S02E01: The Fury of Iron Fist

[The Crazed Spruce]

While rival gangs battle for the soul of New York, Danny and Colleen cross paths with an old acquaintance. Joy embarks on a new adventure.

[Chas411]

Gotta say - this season is so so much better. The fight scenes aren't as embarrassing, the love scenes between Danny/Colleen aren't as pure cringe as they were previously. In fact Danny in general isn't as eyerolling and cringe and I think that's down in part to his new hair style - it's just easier to take him seriously without the awful curls.

Loving Alice Eve as the new villain and loving Joy's turn to be the Meachum sibling with a grudge. 

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, it seems like they've improved on the fighting scenes quite a bit so far.

Danny is still a doofus, but more entertaining now, and I continue to surprising enjoy him and Colleen as a couple.  Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick have a nice, fun rapport going.

So, the main oppositions this time are Davos and Joy teaming up to "destroy Danny's life", and Alice Eve playing someone named Mary, who seems kind of nuts.  I'm guessing she wrote those post-it notes, so I'm guessing she either suffers from memory lapses, or has a full-blown split personality thing going for her.

That said, Ward's only significant scene (besides the meeting with Joy and Danny) being him banging his sponsor isn't exactly filling me with optimism over where they will take his character this season.  Hope this leads to something better. 

[rmontro]

I haven't watched this yet, but I noticed this is a 10 episode season.  I've been thinking for awhile now that 13 episodes for these Marvel series were a few too many.  I wonder if this will be the norm for the other characters now, or if it's just for the "red headed stepchild", Iron Fist.  Since this is the show that seemed to draw the most criticism.

[Cthulhudrew]

23 hours ago, rmontro said:

I haven't watched this yet, but I noticed this is a 10 episode season.  I've been thinking for awhile now that 13 episodes for these Marvel series were a few too many.  I wonder if this will be the norm for the other characters now, or if it's just for the "red headed stepchild", Iron Fist.  Since this is the show that seemed to draw the most criticism.

I thought I remembered the producers talking about this at one point a while back, about how they thought they should streamline the episode count for tighter stories, but now I'm not sure if that was for this show or some other one.

In any event, I'd imagine that the biggest factors in play are production costs and scheduling. Especially now, with 5 different MCU series on Netflix, many of which have shared cast members, and for which they are trying to put out fairly regular seasons, it has to be really tough to do. Expensive and tough to get everyone's time allotted. I know that scheduling in particular was cited as one of the biggest hurdles with the Defenders, and why DD and JJ seasons 3 and 2 respectively got bumped back, and why they aren't going to do another Defenders anytime soon.

[Cthulhudrew]

Not a bad opening to the season. Things definitely seem to be gelling better all around. The most egregious failing of S1 has been handled much better so far- that being the action sequences. The story of the foremost martial artist* should have always had fight scenes at least as good as those of Daredevil, but it failed at it so badly. You can still see areas where the fighting is too choreographed- "the one, and two, and punch, and kick" motions of some of the main actors- but the editing around those is pretty tight now, so that it isn't as glaring, and the staging overall is much improved (at least to these untrained eyes).

I still think that, for all its failings, Iron Fist S1 had the tightest plot of all the Netflix MCU shows thus far- it stayed on point the entire time (save maybe one episode) and didn't have the lulls and pitfalls of dragging plotlines out for several episodes to drag them over the finish line. It wasn't always exciting, but it definitely kept to the story.

This season is looking to be the first of the Netflix shows to have a second season that is just as strong as- if not better than- the first. Which is a great thing.

*Second foremost, that is. We all know that the real champion martial artist in the Marvel Universe is Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu!

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

I thought I remembered the producers talking about this at one point a while back, about how they thought they should streamline the episode count for tighter stories

I would think so, although I haven't watched the new season yet to see if it works in this case.

It's kind of odd to see, a little backwards.  Usually with TV shows like this, the longer the show goes on, the more episodes per season it gets.  

[Kel Varnsen]

To my surprise I actually really enjoyed this. The whole war for Chinatown concept seems promising. Power man and Iron Fist were both 70's characters based on what was popular in pop-culture at the time and I always thought that Luke Cage did a way better job of embracing that Blaxploitation heritage than Iron Fist did embracing the 70's kung fu movie heritage. A battle of triad gangs could change that.

