I can’t believe we’re here. I love the character of Danny Rand, but his was obviously the weakest of the Marvel Netflix series. By using this season to retool the formula, the entire line of shows has been imbued with new energy. Oh and there’s a magic lightsaber. Seriously, let’s get right into Iron Fist season 2, episode 10: “A Duel Of Iron.”
1. Sic Parvis Magna
This episode is framed by a clever device that doesn’t make itself known until later. Danny’s letter to Colleen. The first time we hear it, it’s over another flashback of baby Danny and Davos. They have been great all season, doing wonders for the show. I’m sure child actors in robes are more expensive then hoodie teens and werehouses, but next season definitely needs more K’un Lun. Seeing young Danny is super effective at setting the stakes and reminding us that Davos was a real person before he went off the rails. You really understand why this fight is so hard for Danny.
And then none of that matters because this is really an episode about Colleen fighting Davos!
2. The Terrible Two
There’s also time for the Meachums. I don’t know why they were necessary this season, but the two of them were great foils for the rest of the cast. This is the first time they are finding some love for each other this season. “Whether you forgive me or not, I will always be there for you if you need me,” Ward says to Joy, and on some level yeah, he got me in the feels.
Otherwise, Ward seems pretty convinced he’s gonna be a dad. That’s rather presumptuous of him. I don’t think we’ve been given any indication that his (ex?) girlfriend was even planning on keeping the baby, let alone keeping Ward in the picture. And sure enough, when he goes to talk to her she tells him exactly that. Ward is out of the picture and rudderless. Is he out of the show? Keep reading to find out!
3. Fist of iron, fist of steel
Another MVP of the season has been Misty Knight, who brings it every time she appears on one of these shows. Here she’s teaming up with Walker to fight the bad guys. Misty has had her robo-arm for a season and a half, but this is the first time I remember her using it for anything other than a prosthetic. In this case, she punches through a concrete wall and uses it to take some knife hits from an out of control Walker. The two of them are extremely cool. What makes Misty so great is that she always seems exhausted from all the comic book stuff, but never mad about it. She knows she’s in a world that’s got Hulks and dragons and multiple personality serial killer commandos with PTSD from fighting in the robot wars. She doesn’t complain about it. She just arches her eyebrows, helps out her friends, and gets herself a new cyborg fist.
4. Iron Wing
Iron Wing? Colleen Fist? Yes yes yes to all of it! The ritual is incomplete, Colleen is dying and this is now a race against time. Now armed with her magic Fist, Colleen lets Danny use her sword and everything is totally awesome. Together they take out the bad guy and Davos is carted off to jail I assume. But what will become of Colleen and Danny? They’ve had their highs and lows, and now the whole landscape of their relationship is different.
It ends with a really amicable breakup. Danny still cries of course, and they are still confused about what’s going to happen moving forward, but yeah. Woah. Colleen is the true heir to the Fist and Danny has a lot to learn. He’s leaving to walk the Earth and go on a journey. And who is his new sidekick? None other than the amazing, terrible Ward Meachum. I’m all in for this teamup of losers.
5. That ending tho
And then we jump ahead a few months. We check in on Danny and Colleen and it’s so amazing I can barely keep it together. Colleen is still fighting crime as the Immortal Iron Fist but with a MOTHERFUCKING MAGIC LIGHTSABER. I have no words. This is Legends of Tomorrow level amazing. And Ward is still with Danny on their mythical journey! They are trying to unlcok the secrets of Orson Randall. ORSON RANDALL YO! The season ends with Danny shooting a bullet out of the air with a more magic bullet and- and- and… just holy shit that is so cool!
Continued below
So let’s take a moment to look back on this season. While Iron Fist season 2 was not a flawless piece of television, it had a lot of good ideas that we can all learn from. Quality action scenes can’t be underrated. The first season was incredibly weak on the fight scenes, superpowers, and special effects, and it suffered for it. This season was adequate to pretty dang good, and it was an exciting romp. Shattering the status quo in surprising ways also makes for riveting TV. I did not see this business with Colleen going down, whereas we all know that Daredevil is going to end with Elektra dying and getting resurrected. Like with the MCU, it’s great to use the comics as a touchpoint, but playing with comic fan expectations can also be a fruitful way to write a story. Finally, having a wildcard character well integrated into the story does wonders. Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are tied closely to their protagonist/antagonist relationships every season. Adding Mary to the mix this season kept the twists coming. She was just what the conflict needed- an unpredictable outsider to shuffle up the more predictable maneuvering between Danny, Davos, and the Meachums.
A time jump is a great idea, and a great way to get around that Infinity War snap! The Netflix shows have focused on the early careers of all of these heroes, and that’s led to some great stories, but leapign ahead into a new status quo could do wonders. In six months, Matt will be ready to be born again, Hellcat will be prowling the streets, and Luke will have been the Kingpin for almost a year. Romances, friendships, rivalries, all of them can be made more or less comics accurate and then story can be spent exploring what’s changed in the lost time. I came into this season hoping not to be bored, and looking ahead I’ve never been more excited to see what happens in the future of Marvel Netflix.
