Marvel's The Defenders: 6 Reasons To Be Excited (And 4 To Be Worried)

3. It's Only Eight Episodes

Sometimes, less is more.

If there's been one complaint across all of the Netflix Marvel shows - and indeed a lot of Netflix series, or even just most TV shows in general - it's that they're too long. In trying to stretch the story out across 13 hour-long episodes, you often get moments where the story starts to sag, and you could certainly see the benefit in it being trimmed slightly.

It's refreshing, and exciting, then, that The Defenders will only be eight-episodes in total. This has always been the plan, with a big 60-hour roadmap laid out, rather than any sort of response to criticism, but it's an enticing proposition nonetheless.

While some may bemoan only spending eight episodes with the team, after 52 of getting there, it means that it can tell a story that's fast and focused, without suffering from any sort of plodding, thinly stretching the story, or Netflix Drift.

It doesn't need to do a lot of character setup, nor progress their arcs too much given there'll be further solo adventures to come, so it can just unite the heroes, introduce the threat, and launch right into some epic team-up action.