Danny is still a dork but at least they recognize it. The "i'll break your face" line was super lame, but about half way through the episode I realized they are kind of owning it and I am ok with that lameness. 

11 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Not a bad opening to the season. Things definitely seem to be gelling better all around. The most egregious failing of S1 has been handled much better so far- that being the action sequences. The story of the foremost martial artist* should have always had fight scenes at least as good as those of Daredevil, but it failed at it so badly. You can still see areas where the fighting is too choreographed- "the one, and two, and punch, and kick" motions of some of the main actors- but the editing around those is pretty tight now, so that it isn't as glaring, and the staging overall is much improved (at least to these untrained eyes).

I read somewhere that before season 1 started Finn Jones basically got something like a 2 week crash course in martial arts (which showed), so for this season he tried to do a lot more training to at least look the part. You're right it isn't perfect, but it is a lot better and the moves alone are a lot faster. My dream for an Iron Fist show is that the fights are better than Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Enter the Dragon put together.

On 9/7/2018 at 5:22 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Alice Eve playing someone named Mary, who seems kind of nuts.  I'm guessing she wrote those post-it notes, so I'm guessing she either suffers from memory lapses, or has a full-blown split personality thing going for her.

 I was just disappointed that the Post-it on the fridge didn't say "Put food in me".

[blueray]

I'm not sure where to ask this. But I'm thinking about watching season 2 of Iron Fist. However I haven't seen Luke Cage season 2 ( minus half of the first episode). Does this matter for this show?

Edited September 9, 2018 by blueray

[Sakura12]

Not really. I think the only carryover is the Colleen/Misty friendship. There is small mentions of Luke Cage but nothing important. 

Edited September 9, 2018 by Sakura12

[Cthulhudrew]

4 hours ago, blueray said:

I'm not sure where to ask this. But I'm thinking about watching season 2 of Iron Fist. However I haven't seen Luke Cage season 2 ( minus half of the first episode). Does this matter for this show?

I'm only on episode 4 of IF S2 right now, but based on what I'm seeing- and what I recall of the other shows- I would say that the only thing you really need to have seen is S1, and understand that Danny and Colleen have crossed over and met with other characters during the Defenders series. I wouldn't even say you would need to have watched that series outside of just generally knowing that they met, teamed up, and that Matt Murdock told Danny to take care of the city.

[festivus]

On 9/7/2018 at 4:22 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Danny is still a doofus, but more entertaining now, and I continue to surprising enjoy him and Colleen as a couple.  Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick have a nice, fun rapport going.

They do. I'm the board curmudgeon on Marvel romances but I like Danny/Colleen. They've got a good easy romantic chemistry going on that I find lacking in almost every other couple in the whole Marvel universe.

I think this season is going to be better than the last one, cutting it down to 10 episodes will help and already the fight scenes look better. I'm also liking Danny better, his appearance on Luke Cage let me know that would be the case.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Wow, a lot going on this season. Danny trying to keep the city safe, per Matt's request (protect my city), with impending gang wars in China town. Colleen finding something that may point to her past, A new character in Mary, which, not sure where that is going. I always understood Davos and his jealousy over Danny getting the Iron Fist, but like the end of last season, I still do not see Joy's reason for thinking everything bad in her life is Danny's fault and now she wants to destroy him. Guess we will see where that goes.

So the very last scene. Was the look on Danny's face more a, he's happy he's getting more control over the fist or a damn I am loving the power of the fist?

Edited September 12, 2018 by Spaceman Spiff

[tennisgurl]

I think I know who Mary is going to be, and I am really excited! Should be fun to explore what they do with her. 

I think this actually seems like a pretty good start, with the one exception being I still dont really get Joys motivations. I have no idea how she got the idea that Danny being around ruined her life, and not her brother hiding that her dad was an evil zombie, or that her dad was an evil zombie.

Danny and Colleen are really cute together, they have a very believable chemistry that I like a lot. I hope we get more of them as a team, and no relationship drama!

[Dobian]

I don't get Joy.  She always had affection for Danny and knew the truth about what her father did to Danny and his family. but now she's all on board Team Davos to destroy him.  She makes no sense to me.

I enjoyed the fight scenes in the first episode, particularly Colleen kicking ass in the kitchen.

