10 Problems With The MCU On TV (And How To Solve Them)
5. Spending Too Long On The Supporting Cast
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To a certain extent, it’s probably a function of that thirteen episode running order, but the Marvel Netflix shows are spending too long in the company of the supporting cast. While it’s great to have an array of compelling, fleshed-out characters inhabiting a TV show, they should never outstay their welcome.
The abundance of Meachums on Iron Fist are an extreme example, but there are plenty of others. Like Jessica Jones’ weird neighbours, one of whom was fridged in order to create a subplot for his sister that meant nothing and went nowhere. Like Rafael Scarfe’s police corruption subplot in Luke Cage, which took over an entire episode and lead to the character’s death, but didn’t have any bearing on the remainder of the narrative.
This reached new lows when practically every supporting cast member in each of the four shows turned up in The Defenders. Colleen Wing was vital to the story; you can make a case for Misty Knight; and Claire Temple introduces Danny and Luke. But Malcolm and Trish were entirely unnecessary, and did we really need to see quite so much of Foggy Nelson or Karen Page?
This is writing 101: trim the fat. Long dialogue scenes between people who aren’t instrumental to the narrative are wholly unnecessary. Tell more story instead. Your audience will thank you.