Danny, Luke, Jessica, and Matt hole up in a Chinese restaurant while they hide from the Hand, exchange information, and try to learn more about each other.
- Ancient Conspiracy: The Hand is revealed to have been around for centuries, if not millenia, as well as being behind several historical events like Pompeii and Chernobyl.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: This time, Jessica is playing devil's advocate in not believing the weird stuff they are involved with. She seems to get over it by the end of the episode though.
- Arc Welding: The Hand of the the MCU is revealed as heretical K'un-Lun members (at least the original five founding members were). The Chaste is likewise an extension of K'un-Lun, serving as the army of the Iron Fist note not unlike the Army of the Thunderer in the comics.
- Been There, Shaped History: According to Stick, the Hand created several historical catastrophes such as Pompeii and Chernobyl.
- Big Damn Heroes: Jessica literally crashes in when Elektra and Alexandra are ready to attack the rest of the team, see Car Fu. She doesn't just drive a car into the restaurant, she throws it into the restaurant.
- Big Eater: Danny, as noted by Luke. He explains that he has to eat a lot to replenish his chi.
- Bilingual Dialogue: Murakami speaks to Alexandra only in Japanese, while Alexandra speaks almost entirely in English.
- Bottle Episode: The majority of the story takes place in or around the Royal Dragon restaurant, with a few scenes elsewhere.
- Bus Crash: Stick's revelation that all members of the Chaste have been eliminated indicates that Stone, who had a single appearance in the first season of Daredevil, is also dead.
- Came Back Wrong: Matt is freaked that he could not hear Elektra's heartbeat, though he also notes that she hesitated to kill him when she had the chance.
- Car Fu: When Jessica returns, she knocks down Elektra with a car in the process.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Jessica decides to join the others at the end.
- Continuity Nod:
- Matt mentions his original encounters with the Hand.
- Matt says the Hand aren't terrorists as terrorists want the world to know what they're doing, echoing remarks Foggy made when comparing the Devil of Hell's Kitchen (at the time being painted by Wilson Fisk in the press as a terrorist) to Al-Qaeda.
- Matt objects to Luke's suggestion that they bring Misty in, recalling how Brett Mahoney was targeted for helping Matt with the Hand.
- Exotic Entree: Murakami is introduced removing the organs from a moon bear—an endangered species—presumably for traditional medicine. To his credit, he was at least willing to risk his immortal life killing it.
- Friendship Moment: Although they never raise the issue, it's clear Luke has truly forgiven Jessica for Reva's death.
- The Heart: While everybody seems unamused by the thought of forming a team together, Danny is the one vocally advocating it.
- Homage Shot: The pan down the skylight of the Chinese restaurant is very reminiscent of Citizen Kane.
- I Have Many Names: All the five fingers of the Hand have had many monikers over the centuries. Jessica identifies Alexandra's past names because of her handwriting.
- Immortality Immorality: The Hand's motivation, as explained by Stick.
- Intro Dump: In-Universe. Jessica and Luke have to introduce each other to their half of the plot. "Blind lawyer who can hear neon." and "Boy CEO with a magic fist". Then the rest of the episode deals with a deep dive into everybody's backstory and how they're all connected to the current plot. Except for Jessica and Luke.
- It's a Long Story: This gets thrown around a lot given everyone's back stories. Whether the others accept it depends on whether they think it's information they need to know.
- Last Ditch Move: Turns out Alexandra used up the last of the Five Fingers resurrection 'resources' in reviving Black Sky, so she's literally betting everything on her.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Jessica's a little unsettled by how not-bothered Stick is by his now missing hand.
- The Man Behind the Man: Murakami is stated by Stick to be this to Nobu, who led the ninjas that Matt had been fighting.
- Not What I Signed Up For: Jessica leaves the gathering, stating that she only wants to help her own clients and solve her own cases, not be involved in an ancient war. She turns around when she finds the Hand have people watching the Raymonds' brownstone.
- Putting the Band Back Together: A villainous example, as Alexandra is assembling the fingers of the Hand.
- Really 700 Years Old: Alexandra. Looking over records going back to the early 19th century, Jessica notices Alexandra's distinct handwriting across signatures under a bunch of different names on documents stretching back to 1820. Stick then confirms she's been a key leader of the Hand since they started.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Jessica leaving after Stick barked at her to "Sit down and shut up!" makes sense when you remember her experience with Kilgrave. Someone with that kind of trauma is definitely not gonna put up with someone trying to order them around like a dog.
- Sherlock Scan: Just by watching Matt's parkour stunts and seeing his improvised eyeless mask, Jessica is able to deduce that he's the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
- Sole Survivor: Stick states all members of the Chaste, except him, have been killed by the Hand.
- Shout-Out:
- Jessica calls Danny Rand, "Karate Kid"
- The Defenders suddenly having dinner together after their first fight as a team is direct shout-out to the post-credits "Shawarma" scene in The Avengers (2012).
- Spiteful Spit: Jessica has her boot on the neck of the Hand surveillance operative, and tells him to nod if he understands. He does, but when she tells him to go away and leave the Raymonds alone he spits on the ground instead.
- Spotting the Thread: As Jessica pores over the public records she took from the city archives over the past two centuries, she sees how various checks and letters all have a woman's signature on them, all starting with the first letter A and with identical handwriting. As she looks closer, it hits her that the signatures all belong to the same person... Alexandra.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Alexandra suddenly appears in the restaurant without anybody noticing her entering.
- Tastes Like Friendship: The proposal that the protagonists all team up together is made over dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Also, Danny makes a point of offering the last dumpling to his future partner-in-crimefighting Luke Cage.
- There Are No Coincidences: Danny notes how they all just happened to turn up at Midland Circle at the same time, and argues that it's fate. No-one else is prepared to buy this.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: So we know Stick is perfectly willing to go for the kill, and the rest of the group at least wouldn't get too hung up about it by this point. Yet when they have one of the key members of their hated enemy sitting right in front of them, they just...let her go with a stern talking to?
- Women Are Wiser: It's Jessica of all people who gets Matt to take his mask off and sit down with the others.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Matt utters "Oh you've gotta be kidding me" when he senses Stick arriving.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Danny does not want the Hand's respect.
