We finally come to it: the final Defender, Iron Fist. By now, you’ve been treated to the full live tweet of Iron Fist, led by our very own Alice W. Castle. Now sit down, get some tea, and get ready for these full breakdowns of each episode. In “Eith Diagram Dragon Palm,” Danny gets a taste of the corporate life and we get a look at the bigger players in this story. Let’s jump into this but be warned, there will be spoilers.
1. What
We now know how Harold Meachum is alive and well. He was struck with cancer and did die but he made a deal with The Hand and they brought him back three days after he did. So he’s sorta like Jesus now, except if Jesus made a deal with the devil. Super powers are real but The Hand is supposedly just a fable? I understand that Danny has been away and only knows what he’s been taught but it is such a giant leap for me to believe that he’d be given powers like this to fight a maybe real threat. I also call shenanigans on these monks that trained Danny for not being aware that The Hand is actually real and in New York. It’s a huge leap in logic that I just don’t buy in this version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2. Corporate Danny
Iron Fist is a weird show because Danny Rand is very, very rich and it’s hard to just put that aside. It leaves Iron Fist in a position where it has to show this side of Danny’s life while still blending it with the Marvel superheroics that people expect. Pretty much all of this episode is Danny dealing with his new position as 51% shareholder and his first big fight is wanting a medication to sell at cost instead of being priced up for profit. It isn’t written as the most exciting stuff but I did like seeing this side of Danny. The more caring and considerate side who wants to actually do good comes out. On the flip side, I don’t care about the conflict between Ward and Danny. Why?
3. Because Ward Is An Idiot
Ward Meachum by no means has it easy. He’s a tool for his father and doesn’t do a single thing he actually wants to do. With that said, blowing up everything with a terribly misguided, drunken interview with a newspaper is not the way to go about fixing things. Ward is impulsive and never thinks anything through. At times he’s greedy and mean so I have a hard time feeling completely sympathetic for him. If Iron Fist wanted us to care about Ward, they’d make him far more likable.
4. Colleen Wing, What Are You Doing
Colleen Wing has so much potential within this story and I still think her pride is an interesting side of her as far as the narrative goes but these cage fights she’s getting in feel so misplaced now. I want her to become more and I want to see her be more than just a sidekick to the bigger drama happening. She’s part of Chinatown. She lives there and knows the people. She has a dojo where she helps train people to stand up for themselves. Give her more to do, please.
5. Focus
Iron Fist is now at the point the other Marvel Netflix shows struggle with. It is beginning to bring in multiple plot points that, as of now, are moving separately. The first couple episodes of this season were not good so I wonder if this series is going to be able to keep up with its ambitions. The Hand and Madame Gao are huge players now, as are the Triads. I still don’t entirely understand how Danny’s power works or what he even wants to accomplish so fingers crossed as we move into what feels like a different phase of the show.
What did you think of this episode? Let me know in the comments!
