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Dispatches from K'un L'un: Iron Fist In The Press

Meredith Quill

By Meredith Quill
in Iron Fist [V]

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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

13 hours ago, rmontro said:

I agree the 13 episode seasons are too long.  Most of them have felt like they were starting to drag or get stuffed with filler somewhere along the way.  I bet they could tell much more concise and interesting stories in 10, or even 8 episode seasons.

I think the 13 episode runs would work if the show runners would sort of embrace their comic book roots and throw in a few one off episodes that didn't drive the main plot forward. Filler episodes as it were. I think Daredevil being a super hero lawyer and Jessica Jones being a super powered PI would have easily lent themselves to a few "case of the week" eps, but all of the shows would have worked. Jessica Jones especially  making so many episodes about Killgrave kind of hurt it a bit.

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rmontro

rmontro

11 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I think the 13 episode runs would work if the show runners would sort of embrace their comic book roots and throw in a few one off episodes that didn't drive the main plot forward. Filler episodes as it were.

Jessica Jones had that one episode "AKA 99 Friends", where that couple who hated people with powers tried to victimize her.  That was sort of a one off storyline, although they still moved the main plot forward in other parts of the episode.  When I first started watching Jessica Jones, I was really thinking it was very impressive, but as they kind of dragged on without resolving the main issue (Killgrave), it began to get tiresome.  I think the danger with the one off idea is that it can be seen as frustrating or a waste of time while you're waiting for them to further the main storyline.

Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

12 hours ago, rmontro said:

Jessica Jones had that one episode "AKA 99 Friends", where that couple who hated people with powers tried to victimize her.  That was sort of a one off storyline, although they still moved the main plot forward in other parts of the episode.  When I first started watching Jessica Jones, I was really thinking it was very impressive, but as they kind of dragged on without resolving the main issue (Killgrave), it began to get tiresome.  I think the danger with the one off idea is that it can be seen as frustrating or a waste of time while you're waiting for them to further the main storyline.

I think in a 22 episode season filler episode make things drag. But to use Jessica Jones i think say maybe 2 more case of the week style episodes that really developed the characters but didn't mention Killgrave at all could have really helped things. I think with strong enough writers and actors character driven one off episodes could really work. Think of the Pine Barrens episode of The Sopranos or 4 Days Out from Breaking Bad. Not sure if Iron Fist could pull off an episode like that, i think you really need strong characters and actors though.

NYCNJbear06

NYCNJbear06

Just binge watched the series over 2 days and it got a lil brutal trying to stay interested.  Just don't think it was a strong enough story line.  It's like halfway through you decide you can take or leave the series because it hasn't captured you yet but you keep watching to get through because you invested the time in watching half of it.  Almost felt that way with Luke Cage but what saved that show for me was the humor it found within itself, like the scene after Luke breaks out of jail and has the option of choosing new clothes off the clothesline and he picks up the traditional costume from the Comic and says Hell no.  LC also had an amazing supporting cast (Alfre Woodard is AMAZING).  Iron Fist didn't have those quirks for me.  Not sure if I can sit through another season...  

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rmontro

rmontro

On 3/30/2017 at 10:52 AM, NYCNJbear06 said:

Just binge watched the series over 2 days and it got a lil brutal trying to stay interested.  Just don't think it was a strong enough story line.  It's like halfway through you decide you can take or leave the series because it hasn't captured you yet but you keep watching to get through because you invested the time in watching half of it.  Almost felt that way with Luke Cage but what saved that show for me was the humor it found within itself, like the scene after Luke breaks out of jail and has the option of choosing new clothes off the clothesline and he picks up the traditional costume from the Comic and says Hell no.  LC also had an amazing supporting cast (Alfre Woodard is AMAZING).  Iron Fist didn't have those quirks for me.  Not sure if I can sit through another season...  

Regarding the cast, Iron Fist still has Rosario Dawson, and she had a pretty big part.  The actress who plays Colleen Wing is also amazing, and great at the martial arts stunts as well.  David Wenham as Harold Meachum was great.  The actress who plays Gao does a good job.  I think Iron Fist has a pretty good cast.

I'm amazed that you watched this in two days!  I just haven't gotten that good at binge watching yet.  About the best I can do is 1-2 episodes a day tops.  If I were to sit down and watch seven episodes in a row I'm pretty sure I would lose interest too, no matter what it was.

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Chinspinner

Chinspinner

(edited)
On ‎30‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 3:52 PM, NYCNJbear06 said:

Just binge watched the series over 2 days and it got a lil brutal trying to stay interested.  Just don't think it was a strong enough story line.  It's like halfway through you decide you can take or leave the series because it hasn't captured you yet but you keep watching to get through because you invested the time in watching half of it.  Almost felt that way with Luke Cage but what saved that show for me was the humor it found within itself, like the scene after Luke breaks out of jail and has the option of choosing new clothes off the clothesline and he picks up the traditional costume from the Comic and says Hell no.  LC also had an amazing supporting cast (Alfre Woodard is AMAZING).  Iron Fist didn't have those quirks for me.  Not sure if I can sit through another season...  

