. She can be discarded if necessary. Elektra, however, isn’t phased by this. It’s a hint this might go wrong suddenly. Weaver is just so impressive as Alex. She can be elegant and impressive, but she can also be ruthless. She plays both very well.

Then, another piece of the Hand returns, none other than Bakuto (Ramon Rodriguez), Colleen Wing’s (Jessica Henwick) mentor. This is a big surprise, but he says death just didn’t slow him down. He tries to get her to rejoin the Hand, reminding her how he took her in when she lost her family and made her the warrior she is now. That’s enough to to keep her off-balance long enough for him to stab her in the stomach. Claire (Rosario Dawson) and Danny, though, get there to treat her.

The heroes also decide to keep all their friends in one spot, namely a police station. It does nothing more keep them in one place and away from the action. Still, it was nice to see Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) with Foggy (Elden Hensen) again.
Stick (Scott Glenn) tells Matt it’s time to take charge, and be Daredevil again. Matt seems to be reluctant, but when some goons go after Jessica and Trish (Rachael Taylor), the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen does arrive. Of course, Jessica is not impressed by the costume.

He does make an impression by almost strangling Sowande while trying to get answers. They’re also worried Matt’s obsession with Elektra will affect them. Sowande does try to grab Danny, but Stick stops him by beheading him.

Meanwhile, the Hand is starting to come apart. They’re not sure Elektra is as committed as she looks, and they also have doubts about Alexandra. They think they can reach their goal without both. Thing is, Gao (Wai Ching Ho) says they want to go back to K’un Lun while accusing Alexandra of being afraid of death. That sounds like an odd goal, unless there’s a spell that would keep them from finding the mystical town. It’s ironic that Alex predicted the Defenders would disappoint each other and break apart. She never thought it applied to her, too.

Alex tries to find Elektra, but discovers she has left. Elektra has gone to Matt’s apartment, and lies on his bed. Could she be recovering her true self, although Alex says that isn’t possible. Would that mean Elektra will help Daredevil, or will something worse happen?

That will be revealed in the next episode, where the crew will do something drastic to keep Danny away from the Hand.