- "Bulletproof. Blind ninja. Whatever it is you are."
"Classy."
"I tried being a one-man army, and it failed. But this... This feels like something else is at work here. The four of us show up to fight a criminal organization at the same moment? How obvious does it have to be? This... This cannot be an accident." - ―Danny Rand and Jessica Jones[src]
Royal Dragon is the fourth episode of the first season of The Defenders.
Synopsis
As the Defenders get to know each other over dinner, they're greeted by a series of party crashers -- none of them friendly.
Plot
Closing the Royal Dragon for the day, Zhang ordered his chef to make sure everything was cleaned, while he went to the register and counted his earnings for the day. Suddenly, the arrival of Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand left Mr. Zhang confused. Though he informed them that he was closed, Murdock and Jones dimmed all the lights they could, barracked the doors with furniture, and closed the blinds to the outside windows. Rand spoke to Mr. Zhang to convince him to let them stay in the restaurant.
Cage and Jones briefly conversed between one another, asking about their condition and their lives since their last meet. Murdock soon approached them and questioned their friendship to one another. Rand, too, came forth and informed them that they were allowed to stay, admitting that he promised to pay their rent. When everyone began to introduce themselves with each other, Murdock quickly broke away, going on that he was not going to risk his identity being revealed. The chef walked to a table and presented ready food for the group, Rand adding that as part of the agreement, they had to order something. Murdock continued to reject cooperation with the group due to untrustworthiness; Cage grabbed his arm, citing that he did not trust him either before Jones requested to speak with her lawyer for a moment. Though he informed her further that he could not risk his identity being revealed, Jones told him that she figured out that he was "the Devil of Hell's Kitchen" and said that eventually Rand and Cage would know too despite his protests. Convinced, Murdock removed Jones' scarf and revealed to everyone that he was Matt Murdock.
At the penthouse, Elektra stared at herself in a mirror, noticing scars from her past life. Alexandra Reid stepped inside her room and commented that if she was able to, she would have erased every piece that could remind her of the previous life. She reminded her that she was the Black Sky and that was all that needed to be reminded.
Rand and the others dined and conversed over their encounter and the potential team. With everyone protesting the idea, Murdock sensed someone approaching from the rear entrance, their attention directed at Stick who proclaimed that he was going to aid the four in defeating the Hand.
Murakami stood over the corpse of a bear, cutting its inners when Reid walked in and engaged in a conversation of lost time. She requested that Murakami regroup with the others, as the capturing of the Iron Fist has proven difficult with his newfound friends. When Murakami asked about their other contact, Reid assured him that they were be arriving soon. Elsewhere, Sowande confronted the Black Sky, challenging her skills and her inability to strike down her opponents. She moved swiftly and defeated his henchmen before leaving, telling Sowande to "keep asking."
While Zhang and his chef watched behind the counter as the blind man approached their customers, Murdock warned the others that Stick was only planning to use them. Onward, he explained that he was a part of the Chaste and was trained by similar masters as the ones that trained Rand in K'un-Lun. Murdock continued to push Stick aside to speak privately, but to Cage's displeasure, Murdock stated that people will die. In grand disbelief, Jones left the Royal Dragon, Cage trying to persuade her to sit through the stories. She expressed graditude for seeing him again before returning to her apartment. Murdock informed the others that she was not returning, citing that he only based this on his first meeting. Cage returned to listen to Stick's stories.
Preparing for a meeting, Reid dismissed the women. In discomfort, she ventured to her desk, grabbed her pills, and injested it with water. Taking a deep breath, Reid phoned someone and had changed her plans for the evening.
In her apartment, Jones drank her liquor and streamed through her photographs of signed documents taken earlier that day. As she began deleting them, she noticed the handwriting of the signatures, concluding that the individuals were the same person.