I didn't even make it to the end of this season, I got as far as 6 and then gave up. I found it insurmountably tedious with uncharismatic, uninteresting characters.

Edited by Chinspinner
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MrSmith

MrSmith

On 5/4/2017 at 9:09 PM, Chinspinner said:

I didn't even make it to the end of this season, I got as far as 6 and then gave up. I found it insurmountably tedious with uncharismatic, uninteresting characters.

I made it to the end of the season, and it was a pretty brutal slog if I'm being honest. I'll probably check out the first three episodes of season two, and if they don't give me some compelling reasons to continue watching, then I'm dropping this show.

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BruceAE

BruceAE

The new show runner was apparently the director of Electra.  That does not bode well, but it was 12 years ago so maybe it's not a predictor of success.

 

i agree with others in the thread about 13 episodes giving shows the chance to try one-off story episodes.  I would have really enjoyed a few 'Matt Murdock, attorney at law' episodes without being subsumed by the overarching plot.  And don't get me started with 13 episodes of Killgrave ...

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Mars477

Mars477

On 7/24/2017 at 9:50 PM, BruceAE said:

The new show runner was apparently the director of Electra.  That does not bode well, but it was 12 years ago so maybe it's not a predictor of success.

 

i agree with others in the thread about 13 episodes giving shows the chance to try one-off story episodes.  I would have really enjoyed a few 'Matt Murdock, attorney at law' episodes without being subsumed by the overarching plot.  And don't get me started with 13 episodes of Killgrave ...

Uh, the new showrunner was a screenwriter for Electra, not the director.  He also was one of three people with a writing credit, so who knows how much of his work ended up in the final script.

readster

readster

From early reviews, it' seems that some of Danny's unwanted pieces still go through into Defenders, but they say that building the friendship with Luke and more the comical Danny that fans are use too shine through. Not as much as they want them too, but a step in the right direction. I'm hoping after Defenders they get Danny right all the way. 

sjohnson

sjohnson

Haven't read a word of the comics. Didn't care for the Daredevil, which wore me out for finishing Jessica Jones (and kept me from even starting Luke Cage.) But, when The Defenders came up, I thought, well, with four chances to be good. And I caught some Iron Fist to catch up a little. 

I was surprised to discover that the dismissive press was for my taste wrong. I haven't seen a family dynamic as entertaining since Dynasty. But Danny Rand, taken into captivity at ten, living in a monastery till twenty five. Look, if you do the math, he was a twenty-five year old virgin. Plus one with mental problems. This is genuinely anti-heroic, in the legitimate sense of the word. Most people don't like anti-heroes, I do. So Iron Fist worked for me in a way it apparently didn't for most. The so-called anti-heroes who just have to do bad (badass) things so they are all angsty about being bad (badass,) or maybe just weighted down with the burden of being the coolest, don't.

Sakura12

Sakura12

Iron Fist would not be considered an anti-hero. Danny wants to be a hero and save people and do the right thing. For an anti-hero saving people is not on their top priority list. Deadpool is an anti-hero. Iron Fist is a hero. 

This show annoyed because the acting was bad, the stunt work was bad and Danny never learned any lessons. I know he's stunted and I gave him a lot of leeway for that but their is only so much of that I can take. He spent time with a lot of people, he should've learned something, but he didn't he was the exact same in the Defenders.  His supporting cast is what kept watching his show.  

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sjohnson

sjohnson

22 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

Iron Fist would not be considered an anti-hero. Danny wants to be a hero and save people and do the right thing. For an anti-hero saving people is not on their top priority list. Deadpool is an anti-hero. Iron Fist is a hero. 

This show annoyed because the acting was bad, the stunt work was bad and Danny never learned any lessons. I know he's stunted and I gave him a lot of leeway for that but their is only so much of that I can take. He spent time with a lot of people, he should've learned something, but he didn't he was the exact same in the Defenders.  His supporting cast is what kept watching his show.  

Being too cool to care about other people, like Deadpool, is heroically cool. Every EMT is someone who wants to save people, but not every EMT is a hero. Every lawyer wants to save people from jail, and every accountant wants to save people from financial disaster, and they aren't heroes. Being a hero is about beating the odds, about being a winner, not just for people whose jobs are to save lives. That's why there are sports heroes. Being a hero is like being a star, glamorous, exciting. Walter White as Heisenberg is the ultimate winner, defeated only by cancer, which is why he's the hero. The twenty-five year old virgin is by definition not a winner. That's why he, like Hank, is an anti-hero. (There is a version of anti-hero that superficially resembles this, which is the protagonist who is too sensible to buy into false ideals of "right." You meet with these largely in anti-war stories. Deadpool is not against false ideals. He's very into the ideal of love, of an especially supercool physically sexual kind. In that field he's such a winner he conquered the amazingly perfect Morena Baccarin, who is out of humanity's league.) 

