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 “The Blessing of Many Fractures,” the gang goes on a road trip and Joy Meachum plays dirty. Let’s jump into this but be warned, there will be spoilers.
1.Madame Gao Is A Boss
Madame Gao has had a presence throughout the saga the Marvel Netflix shows are building but it hasn’t been until Iron Fist that she became a true villain. Gao is an older woman who walks with a cane and physically doesn’t scare anyone but in “The Mistress Of All Agonies,” we really get to see what she’s got up her sleeve. Gao plays excellent mind games with everyone and tests Danny’s patience in an amazing way. She remains cool even in a terrible situation for her and even toys with Danny when he thinks the drug they gave her worked. Gao is a BOSS and I want more of this immediately. She’s one of the very few bright spots of this show.
2. IT’S ALIVE!!!!
Harold Meachum lives!!! But there’s a twist! He’s not exactly what he was before Ward offed him. It turns out that his deal with The Hand made him immortal but when he dies, he dies and it leaves him a bit less off than he was in his previous life. When we first see him, he’s confused and disoriented, barely aware of himself or anyone else. As the episode goes on, he shocks Ward with an apology and becomes oddly nice to him. Ward learns that this deal doesn’t have a happy ending and that Harold is not the same man he was. He is unhinged and eventually he kills poor sweet Kyle. A moment of silence for Kyle, please. He was too good for this world.
I don’t know how I feel about this complication because it does take away so much that I liked about the Harold Meachum character. He’s not who he was and I don’t think the Marvel Netflix shows need another wild murderer.
3. Once Again, Everyone Is Better Than Danny
First we had Danny not even know The Hand was real. Then we had Claire be more aware of what they do. Now we have Bakuto, Colleen’s sensei teach Danny how to actually use his power. As Colleen lays dying from poison, Bakuto comes in with the save and shows Danny how to heal her. Here’s my problem with this: Danny is the worst Iron Fist ever and the monastery is dumb for giving him these powers. If Danny was “chosen” then why is he allowed to retain the power when he runs away from home? Why wasn’t the power revoked when he went against his mission and rescued Sabine? He clearly didn’t finish his training so what makes him so special? The series never actually addresses this and it’s maddening.
4. Another Villain?
We have another villain sneaking around the show. Someone is trailing Danny and I have to admit, I don’t care who he is or what his story is. It is very late in the series’ first season to introduce yet another villain into the fold and this is another problem with Iron Fist. It doesn’t have an actual central villain. It just has a bunch of people who are up to no good that Danny needs to stop. One of the biggest criticisms of Luke Cage was losing its amazing villain midway through but at least it replaced him with someone. Iron Fist however has just decided to toss in another bad guy for the sake of doing it because even the people behind this series realize they are running out of story to tell. It is yet again another example of how little focus the series has.
5. More Messy Action
I know I sound like a broken record but yet again this episode fails to deliver in the action department. I’m unsure what else to say about it. I just caught up on two weeks of Into the Badlands episodes and Nick Frost is a better kung fu star than anyone on Iron Fist so there’s that.
What did you think of this episode? Let me know in the comments below!