As Stick informed the men of the Five Fingers of the Hand, Rand commented that he had struck down Bakuto some time ago. Stick also disclosed that Murakami was the one that pulled the strings around his former target Nobu Yoshioka. Eventually, Murdock prowed onto his former teacher, asking what he desired; Rand interjected, stating Stick had told him more than he has. The two briefly became hostile before Murdock walked away from the table.
Jones woke Michelle Raymond at her house. Mildly drunk, she informed Raymond that digging deeper into her husband's case continued to be weirder and weirder and said she was going to try to provide round-the-clock security. When Raymond told Jones that she believed it had already been done, Jones warned her to lock the doors and windows and to go be with her daughter. Walking across the street, Jones went past the henchman.
Rand continued to eat, Cage questioning how he could still be eating. Though he stated it helped restore his chi, Rand also commented that the two could make a great team, much to Cage's dissatisfaction. Stick approached Murdock and questioned him on his encounter with Elektra. Though Murdock expressed optimism on her resurrection, Stick warned that the vessel was not the same one he fell in love with prior. Both, soon, heard weapons nearby.
Without warning, a Hand henchman was pulled out a parked SUV by Jones. The two briefly fought until he was pinned. Jones pushed for him to leave the Raymonds alone, as they knew nothing about John's work. When the henchman refused to leave them be, Jones pressured him against the window shield, asking him if he knew when he felt pain.
While the group stood by the front windows as Hand soldiers armed themselves with knives and guns, Stick scented Reid's arrival inside. She approached Rand with the offer to join her side. Though Cage and Stick warned Rand not to go with her, Reid continued to push. After declining, Reid set in Elektra who slashed the door hinges and burst inside, prepared to serve Life itself. Pushing an SUV into the interior of the restaurant and knocking Elektra to the ground, Jones rejoined the others and stood ready to fight the Hand as the Defenders.
Cast
Main Cast:
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil
- Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones
- Mike Colter as Luke Cage
- Finn Jones as Danny Rand/Iron Fist
- Élodie Yung as Elektra
- Scott Glenn as Stick
- Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra Reid
Guest Stars:
- Yutaka Takeuchi as Murakami
- Babs Olusanmokun as Sowande
- Michelle Federer as Michelle Raymond
- Phil Nee as Zhang
- Michael G. Chin as Chef
Appearances
Locations
- New York City, New York
- Seagate Penitentiary, Georgia (mentioned)
- Cambodia (mentioned)
- Shikoku, Japan (mentioned)
- Pompeii, Italy (mentioned)
- Chernobyl, Ukraine (mentioned)
- K'un-Lun (mentioned)
Events
- War for New York
- Ambush at the Royal Dragon
- Escape from Midland Circle (mentioned)
- Attack on the Wall of the Chaste (mentioned)
- New York City Earthquake (mentioned)
- Ambush at the Wall of the Chaste (mentioned)
- Duel of Delaney Hall (mentioned)
- Attack on John Raymond (mentioned)
- Duel of Phnom Penh (mentioned)
- Attack on the Hand (mentioned)
- Air Crash in the Himalayas (mentioned)
- Arrest of Luke Cage (mentioned)
- Duel at Bethesda Terrace (mentioned)
- 79 AD Eruption of Mount Vesuvius (mentioned)
- Chernobyl disaster (mentioned)
Items
Vehicles
To be added
Creatures
- Asian Black Bears
- Shrimps (mentioned)
Organizations
- Defenders
- Hand
- Chaste
- Alias Investigations
- Rand Enterprises
- New York City Police Department (mentioned)
Mentioned
- Misty Knight
- Bakuto
- Colleen Wing
- Nobu Yoshioka
- Lexi Raymond
- John Raymond
- Wendell Rand
- Heather Rand
- Karate Kid
- Lucifer
Music
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese Drive Through | John Paesano |
|
References
External Links
| Season One | The H Word • Mean Right Hook • Worst Behavior • Royal Dragon • Take Shelter • Ashes, Ashes • Fish in the Jailhouse • The Defenders |