Iron Fist season two came out yesterday, September 7th; and I’ve watched all ten episodes. While everything is fresh, let me sit down to tell you my thoughts. This piece is opinionated and will contain some spoilers. Of course, everyone has their own view of the Iron Fist. The first season was…not good. Finn Jones in The Defenders was…not good. I believe those high above heard this and moved to improve. We got a different showrunner, Black Panther’s choreographer, a shorter season, and dedicated actors who started training for the season further back than they had for season one. We saw a better Danny Rand in Luke Cage season two, which gave us hope. So, how did season two of Iron Fist fair?
Character Development
The biggest improvement was obviously Finn Jones as Danny Rand. When we first saw Jones in season one, he was the least liked aspect of the show, which was saying a lot. In season two, we see a cleaner Danny. There’s none of that ridiculous shaking he did in season one, there’s no “overacting”, and the line delivery was solid. Danny was emotional, without being childish. Angry, without overcompensating. This shows me that the actor had the abilities all along to be better, but was led in a different direction, and I’m so happy we are here. Truthfully, Danny didn’t feel as involved this season as he was previously, but that was most likely for the best. The scenes he had with Davos were the best, as we saw two former brothers having to face each other, knowing it was very likely that one would not walk away.
We all know that Colleen was Danny’s better half and in this season, the spotlight is really on her. Jessica Henwick delivered a wonderful performance as Colleen, as a mix of someone who was nurturing, inquisitive, but also unsure. Either way, she kicked major ass and her plotline goes in a direction you never expected. I don’t want to give too much away, but if we don’t get a Daughters of the Dragon spin-off, I’ll be very disappointed. Misty Knight’s inclusion in the show just fit perfectly. Simone Missick gave us the Misty we know and love, and as a shameless person, I’m going on a limb and saying I’d like more Misty/Ward scenes. I said what I said.
Speaking about Ward, let me be the first to say that he is my favorite character on Iron Fist. I’ve written articles praising Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum and I’m not the only one. Ward is a complex, depressed human being, who has many flaws. While we see Ward still battling with the demons he faced in season one and even giving into them briefly, we also see a Ward who is changing. Although Ward is the epitome of self-loathing, he shows love towards Danny, his sister, and when the time comes, he is wanting to step up and do the right thing. Here’s another spoiler, Ward is also incredibly badass, and his brief scene with Turk is one of my favorites.
We have to talk about the terrible two in the show. Davos and Joy Meachum. That isn’t a diss towards them; their partnership is literal hell for those around them. I have to give so much praise to Sacha Dhawan; while he played Davos well in season one, season two was on another level. He was scary, dangerous, and unyielding. It was easy at times in the beginning to understand his mission, his pain. But, unlike The Punisher or even Bushmaster, his mission was fueled by egotistical radicalism that had no end and eventually, no reasoning. Jessica Stroup did a great job as Joy, who really made us all hate her. We have to love actors who have that ability because that is what the character is meant for and I can’t say I wasn’t happy to see Joy get hers in the end.
The only character who I can say was out of place, was Typhoid Mary. I like Alice Eve and she did a good job of tackling the intricacies of a character such as the one she was playing. But, I really didn’t feel a need for her. There really was no need to have her caked into scenes and at times, Mary’s presence really seemed out of place. Of course, there were some badass scenes and I always appreciate a badass woman. Alice Eve could even play a female Punisher, she knew how to handle a gun. Maybe we’ll see more in season three?
Fight Choreography
One of the most unusual aspects to me about season one was that we have a show centering around a character who has been trained his whole life to fight and the fighting in season one were the worst of the Netflix Marvel universe. I still hold that Daredevil seasons one and two, as well as The Punisher season one, have the best fight scenes in the franchise, but there was a massive improvement. The fights were cleaner, better executed, and more enjoyable to watch. There were some scenes I wish were sped up more, but overall; a solid improvement.
Pacing/Ten Episode Format
Besides the mini-series The Defenders, which was eight episodes; all Netflix Marvel shows have had thirteen episodes. Not Iron Fist season two. Due to wanting to clean it up a bit and cut out filler, and maybe because they knew how negatively season one was received and they needed to make big changes; season two was cut to ten episodes. I liked the pacing. I liked how everything flowed. There was a story and we got right to it; no meaningless fluff. But, with how much I enjoyed season two, I found myself missing those three episodes. I don’t believe a ten-episode format should be implemented to the other shows, but for season two it was necessary.
Where Improvement is Needed
What’s really important in storytelling, is to always strive to be better. While season two was a thousand times better than season one, there are still things to be worked on. The fight scenes could still be worked on. They could be faster. If they could get that down better, I think I’d really not have a lot of complaints. I’d also like the trend of calling Colleen’s katana weird to stop, it rubs me the wrong way.
Hopes For Season Three
While there has been no confirmation that there will be a season three, I cannot imagine there not being one. Full disclosure, there was a moment halfway through the last episode where I asked myself, where can this go? What will they even do or is this a neatly tied bow? The last five minutes BLEW the roof off of that thought! Utterly unexpected and completely satisfying. Just, wow. I don’t want to spoil anything, but keep watching until the very end, because the show moves in an entirely different direction than you would expect it too and it’s fun, exhilarating, and I can’t wait for more.
If you haven’t heard by now, there is an end credit scene, so be sure to watch that as well!
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
