S01.E02: Shadow Hawk Takes Flight

[Tara Ariano]

Danny struggles with his new surroundings, Colleen dishes out a harsh lesson, and Joy sends an unconventional message.

Edited March 17, 2017 by The Crazed Spruce
Added title and description

[Bec]

A dude in that psychiatric hospital bit a doctor’s nose off? Is that dude’s name Hannibal Lector?

Orderly: We’re gonna get you cleaned up now.
Me: Finally! Hose him down good!

Okay, it had to be an intentional Game of Thrones reference when that one goon said “Ward Meachum sends his regards”. But guys, I’m trying to forget that the main guy was the Knight of the Flowers on Game of Thrones. This is not helping. Way too meta.

[Helena Dax]

I'm enjoying it. It isn't as powerful and deep as "Jessica Jones", but it's interesting. I like Finn Jones too, and I think he's doing a great job. He gives a very non-threatening vibe, but he looks credible and dangerous when he's fighting. 

Two things: the actors who play evil father and evil son are only sixteen years apart and it shows.  It's a bit distracting. Also, I can understand why the "I have superpowers" delusion would be very popular after the incident, but the incident itself proves that there are people with superpowers, so the doctor should follow his own advice and keep an open mind too. 

The evil dad's got  his own minion, how cool is that?

[Primetimer]

And more questions sparked by the episode!

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[feverfew]

Okay. I've watched two episodes so far and my main takeaway is that Tom Pelphrey is hot. Somehow I don't think that was the show's intention.

[xqueenfrostine]

Episode two has not improved my outlook on this show.  The writing is terrible and I'm not buying the performances of any of the actors. Harold might be the only character who seems even moderately interesting, and even he feels pretty ridiculous.

I wish they had taken more care with casting young Danny.  I do not buy that current day Danny looks so much like that kid that it caused Joy to consider that he might be telling the truth.  I mean, I know hair texture can sometimes change over time, but it's incredibly distracting to me that young Danny has relatively straight hair when Finn Jones has such tight curls.

I also don't get what kind of dojo Colleen is running if she has her students attempt to jump her on the streets as a "test" to teach them about how to "perform in the real world."  What reputable martial arts studio thinks that their students need to be able to sneak up on people and attack them as a part of their real lives?  Modern martial arts is not about training people to be fight others outside of a controlled setting, unless we're talking about self-defense.

[thuganomics85]

Admit it, Colleen.  That "training exercise" was just an excuse for you to beat people up on the street.  And I loved that no one passing by seemed to pay attention or show concern.  Either New Yorkers are really that jaded, or it is so common know, that they're just like "Oh, looks like Colleen is beating up her pupils, again!"

Probably not the best time to have a comic series that goes to a psych ward, since Legion is also here (and better, IMO), but I guess I can see why Harold thought it would work.  It looks like he's interested in him, because the "Iron Fist" is the biggest enemy of The Hand or something.  And I'm guessing The Hand is the reason why Harold is pretending to be dead?  Would explain that weird handprint he came home too, asking where he went.

Seems like they are setting things up for Joy to be not evil, but maybe more of an ally to Danny.  The whole torn between family and what is right, thing.  Ward though, continues to be very, very bad.  Ineffective, since he couldn't even convince Colleen to back him after offering her $50,000, but bad none the less!

So, it seems like Danny's power is when he can fully concentrate, his fist glows yell, and his punches are powerful enough to break walls.  IRON PUNCH!!

[blueray]

My guess is Colleen's street "exercise" was with a group of friends or people that weren't actually paying to go. They want to learn to defend themselves for real. The group we saw her teaching, seem to be just taking a normal class.

[Cthulhudrew]

I'm enjoying the show so far. Better to me than Luke Cage, but still not quite as good as Daredevil or Jessica Jones. They seem to be sticking fairly close to the original Iron Fist stories, with a smattering of the recent Seven Cities of Heaven stuff sprinkled in. I'm still not entirely clear why they are using Ward Meachum and Harold Meachum, rather than just using Harold directly, but there has been some dramatic conflict that otherwise wouldn't be there (Ward defying his father's orders) and there seems to be more to the story that I'm sure (hoping) will be revealed. At the very least, Harold faking his death seems at this point to tie into the Hand somehow. 