I still enjoy Ward as a character.

Danny is much better, less hippy dippy and more focused.

[WatchrTina]

On 9/12/2018 at 4:38 AM, Spaceman Spiff said:

I still do not see Joy's reason for thinking everything bad in her life is Danny's fault and now she wants to destroy him.

 

On 9/14/2018 at 1:06 PM, tennisgurl said:

I still dont really get Joys motivations. I have no idea how she got the idea that Danny being around ruined her life, and not her brother hiding that her dad was an evil zombie, or that her dad was an evil zombie.

 

On 9/15/2018 at 5:44 PM, Dobian said:

I don't get Joy.  She always had affection for Danny and knew the truth about what her father did to Danny and his family. but now she's all on board Team Davos to destroy him.  She makes no sense to me.

Well, I'd say there is a consensus of opinion here.  I almost went back to rewatch the end of the last episode of season 1 to try to figure out how Joy got to that place.  I guess I'll have to hand-wave it away muttering "Comic book . . . just go with it."  But it grates on me.

Can anyone explain why Danny & Colleen wanted to prevent the "Tigers" from fighting the thugs in the kitchen?  That restaurant owner had paid for protection.  He didn't gain anything by stopping the Tiger thugs from doing their job.  I genuinely thought that Danny and Colleen were going to step out of the way and let the two sets of bad guys fight it out.  I'm not sure I see the point of their trying to serve as a buffer in the turf war.  Nature abhors a vacuum.  The fight for turf will happen. Is their goal just to keep the body count down and especially to keep innocents out of the line of fire by preventing skirmishes when they can?  I'm really having trouble understanding their motivation and that's not a good thing.

Edited September 19, 2018 by WatchrTina

[Kel Varnsen]

2 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

 

 

Well, I'd say there is a consensus of opinion here.  I almost went back to rewatch the end of the last episode of season 1 to try to figure out how Joy to that place.  I guess I'll have to hand-wave it away muttering "Comic book . . . just go with it."  But it grates on me.

Can anyone explain why Danny & Colleen wanted to prevent the "Tigers" from fighting the thugs in the kitchen?  That restaurant owner had paid for protection.  He didn't gain anything by stopping the Tiger thugs from doing their job.  I genuinely thought that Danny and Colleen were going to step out of the way and let the two sets of bad guys fight it out.  I'm not sure I see the point of their trying to serve as a buffer in the turf war.  Nature abhors a vacuum.  The fight for turf will happen. Is their goal just to keep the body count down and especially to keep innocents out of the line of fire by preventing skirmishes when they can?  I'm really having trouble understanding their motivation and that's not a good thing.

I can buy Joy going off the deep end. Even though she seemed nice there were hints last season of a hardass kind of evil business lady. There was an S1 episode where she told that guy that if he did business with her she would get his kid an organ transplant. That combinned with the trauma of finding out your dad is a zombie and any Harold Meachum hereditary crazyness is enough for it to make sense to me. 

As for the restaurant I think Collen and Danny just got caught up in things that escalated really fast. At first they were trying to just kick those kids out of the kitchen to help the owner. Then when the Tigers showed up i think it was part Danny trying to protect Coleen in the kitchen and the fact that kids getting killed in a restaurant is probably bad for business.

[shrewd.buddha]

I have to say: despite Danny continuing to be the weak link, Iron Fist is vastly more 'watchable' than Jessica Jones (season2) or Luke Cage (any season). We do a lot of eye rolling, but have decided that "somewhat silly" trumps "outright boring" any day of the week. We never finished JJ season 2 and never got past three episodes of any of Luke Cage - - despite their better reviews.

As for the eye-rolling stuff: It must be a combination of the writing and the acting that makes Danny come off like the Greenwich Village Idiot. He acts, and reacts, like an impulsive eight-year old kid. When he quickly  flipped through Joy's documents and just signed - Argh! .
Despite being a secondary character, Ward is much more interesting to watch. (At least I am able to relate to Ward's behavior and he does not make me want to hurl rocks at the screen.)

And it still seems as if Danny just randomly won the Iron Fist lottery. I can see why Davos is so pissed. There is not a glimmer of wisdom or evidence of years of martial arts training and discipline in anything that Danny says or does. And the actor just cannot pull off the badass-wearing-a-hoodie image that he seems to to trying for. 

