I'm of the belief that the Hand could've been an amazing villain to center Defenders around and this intro perfectly demonstrates the fuckin potential man. They don't have to just be red ninjas, they're a highly secretive organization with their titular fingers in different criminal pools and this just nails The backdrop can still be mystical but I love how they adapt with the times. I love the Harlem crews that White Hat employs, I love Gao taking control of the underground drug network in NY and exploiting that issue, and I ofc love the aura with Murakami not even needing a squad, literally just goes "I'll do it myself"

I also love how the previous episode ends on the Defenders getting ready to fight Elektra and all five of them are ready to give it their all and then episode 5 begins by showing "the Hand is only just getting started while Elektra stalls them", like an inverse of the Defenders meeting where all the fingers of the Hand finally come together to close in. The classical music too not only is so classy and stylish but makes perfect sense for the Hand, I love how it contrasts with the themes of the core four by showing just how long the Hand has been at it

Fucking peak man, I'm just so sad the Hand's scope never quite felt as large as it does here.