Marvel's Iron Fist

I'm almost done with the show, and I've got to say, I did not expect to find the Meachums as compelling as I did.

I wouldn't call Danny an idiot per say, he's just ignorant. He's a fish that got taken out of the water and is trying throw himself back into it. I imagine that his upcoming friendship with Luke Cage in The Defenders will help him grow up a bit.

The Mechum's were great....also the relationship between Colleen and Claire. And I take back what I said, apparently someone in the Netflix writer pool is able to handle a romance.

It's not the "white" part of the trope the show sidesteps.

edited 17th Mar '17 5:43:26 PM by Swanpride

i'm only on episode 2, but i think the show is fine.that's all i really have to say about this since i'm still on episode 2, kinda wont get to 3 and 4 til tomorrow, but first impressions are it's fine i guess.

Finn Jones "punches back" against negative reviews."

I'm enjoying it so far myself, but the "weapons-grade amount" of rap is kind of jarring.

My main question halfway through Episode 2 is... why does Colleen grab her tits when she's talking to Meachum? I have never seen anybody cross their arms that way. -_-

Seriously though - this show's alright so far. The fake mugging/street fight was . I don't know if I care so much for Danny - and I'm a little tired of the "hero is in a mental hospital and does everything they can possibly do to prove that they need to be restrained" scenario, but Danny being uncuffed and even meditating is a neat deviation from that. I've also come to expect liking the antagonists of the Netflix shows over the protagonists.

It seems like they're trying to make what's-his-face Ward's dad a deconstruction of some villain trope - he's doing the smart thing by figuring out what he's dealing with first, but that just so happens to be the wrong move in this show because really, the best way to deal with Danny would've been to have him assassinated/taken out/removed while the burden of proof was still on him.

edited 17th Mar '17 6:22:25 PM by Soble

Wrong Genre Savvy.

Eh, it's a thing. I've seen people cross their arms that way. It seems to be a thing with "tough guys". It seems to be a stance for intimidation.

Yeah I have no idea where the sense he acts like a psychopath came from. He acts a bit unhinged in the first two episodes but he has all the justification in the world for what he's doing.

edited 17th Mar '17 6:08:54 PM by Gaon

I liked the doctor....mainly I liked that the doctor was at least a little bit competent. I kind of expected him to be a total idiot or on the take.

I get what he is doing, but I can't blame Joy for the way she reacts either. I would be seriously creeped out by him.

edited 17th Mar '17 6:11:30 PM by Swanpride

Big Iron Fist fan here. Seen four episodes. My first kneejerk reaction is that they got Danny's character down really, really well, and I enjoy it. I like that Danny and the show in general is different, not just from the other Defenders but from a lot of Marvel's other shows as well. He's the most immature protagonist it seems, much more prone to losing his temper but also much more idealistic than most. I will admit that the first half is a little boring, but it's not bad. I do like seeing whenever Danny uses the Iron Fist.

And I'll be honest, I actually don't like Colleen as much as reviews made me expect. I don't really see what made her stand out to early reviewers. I will admit that Danny lecturing Colleen on martial arts is kind of cringey (I also know kung fu and stuff like that tends to make me roll my eyes). I kind of have to wonder though if that was actually intentional; I think Danny might have been just trying to prove to her he knew how to fight, and maybe Colleen misunderstood his intentions. That seems to be a running theme; people don't really believe that Danny is really sincere, and assume he has some selfish motive because of their own cynicism.

I really believe that Danny is intentionally written to be really off-putting to just about everyone he meets. He does not fit in at all. I know it's a meme to make fun of him being a shallow hipster, but I get the feeling that's how he's viewed in universe, making it that much harder for him to prove his sincerity. He just has zero social skills.

Overall though, I feel that at this stage this is how Danny should be; emotionally immature, reckless, angry, but still well intentioned. He isn't world weary like the other Defenders, who finally have enough and decided to do something about the evil round them. Danny is seeing evil for the first time and immediately tries to stop it.

edited 17th Mar '17 6:43:32 PM by StarOutlaw

I really hate how Finn Jones plays Danny as being childishly naive. It's not a good look for any protagonist, nevermind someone supposedly so enlightened. And Jones is not the kind of guy you want quoting zen koans.

Protagonists can't be naïve?

edited 17th Mar '17 7:26:05 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Unless it's a Shonen anime or a comedy, no.

This first episode is a horribly written, poor man's version of the Arrow pilot, which itself was a horribly written, poor man's version of Batman Begins.

Oh we're going to get along just fine.

So I've gone through the first four eps.

Since when is Gao a part of the Hand? I thought she was something completely separate considering she and Nobu seemed to be handling different parts of things when they were with Fisk's operation.

Also, Meachum putting on a ninja suit and beating a member of the Triad in a quick draw makes me think he's in deeper with them than we thought. If what little Iron Fist trivia I remember is accurate, he's connected to the accident that led the deaths of Danny's parents.

