What is the difference between Harold, Elektra and the leaders of the Hand?

Question

We have seen the Hand resurrect various people throughout the Netflix TV series, Harold Meechum, Nabu, Elektra and it is suggested (and seen) that various members of the hand leadership have also been resurrected. There are also conflicting ideas as to the bast way to kill a person that can be resurrected, at no point are the hand leadership concerned about decapitation for instance. Nobu was burnt and yet came back, while Harolds body was destroyed by fire to ensure he would never return.

It also appears that Resurrection affects people in different ways, with Harold becoming more psycotic but remembers his past lives easily, Elektra however is like a newborn child and given the hand leadership have no doubt been resurrected multiple times over the ages they seem a lot more mentally balanced then Harold was after just 1 resurrection. Nobu didn't seem to be more irrational when he returned.

So are there multiple methods the hands use for resurrecting someone, is one "safer" than another and do they require different ways to make sure a person can never be brought back?

Answer 1

First, the easy one: Elektra is special. She was not resurrected the way the others were. She was resurrected to be "the Black Sky". Alexandra explains that her memories were specifically taken away from her. They only wanted her "vessel" to be the pure power of the Black Sky. The "person" that was inside Elektra was (supposedly) gone forever.

As for Harold, it's not entirely clear what happened to him. Its possible that The Hand used some inferior process to resurrect him, perhaps one that was "cheaper" in terms of the substance required. I think, though, that it's more likely a character flaw in Harold himself. The man was borderline psychotic before The Hand came to him. Remember, he agreed to help murder the Rand family before his first resurrection.

In my opinion, it wasn't the resurrection process that drove Harold Meechum insane. It was the knowledge that he was immortal, and could get away with whatever vile actions he wanted to, because The Hand would protect him. Combined with his total isolation, he went crazy all on his own.

In general, the Hand's resurrection process seems to bring the person back largely the same as they were when they died, only healthy again. Any differences beyond that come down to the person themselves, not the magic.