(On that note- I haven't read enough of the more recent Iron Fist stories to know if they've ever tied the Iron Fists with the Hand, but I have to admit in retrospect it seems like a natural tie. So if it's being introduced here for the first time, kudos to the showrunners for trying to make a more cohesive narrative among all the shows.)

That scene with Colleen is about the only thing so far that seems utterly pointless. It served in no way to advance the narrative, and only accomplished giving the audience a cheap thrill with a fairly tame/lame fight scene and a false sense of danger to the character. Kind of a cheap ploy, not to mention all the other reasons given above (walking around with a weapon in public, fighting in public, etc.)

I also don't like the opening credits sequence. Even though I like this show better than Cage so far, I always sat through the entire credits of Cage (as well as DD and JJ), but find myself fast forwarding this one.

[xqueenfrostine]

23 minutes ago, blueray said:

My guess is Colleen's street "exercise" was with a group of friends or people that weren't actually paying to go. They want to learn to defend themselves for real. The group we saw her teaching, seem to be just taking a normal class.

Those were not defensive skills she was teaching though.  If her friends came to her looking for a self-defense class, that's not what they're getting.  It makes absolutely no sense for a defense class to practice stalking and attacking someone on the street.  It would have been one thing if Colleen and her other students had play-attacked another student as a test/exercise for the targeted student, but it makes no sense when Colleen is the target.  

[saltylemon]

What kind of dumbfuck would say all of that about a monastery in another dimension to a psychiatrist?! He had just won him over & convinced him he was Danny when he had to start sharing all that b.s. That was so frustrating!

[xqueenfrostine]

24 minutes ago, saltylemon said:

What kind of dumbfuck would say all of that about a monastery in another dimension to a psychiatrist?! He had just won him over & convinced him he was Danny when he had to start sharing all that b.s. That was so frustrating!

If I'm feeling generous, I'll attribute that completely dumb move as Danny being in a vulnerable place because of the meds he was on.  But really, the show hasn't given me any reason to believe that Danny isn't that stupid/naive when he isn't pumped full of psychiatric drugs.  The scene was particularly excruciating since we had just seen Danny being warned by his "tourguide" that the doctors often find reasons to hold patients long past their 72-hour involuntary hold.  (Can't really blame the doctors there if any of them sound even half as nutty as Danny)

Edited March 18, 2017 by xqueenfrostine

[Bec]

I'm willing to accept that the existence of other dimensions and magical fists are totally normal in Danny's experience. That's why he didn't even think he needed to lie about it. It's like if I travel to a place where people don't have TVs, the locals are going to think I'm insane if I tell them about TV without realising these people have never seen a TV in their lives. Probably same reason he thought it would be okay to go into a fancy building looking homeless. Maybe where he's been, nobody cares how you dress. I'm just guessing. I haven't read the comics.

[NorthstarATL]

1 hour ago, Bec said:

I'm willing to accept that the existence of other dimensions and magical fists are totally normal in Danny's experience. That's why he didn't even think he needed to lie about it. It's like if I travel to a place where people don't have TVs, the locals are going to think I'm insane if I tell them about TV without realising these people have never seen a TV in their lives. Probably same reason he thought it would be okay to go into a fancy building looking homeless. Maybe where he's been, nobody cares how you dress. I'm just guessing. I haven't read the comics.

But you wouldn't share your television watching experiences with the locals if the locals were holding you prisoner. As for the fancy building, Danny just assumed that the building he grew up in and the people he grew up with would be thrilled to see him and maybe reintroduce him to fashion? We didn't see him stop at "home", though, and that's what I would have done.

11 hours ago, xqueenfrostine said:

I wish they had taken more care with casting young Danny.  I do not buy that current day Danny looks so much like that kid that it caused Joy to consider that he might be telling the truth.  I mean, I know hair texture can sometimes change over time, but it's incredibly distracting to me that young Danny has relatively straight hair when Finn Jones has such tight curls.