Also, Danny meets your own definition of hero. When he abandons his post, he doesn't care about doing the right thing. Which also highlights that Danny does "learn" something besides not hitting everyone all the time. If you don't take your own definition seriously, why should I? It's painful for vicarious identification to be a loser. As you say, there's "only so much of that I can take." But to be honest, I'm so old I don't identify much with any characters any more.

I'm not sure but we might agree on the fascination of the Rand/Meachum family dynamics (aka "supporting characters.") That's what kept me watching the series. But maybe you mean Colleen Wing, who I find to be as dull as dirt. 

Trying to be fair, there is one huge thing Danny Rand doesn't learn, which is that he is the victim of a cult. Except....is it really a cult if it delivers real supernatural powers? Doesn't that make it a True Religion? Hoping this comes up in season two, myself. But perhaps the real lesson is that putting magic into a story keeps it from being serious?

ohjoy

ohjoy

Is Ward definitely back for S2? I hadn’t seen any recent promotion including him (though to be fair, I haven’t been looking at the promotion too hard.) He unexpectedly became my favorite thing about Iron Fist S1, and Misty Knight unexpectedly became my favorite thing about Luke Cage S2, so if Ward is back then I guess I’m fully on board for this.

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MrsRafaelBarba

MrsRafaelBarba

(edited)
On 7/28/2018 at 3:01 AM, garnetarden said:

Is Ward definitely back for S2? I hadn’t seen any recent promotion including him (though to be fair, I haven’t been looking at the promotion too hard.) He unexpectedly became my favorite thing about Iron Fist S1, and Misty Knight unexpectedly became my favorite thing about Luke Cage S2, so if Ward is back then I guess I’m fully on board for this.

Tom's suffered back to back losses recently, his dad and dog Sasha.

So he was off the grid for a while.

 

He'll return this season.

 

Recently returned to SM, went public with actress Jamie Alexander.

 

They're a couple.

 

As for IF, I hate the new Showrunner Raven Metzner.

 

He previously worked Sleepy Hollow, that won't fare well for Simone Missick/Misty.

 

Appears IronKnight won't  happen and JH/Colleen will get Misty's Canon story arc and romance.

 

History  repeating itself, another Black Female character marginalized.

 

Just like Abbie/Nicole was on Sleepy Hollow.

 

Unless proven wrong, I'll Pass.

Edited by MrsRafaelBarba
Llywela

Llywela

(edited)
5 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

Well for me this version of Misty is seems way to mature for this version of Danny. He's an idiot and I can't see her wanting to date him. 

Plus this Danny is already involved with Colleen, who has become a good friend to Misty, so there would have to be a fair bit of story shenanigans to get them from where they are now to a point where Misty and Danny could come together believably. It isn't beyond the bounds of possibility that the Netflix universe will eventually shuffle the relationships to bring them together, but it would need to happen slowly and organically. They have to do what's right for these versions of the characters in this version of the story, rather than feeling bound to stick to what happens in the comics just because. Comics and TV show are separate universes and what works for one won't necessarily work for the other.

I don't see Misty being marginalised at all - heck, she is now a series regular in two different shows, which says to me that the showrunners are invested in the character and want to build on the foundations they have laid for her. It seems defeatist to not bother watching her journey at all just because it seems to be following a different course than she had in the comics.

Edited by Llywela
thuganomics85

thuganomics85

It's too bad since it improved by quite a bit this season, but part of me wonders if either a) they're planning on moving the characters elsewhere or starting a Heroes for Hire/Daughters of the Dragon spin-offs or b) it's only done for on Netflix, and it will move to Disney's new streaming service.  Or maybe it will be a combination of both.  Either way, it wouldn't surprise me if this isn't end for the actual characters (or maybe they'll be cruel and have Danny show up in Avengers 4, only to have Thanos punch his head off with the Infinity Gauntlet...)

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readster

readster

Season 2 was miles better than season 1 and they really moved Danny and Luke's relationship as a major plus. I think they just gave up because they were having so many problems with production crews and just not finding that real niche all the other Netflix series had. I mean a second season of Defenders is so up in the air right now even though everyone wants to do it. 

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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

I am kind of ok with this. While I agree that season 2 was way better than season 1 between the first season and The Defenders, there is a lot of crappy Iron Fist to make up for. Plus the show never really grabbed my attention. For example Daredevil season 3 came out today and I have already watched 4 episodes. I have only watched 8 of Iron Fist season 2. I find the quality of that show is so much better, being closer to the MCU movies while Iron Fist is closer to Agents of SHIELD. 

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