A wise martial arts master. A barefoot billionaire. A total doofus. Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist, enemy of the Hand, protector of K’un Lun, and defeater of Shou-Lao the undying has many titles. What he does not have is a good first season of television to his name. Will he rise like a phoenix from the ashes or perish like Phoenix battling the Shi’ar Imperial Guard on the moon. There’s only one way to find out. Join me as we watch Iron Fist season two, episode one: “The Fury of Iron Fist!”
1. Once Upon a Time in Chinatown
A lone man stands on a dark street in Chinatown. He faces off with a speed truck. Is he about to be run over? No! Homey just fisted that truck to death! This first scene of Iron Fist season two already had more satisfying chopsocky action than the entirety of the first season. It’s already clear that the MVP of the season is going to be Clayton Barber, the Black Panther fight choreographer wise snatched up by the Iron Fist team. There was clever use of props! Movement that told a story! Some silly slow-mo! Even some superpowers.
Any proof you need that Barber is the real star of the show happened towards the end of the episode in the memorable kitchen fight. Not only was it a Jackie-Chan-style showcase for skills and tomfoolery, it worked in some much needed character work amid the violence. The moment when Danny went to hold off the newly arriving thugs? Not only was that some fun airhead Danny, it showed how much he trusted Colleen to fight her own fights! But I’m getting ahead of myself.
2. Two crazy kids
The core of the Iron Fist show is the romance between Danny Rand and Colleen Wing. As a die-hard comics fan, this is a little disappointing to me- Danny of the comics shares an epic romance with Misty Knight and Colleen Wing has a big crush on Cyclops of the X-Men. Where’s that show!? But we should assess TV Danny and Colleen on their own merits.
First question: where are they as characters? The show seems to be trying very hard to tell us that Danny is less of a douchebag than he was in season one, and it is partially succeeding. I love the idea of Danny catching up on years of popular culture like a baby Steve Rogers. I would totally watch the show of Danny watching Spongebob. He’s also got a job unloading furniture off trucks because he likes physical labor. This is where he loses me. It’s a little tryhard. He spends half his days bantering with his blue color buds and the other half his day lecturing his corporate buddies about ethics. What a silly man.
Colleen on the other hand is doing charity work and… you know what? Colleen has consistently been perfection from the moment she’s shown up. Everything about her is interesting and charming. The scene where she helped a little girl try on donation jackets was more compelling than any other character work in the episode. Colleen is doing just fine.
Second question: Do Danny and Colleen have any chemistry? I don’t find Danny to be deplorable, but he’s definitely a flawed, pretty obnoxious dude. Colleen on the other hand is a perfect human being. Jessica Henwick is a beautiful treasure who managed to have chemistry with that wooden box. She’s making the whole show work.
Still, that scene where they compared their harsh masters was actually really cute. If the rest of the season is like that, we’ll be doing just fine.
3. Contrary Mary
I remember two things about Alice Eve. The first is that she has a British accent. She does not have one on this show. The second is that she did that unnecessary underwear scene in Star Trek Into Darkness. Neither really gave me the impression that she was a particularly gifted actress, but I can admit that I’m wrong. In her two scenes, I found Mary to be desperately intriguing.
When she met Danny on the street doing her hipster thing, she was really charming (and doing a way better American accent than Finn Jones!). When she got home… oof. Her life is a horror show. The sticky notes, the running water, the laugh/crying. All very weird. All very good superhero TV. I’m totally looking forward to see how she fits into this mess.
Continued below4. A visit to the crazy Ward
You know what is not good superhero TV? Business. Danny and the Meachums sitting in a big empty apartment arguing over paperwork is booooooriiiiiing. It’s especially frustrating because the Meachums are pretty good actors, and the three of them have a decent dynamic. Joy has edged into full on supervillain territory, and Ward is trying to recover from season one (so say we all Ward, your pain is so #relatable). I like that Danny is trying to support his oldest and shittiest friends, Ward is trying to keep his roiling sea of emotions in check, and Joy is secretly trying to kill everyone. On paper that sounds like a great show. So expressing that over contracts in a blank room is a terrible idea.
Oh, and Ward’s banging his Narcotics Anonymous sponsor in a closet, that seems healthy.
5. A tale of fish and serpents
Now Davos. That dude is straight up pretty cool. The scene of posturing and kung fu fighting against the hatchet men, that’s what’s up. Then later in the episode we find out that he is a bit of a whiner. Is there anything worse than a guy who moves to New York and then spends all his time complaining about the air quality and repeatedly using the word “fetid?” Love it or leave it buddy.
But beneath the posturing and the whining, he’s got the makings of a classic Marvel supervillain. At their core, all Marvel stories are about the sin of pride. Heroes are people who learn to overcome their pride. Villains are people who are consumed by their pride. Davos believes Danny stole his birthright, betrayed their family, and is the worst example of an entitled gentrifying white dude. And actually, he’s entirely right. But Danny is trying to be better, to help people. Should he pay for the mistakes he made along the way? Probably. But Davos is clearly on a dark path that’s less about righting the wrongs in the world, and more about personal gratification. A misguided villain with righteous arguments? I really like where this is going. I have high hopes for Iron Fist season two. What are the chances I’ll be disappointed.