Indeed. Of the three "kids", only young Joy looks as if she could grow to be adult Joy. It can't be that hard to find a kid that looks similar to adult Danny.

 You'd think the Fist would be just another aspect of the Hand.

[Bec]

Danny certainly is way too much of an open book for his own good. I don't think anyone has ever introduced the concept of subterfuge to this guy.

[Spaceman Spiff]

13 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

I'm enjoying the show so far. Better to me than Luke Cage, but still not quite as good as Daredevil or Jessica Jones.

I agree with this. This is moving no slower than Cage did and I am enjoying the show.

7 hours ago, NorthstarATL said:

 We didn't see him stop at "home", though, and that's what I would have done.

We did see him stop at home. Joy is currently living in his parents house, and that's the place he broke into in E1. It was Danny's parents in the flashback that walked onto the roof when the kids were playing a game.

[NorthstarATL]

20 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

We did see him stop at home. Joy is currently living in his parents house, and that's the place he broke into in E1. It was Danny's parents in the flashback that walked onto the roof when the kids were playing a game.

Apologies. I should have been more specific. I meant to say that we did not see him go home FIRST, which is what I would have done. He mentions the corporate building "feeling" like home, but that's not really an excuse to skip ACTUAL home in the process of revisiting one's life.

[Hiveminder]

I think Harold should have gotten Joy to do whatever it is he has Ward doing. I don't know if she'd be anymore competent, but at least she doesn't seem to have Ward's clear mental issues. 

They couldn't have trimmed his beard in that hospital?

Edited March 19, 2017 by Hiveminder

[tennisgurl]

I actually thought this was a bit better than the last episode at least. Still not blowing me away or anything, but I thought Danny was more interesting at least. I just hope they end this "Who is Danny Rand?" stuff now that Joy knows who he is. Speaking of, Joy seems to be way more stable than Ward is, who seems to be obsessed with screwing with Danny way beyond just trying to keep him from getting his hands on the company. I don't know how competent Joy is, but, like Hiveminder said, Dad should have made her his lackey instead of Ward. The dude has a serious eye twitch. Plus, trying to bribe Coleen was all kinds of stupid. She wouldn't have ever bought that Danny was legit if you hadn't tried to cover it up! Its like all those procedurals where they get caught after murdering people or trying to cover up an original crime, even when they could have just left it alone and been fine.

I really do question this mental facility. They just let a random violent guy go into the rooms of patients who are strapped down, and then they stick him with the same guy as his tour guide? I get that the place is supposed to suck, but there's evil, and there's stupid.

I assume Collen has her students attack her on the street regularly. That's why no one seemed to be remotely interested in a martial arts fight breaking out in broad daylight. Of course, this is New York City in the MCU...

I'm going to be nice and say that Danny is just really sheltered and doesn't really do well with deceit. At least that might give him an arc.

[JustaPerson]

Well he did grow up in a monastery in a another dimension raised by male monks (I assume) if you can consider that sheltered. 

[Chas411]

Colleen and her martial arts storyline seems like it's in another show. They need tI integrate her more. Right now I'm more interested in Joy and Danny's storyline. Ward lost me he seems way too unstable. 

[Kel Varnsen]

I found this episode kind of dragged. Most of the stuff in the hospital really slowed things down, which I thought was weird since this early in the show's run you would think you would want a bunch of action to get people interested. The big highlights for me were Danny mentioning The Hand (because those crazy ninjas in Daredevil were awesome) and the second after that guy had the fork to Danny's neck where I thought the nurse kicking him out was Claire (the voice sounded a lot like Rosario Dawson to me).

[WatchrTina]

On 3/17/2017 at 7:42 AM, Helena Dax said:

Two things: the actors who play evil father and evil son are only sixteen years apart and it shows.

Yes and the fact that the younger one wears his hair slicked back like he's an ad executive in the 1950s doesn't help.  It's like he's trying to pay older than his real age while the actor playing the father couldn't even be bothered to put in a bit fake grey at the temples.

