The Defenders leaves viewers with a question at the end, but a particular actor’s responses have us wondering if we’re not far off the mark.
Note: In case you missed that this will discuss the end of The Defenders, this will discuss the season 1 finale.
Thanks to io9, we’ve had our attention brought to an Entertainment Weekly interview with Élodie Yung, who’s already played Elektra Natchios on two separate shows: Daredevil and The Defenders. She’s not quite to Claire Temple levels of crossovers, but hey.
Here’s some of what Yung had to say, in the context of where exactly Elektra falls in terms of good or evil:
"“The only motivation she has is the love she has for [Matt], so I don’t know. I think more antihero.”"
See how she’s speaking in the present tense? She is talking a bit about The Defenders, but io9 picked up on another quote that seems to also lead to the idea that Yung might be reprising her role in, say, Daredevil season 3, another point io9 made.
"“Well, from my understanding, I’m still alive […] but really I have no clue.”"
So, is yours truly’s guess that Elektra saved Matt actually accurate? Well, Yung isn’t definitive either way. She keeps hitting on Elektra’s feelings for Matt throughout the entire interview, even effectively saying that dying with him doesn’t really matter, since Elektra’s already come back to life.
Does that mean that Elektra found a way to bring Matt back? Did he actually die down there? That wouldn’t explain his injuries, since it appears that the process does heal fatal wounds and leave scars behind. We saw that with Elektra herself. io9 does note that it doesn’t seem like she had access to the same methods that were used to revive her, of course, but it does seem like the theory over there is that Elektra didn’t do anything to assist Matt.
Yung also calls Elektra’s feelings towards Matt an “instinct […] to protect,” and that seems to make it more likely that yes, her character did play a role in the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen living to fight another day.
Next: Defenders' makeup designer Sarit Klein on the show
There aren’t many things bigger than a collapsing skyscraper to protect someone from, except Thanos or an Asgardian, probably.