For almost 10 years now, Marvel has grown to become the biggest movie franchise in the world by following a few simple steps. Create a bunch of movies based on several different superheroes, and then do one large movie bringing all those characters together.

It has worked for so long with their movies, that it was only inevitable for Marvel to somehow do it with their TV shows. With their newest show on Netflix, “The Defenders,” they have done just that.

Marvel started doing Netflix exclusive shows back in 2015, with their first one being “Daredevil.” Then came a second season of the show, as well as spinoffs “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist.” All of this was led up to one giant Netflix event, bringing these characters together in a brand-new show and creating a massive event for Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. In total, the show mostly delivered on the excitement.

Straight off the bat, there were several enjoyable moments to the show. However, it does take a while to get to them. The first two episodes do start off a bit slow, giving the audience a massive chunk of exposition throughout it. Afterwards, though, things do pick up and become much more enjoyable.

At times it was challenging to follow the plan of the show’s antagonist Alexandra, played by sci-fi veteran Sigourney Weaver. While she delivered a stellar performance, her plot was difficult to navigate, especially with the plot twist to her character that came out of nowhere in the sixth episode.

One thing about “The Defenders” that differs from the other Marvel shows is the duration of the show. While the other shows ran for 13 episodes, “The Defenders” only runs for eight.

A big thing that fans were excited to see was Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist finally be together on screen. For the most part, the show delivers on that promise, as Charlie Cox, Krystin Ritter, and Mike Colter, who play their titular characters give some of their strongest performances yet, and blend well together on screen. As for Finn Jones, who plays Iron Fist, his performance was less spot on, with him probably having the least character development on the show.

Cinematically, the show is well done. One example of that comes from the first episode, before the four come together. When the episode changed character perspectives, the setting changed, causing it to look entirely different. Whenever the episode was shown through Luke Cage’s perspective, the setting changes to have a yellow filter throughout the shot. Meanwhile, with Jessica Jones’ scenes, there is an indigo filter. This character-change concept is done very well.

Regardless, if you are a comic book, Netflix, or general TV show fan, and are looking for something to watch until everything else starts back up this fall, then “The Defenders” is the show for you. While some mistakes are noticeable, there is plenty more about the show to enjoy. “The Defenders” follows in the Marvel formula of giving something enjoyable and rewatchable, and is awarded an 8/10.