I hated the pilot so this episode was actually a step in the right direction.  Four people now believe Danny is Danny (though two of them wish him harm) and they gave me a credible explanation for why Danny has turned up now (15-year mystical cycle).  And they gave him a fake passport . . . which is interesting since I had assumed he entered NYC via a mystical portal a la Doctor Strange but, whatever.

I'm very glad Danny is now out of the psych ward and that Joy knows he is Danny.  I also LOVE the hand-print on the outside of the window and the "Where did you go?" message because it suggests to me that Daddy Bad Guy has not been hiding in that penthouse all these years -- he's been a prisoner -- ordered to stay there by "The Hand."  I rather like that.  I rather like the idea that the bad guy is under the thumb of an even bigger bad guy.  I like the hint that he thought Danny might actually be a weapon he could use against The Hand . . . that is until Junior turned his goons loose on Danny and screwed everything up for him by unleashing the "Iron Fist".

This is getting twisty, but I like it.

So . . . only one fist is "iron."  Well that's a pity.

[theatremouse]

I thought the father was supposed to not have aged since his death. So, their not looking appropriately age-distanced makes sense?

[AKA...CJ86]

On 3/17/2017 at 5:42 AM, Helena Dax said:

Two things: the actors who play evil father and evil son are only sixteen years apart and it shows.  It's a bit distracting. Also, I can understand why the "I have superpowers" delusion would be very popular after the incident, but the incident itself proves that there are people with superpowers, so the doctor should follow his own advice and keep an open mind too. 

The first thing, yes, it's getting really distracting.  The second thing, it did bug me a little... in a world of alien invasions, Gods... and bullet proof skin... the man claiming to be an Iron Fist is where you draw the line at crazy town.  I'm agreeing with you on all points.

On 3/17/2017 at 11:25 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Admit it, Colleen.  That "training exercise" was just an excuse for you to beat people up on the street.  And I loved that no one passing by seemed to pay attention or show concern.  Either New Yorkers are really that jaded, or it is so common know, that they're just like "Oh, looks like Colleen is beating up her pupils, again!"

Just having the people around, no concern while Colleen beats down her pupils... it took me out of it.

My own thoughts: I don't like this Meechum/Meachum(?) power struggle they seem to be foreshadowing to. Or the family will dissolving. Looks like Joy will be on the path to siding with Danny. Right now, I'm liking everyone but Danny.

Again, I'm enjoying the series, it's just a step down in quality from the previous shows.

Edited March 31, 2017 by CyberJawa1986
Edits and Stuff, Yo!

[millennium]

On 3/17/2017 at 9:38 PM, saltylemon said:

What kind of dumbfuck would say all of that about a monastery in another dimension to a psychiatrist?! He had just won him over & convinced him he was Danny when he had to start sharing all that b.s. That was so frustrating!

The babe in the woods routine is getting old really fast.  You're right, only an imbecile would say something like that.

The glowing hand is cheesy, and for a guy who trained 15 years in another dimension, he gets his ass kicked a lot.   He exudes no threat, no menace, even when in Iron Fist mode.

I'm watching as I work on other stuff.   It's okay as background -- except for hammy Ward Meachum -- but I would be fidgeting if it were just me and the show and nothing in between.

I have a fundamental quarrel with all of these Defenders shows.   They are overwritten, too slowly paced, and obviously elongated to meet the 13-episode requirement.  Jessica Jones and Luke Cage were almost painful in that regard.   And the only thing that saved Season 2 of Daredevil was Electra.

Edited April 1, 2017 by millennium

[AudienceofOne]

I cannot stress enough about how much I hate the production values of this. I feel like it's filmed in someone's back shed and the streets behind their house. Supposedly it's filmed in New York but with the super-saturation it could be filmed in Australia for all I know - with directors who previously worked on Neighbours. The blocking is awful, the fight scenes sophomoric and the acting juvenile. If there is a plot, I haven't spotted it yet. Maybe when that pops up, it'll be better.