So, we are in for Iron Fist Season 2 - - but not for Danny. Ward, Colleen, Davos, and even Joy and crazy-new-girl make the show worth watching. 

Edited September 17, 2018 by shrewd.buddha

[AKA...CJ86]

Mary is one of my favorite characters, and I am so here for whatever is done with the character. Already off to an excellent start.

So, it will boil down to Joy/Davos VS Danny/Ward. I don't like how Joy is involved, the pieces are there, I just don't like the way the puzzle is put together for her.

And Ward, glad to see him back. Still my favorite character.

I'm just going to say it now, but moving forward, all NETFLIX shows... I need a Colleen/Misty team-up so I hope we get one sometime this season. And a ten episode season, please let this transfer over to the other series.

Overall, and as someone who liked Season One but agreed with a lot of the criticisms hurled its way, love what's happening, great start. Genuinely excited.

Edited September 19, 2018 by CyberJawa1986

[catrice2]

On 9/17/2018 at 1:40 PM, shrewd.buddha said:

I have to say: despite Danny continuing to be the weak link, Iron Fist is vastly more 'watchable' than Jessica Jones (season2) or Luke Cage (any season). We do a lot of eye rolling, but have decided that "somewhat silly" trumps "outright boring" any day of the week. We never finished JJ season 2 and never got past three episodes of any of Luke Cage - - despite their better reviews.

As for the eye-rolling stuff: It must be a combination of the writing and the acting that makes Danny come off like the Greenwich Village Idiot. He acts, and reacts, like an impulsive eight-year old kid. When he quickly  flipped through Joy's documents and just signed - Argh! .
Despite being a secondary character, Ward is much more interesting to watch. (At least I am able to relate to Ward's behavior and he does not make me want to hurl rocks at the screen.)

And it still seems as if Danny just randomly won the Iron Fist lottery. I can see why Davos is so pissed. There is not a glimmer of wisdom or evidence of years of martial arts training and discipline in anything that Danny says or does. And the actor just cannot pull off the badass-wearing-a-hoodie image that he seems to to trying for. 

So, we are in for Iron Fist Season 2 - - but not for Danny. Ward, Colleen, Davos, and even Joy and crazy-new-girl make the show worth watching. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one that didn't like Luke Cage. In fact I thought Jessica Jones season 1 wasn't all that great so season 2 was definitely a disappointment. I never could understand the big brouhaha over Iron Fist being so bad because the rest of them are not that great except for the Daredevil and The Punisher

[methodwriter85]

Wow, I thought I was the only one who couldn't get into Luke Cage.

Anyway, the season seems off to a good start. Danny looks so much better in this season than he did in the first season- Finn definitely put in the work. (Apparently Finn Jones is six feet tall- who would've guessed? He always looked so scrawny and little to me.)

Ward's weird vibe with Joy is still there. I'm glad my favorite rich boy trainwreck is back!

Edited September 28, 2018 by methodwriter85

[Kludge]

On 9/8/2018 at 10:17 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

I thought I remembered the producers talking about this at one point a while back, about how they thought they should streamline the episode count for tighter stories, but now I'm not sure if that was for this show or some other one.

In any event, I'd imagine that the biggest factors in play are production costs and scheduling. Especially now, with 5 different MCU series on Netflix, many of which have shared cast members, and for which they are trying to put out fairly regular seasons, it has to be really tough to do. Expensive and tough to get everyone's time allotted. I know that scheduling in particular was cited as one of the biggest hurdles with the Defenders, and why DD and JJ seasons 3 and 2 respectively got bumped back, and why they aren't going to do another Defenders anytime soon.

Do you know what kind of car they used when they went to China?

Edited October 18, 2018 by Kludge

[jay741982]

On 9/7/2018 at 1:13 PM, Chas411 said:

Gotta say - this season is so so much better. The fight scenes aren't as embarrassing, the love scenes between Danny/Colleen aren't as pure cringe as they were previously. In fact Danny in general isn't as eyerolling and cringe and I think that's down in part to his new hair style - it's just easier to take him seriously without the awful curls.

Loving Alice Eve as the new villain and loving Joy's turn to be the Meachum sibling with a grudge. 

I think Joys reason is stupid. Danny didn't destroy shit in her life.