I may have bad taste, but I really enjoyed watching the second and sadly final season of Iron Fist. The Netflix Marvel series seemed to learn from its past mistakes and found its sweet spot by reducing its seasons from thirteen to ten episodes. Overall I liked everyone’s character arcs, the crossover with a major character from another Netflix Marvel series and the introduction of interesting new characters. The final episode actually made me sad instead of relieved that the series ended because it looked like they were finally ready to be the fun Marvel series, and they were done with the angst. This review will be filled with spoilers for Luke Cage and Iron Fist so don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
We finally got an Asian Iron Fist, and her name is Colleen Wing. I wish that they didn’t rush through her heritage and tack it on during the last two episodes of the season, but I’ll sign a waiver. Combined with her appearance in The Defenders, the second season of Luke Cage and this show, Colleen has gotten some perspective as a mentor to the broken and lost as opposed to exploiting them, understands the consequences of the misuse of her fighting ability and teaching and most importantly, didn’t really want the power, which made her the perfect person to hold it. I went from not really being into the character to totally rooting for her and excited to see her wield her sword and fist. I didn’t see it coming until Danny proposed it. She does lose a point for saying that she didn’t want to be a part of that life, but think that she could still have a relationship with Danny. I loved how she just cut the crap during dinner.
I was so excited that Misty was practically a series regular in Iron Fist, and that Misty and Colleen are besties. Misty started appearing during the fourth episode and never left. The most unrealistic part of this show isn’t that people have powers, but that she is working unpaid during her vacation. She got some of the best lines, “I can’t let anything just be;” “I’m very serious about my snacks;” “People change. It doesn’t mean that you misread them the first time;” “Your leg is still attached to your body.” “Or what? Are you going to shoot us?” “Yes!” She read Joy to filth, and I had to rewind that scene and imagine that she was speaking to every fifty-two percenter. It isn’t her fault, but during season two of Luke Cage, she was fighting on the same level as Luke Cage, but I felt as if they scaled back her fighting ability in Iron Fist. I suppose that the argument could be made that she was just fighting people without martial arts skills, but Bushmaster definitely had some moves, and her Rand tech arm seemed to cause more damage whereas by the end of Iron Fist, it needed to go to the shop.
Speaking of Joy, she makes a decent villain because I can’t stand her. While I don’t entirely buy her reasoning regarding why she is mad at the world, particularly Danny and her brother, I didn’t mind the overall character arc and think Jessica Stroup sold it. Even mortally injured, she is like, “Don’t touch me!” I wish that Mariah met Joy. Mariah would kill her, steal her money, call her a weak bitch, drink all her liquor then become the head of Rand. I can totally buy that Joy is like her daddy, stupidly thinks that she can manipulate more powerful forces for her own devious design then walk away without a scratch so while it’s not right, but it’s ok, I’m totally fine with Davos not even using his power and just tossing her off his indoor balcony. Joy, you’re not about that life. You learned that day. The cops caught her in less than twenty-four hours of doing dirt! I call bs on her surviving and going home so quickly, but then I wouldn’t get that last delicious scene with Mary Walker so will sign a waiver. Rand tech. Whatever.
I need Walker to get her own show or at least Disney+ needs to renew Iron Fist on their new subscription streaming service and make her a series regular. I want to meet the third alter. She doesn’t even have powers, but she views the Iron Fist as a mild inconvenience. She handled those men like they were nothing, and I loved it. It isn’t often that a woman character gets to be a badass with a sad history. She had the most enlightening flashbacks. They moved the plot forward instead of just feeling like a repetition of what we already knew. I do wonder whether people were outraged at the depiction of a mental illness. I loved that Colleen correctly pegged Mary as soon as she met her. When Danny gets the surveillance photos, she is the only one who is like, “Mary did it.” Colleen watched Get Out and along with all the black people knew not to trust the girlfriend.
Davos made a good villain, but I am so annoyed by that character and his egotistical need to be adored. Davos either needed the Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme or someone to play the scene from Black Dynamite says, “But I sell drugs in the community, Dynamite!” How are you working with criminals then angry and killing criminals? He was just straight up crazy and wanted an excuse to kill people. I am absolutely not saying that he should be happy that rapey married woman was into him, but he is a guy that would rather kill someone than sleep with someone and would be mad if someone made him feel an emotion, which is why he hated Danny. Just admit that you’re in love with him, you salty bitch! Also is Kun Lun in Manchester? Is anyone in this series actually an American? Iron Fist Season 2 is the only time that I agreed with Colleen when she refused to kill him because he would rather die than live in failure. Get a therapist! I need Iron Man briefly to get resurrected so he could casually shit on his mommy didn’t love him issues like he did with the kid in Iron Man 3. Hey, your parents broke the rules and let you live. Big mistake! Question: how come he got Iron Fists?
I loved Ward since the first season of Iron Fist, and nothing has changed. Every time he got paired with Danny, I loved their chemistry and am happy that he has one good relationship. While I think that Joy’s point is fair, that she needs to know herself before she can even consider resuming a relationship with Ward, a theme for all of the characters during the second season, I do think that people always forget that Ward was a victim of abuse until the end of the first season and need to cut him more slack for being a hot mess because at least he is trying—Davos, I’m looking at you. Side note: I didn’t think that people in NA got opposite sex sponsors, and Ward is a Chris Farley fan. I’m rooting for him. I loved that when he found out what Joy did, he called her an animal and wanted her arrested. I liked the contrast with his sister and their respective interactions with their assistant. He may lead with asshole, but he repents, and she just sees them as tools that works or don’t. No one is a person except her. Ward and Misty?
In a rare instance of me rooting for crime, I’m glad that Turk is still shady and was lying to Luke Cage. I don’t like when people are on the straight and narrow and the titular hero messes with their straight gig. Do you want them to return to a life of crime?!? Good thing that Turk never left.
Iron Fist’s final season wasn’t perfect. I was initially excited to meet Mrs. Yang, but I felt as if she was adequate, and she was more exciting in my mind. How can you fire a volunteer, sis? I wouldn’t mind if they recast her, but since the show doesn’t exist, shrug. She gets points for the hairpin move, which I saw coming, but still appreciated. Seriously Joy, step your game up. Everyone kept talking about the scavenger kid gang, but they looked like they were in their late thirties to early fifties. What is happening? How do they not know that Danny is a Rand and rich and famous? Who is running the company? Danny briefly took his shirt off in the first episode, and I was like, “Please put your shirt back on. No one wants to see that.” During the Mortal Kombat scene, what is the point of wearing the masks or the tether if you can just rip it off during the fight? Someone read the Iron Fist manual and heal Mr. Yang. Is Albert OK? If someone is covered from head to toe in fall clothes during winter, how would you be able to discern that they don’t have any tattoos?
Danny is still annoying, but less annoying. He is no longer a petulant man child, but the worst strategist ever. I liked his relationship with Colleen and how they talked out their issues, but don’t make that woman host a dinner party for evil. Iron Fist has established that he is better fighting in close quarters, but I don’t entirely get how he keeps successfully beating Davos, but all the criminals that almost beat Danny get their asses handed to them by Davos. Danny doesn’t want to kill anyone, but somehow that isn’t a detriment with Davos. I initially thought that it was dumb that he was training with Colleen considering that he was the Iron Fist—bro, didn’t you get enough training, but maybe she improved him. I loved the Western in the East look that he had going at the end of the series.
I can’t believe that Iron Fist ended when it finally got good, but maybe I’m delusional, and it is still weak sauce. I don’t care. I blew through the season and had a lot of fun.