So, I've theorized that they'll be a connection between Jessica, Luke and Matt's accidents to Danny's company. Beyond this, I figured Danny and Matt would find each other through their respective connection to the Hand. I still got 9 episodes to go, and I'm looking forward to how this connects to the Defenders.

Also, looks like Jeri took Jess's advice about trying to be better. Though she got a lot of help in the case as well.

edited 17th Mar '17 7:36:29 PM by HandsomeRob

That seems...limiting.

I mean, we've already had three broody types. Why not switch things up?

I wouldn't bother getting into taste wars with Mars, just leave him be.

Naive/foolish/sheltered protagonists in heroic stories are definitely a common thing and have been for hundreds of years.

edited 17th Mar '17 9:57:02 PM by KnownUnknown

Thread Hop: Just finished episode 5. Liking it so far. Understandable why reviewers didn't, though. The trailers implied it would be nonstop kung-fu action, and (in the first few episodes, at least) it's mostly corporate espionage. The Mighty Whitey stuff isn't too bad, but it can get grating at times.

Like the minor twist of the Big Bad asking The Hero for help because the Bigger Bad scares the shit out of him. The Hand still isn't exactly deep, but at least they're doing a good job of solidifying their reputation as The Dreaded. But I thought Madame Gao didn't work for the Hand? Was she supposed to be just another branch this entire time?

Also, does anyone else think that Joy looks like season 1 Skye from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Just the shape of her face and her hair, I dunno, maybe it's just me. And I guess acting opposite someone named Ward might be causing me to see similarities that aren't there.

I never thought I'd see the day but Jessica Henwick has officially bumped Ming-Na Wen down a spot on my top 5 hottest Asians list...

I'm almost certain there was another main character involved in this show's plot but I swear I can't remember who he was, or what his goals were for the life of me. It's like there were 5 or 7 minutes of footage before Colleen appeared but it's all a blur. Anyway, if this show is about Colleen trying to keep her dojo alive I sincerely hope she starts doing it soon, she's scaring away her students. I can't imagine why a teacher would want 4 students attacking her in the middle of the street - maybe this is why membership is low.

Wrong Genre Savvy Ward Sr is... interesting. That relaxation pod scene reminds me of that scene with Fisk in the art gallery - yeah he's a monster, a crook, but he can stop to enjoy the small things.

Danny so far has been as boring as bread pudding... at least until he showed off the Iron Fist for the first time. Now I'm curious how anybody is going to last against him. There was a time I thought he was the weakest of the group other than Matt.

edited 17th Mar '17 10:18:17 PM by Soble

I finished the show. It's got a few problems but literally every Marvel Netflix show does. As someone who didn't feel like Luke Cage's second half was weak, I'd place Iron Fist under it but above Jessica Jones and Daredevil Season 2.

I really, truly loved Daredevil, Jessica Jones, AND Luke Cage despite their flaws, but I've watched the first three episodes of this so far, and I'm not impressed. I know I shouldn't be expecting an MCU take on Mortal Kombat this early (since Immortal Iron Fist did that and it was AWESOME), but I feel like I should at least be expecting a bit more than this.

I guess what I'm asking is, "does it get better.?"

The plot picks up in the second half, while the first half is more of setting up the environment.

I just finished through the show, and I can say that it is enjoyable. I enjoyed Daredevil and Luke Cage more than this one in terms of story and the themes they dealt with but I put this show above Jessica Jones because I enjoyed the characters here a lot more. The characters are the best part of this show imo, Danny is my second favorite defender just behind Matt Murdock. Finn Jones did a good job. My complaints about this show would be the slow burn in the beginning, dealing with proving identity and taking the company back. All the other Defender shows seemed to move quicker through their stories, but all that aside this is a good one. Nice job Marvel.

edited 18th Mar '17 4:30:43 AM by clockworkboy

I am not sure where to place it now, but then, my placements keep shifting around save for Jessica Jones always being my favourite. I think if it were better shot overall (honestly, what is it with directors who put a number of jump cuts in fights scenes? Allow the choreography to breath, damnit) I think I might actually put it on place two, because it is way better paced than most of the other seasons and I definitely like Danny better than Matt or Luke. But there are a number of small issues which keep cropping up, which puts it more in the middle.

But I can say that even though they are still not revealing that much about the Hand, I actually liked it better this time around than in Daredevil. WAY better. If for no other reason than Iron Fist at least adding some ground rules when it comes to the Hand Zombies, but also because it made it more understandable why people actually are part of the Hand.

Saw more episodes, and have more thoughts. I realize that another reason for the negative views is likely because the show seems much less complicated than the other Netflix series. There aren't a lot of twists and turns in the plot, and overall it doesn't feel as heavy. The corporate drama aspect feels like it's meant to be analogous to the legal and criminal subplots of Daredevil and Luke Cage, or the game of cat and mouse with Kilgrave. Iron Fist is far more straightforward, and early on the drama does come from no one believing Danny's identity and questioning his mental health. It isn't necessarily bad, but after the past series, critics were likely expecting something far more cerebral and darker. Iron Fist feels more in line with one of the Marvel films.