Welcome, everybody! In the next two weeks, I’ll release three reviews corresponding to the available episodes of the six-episode season of “Ironheart” (2025), which will be released on July 24, 2025 and July 1, 2025. A week after the last episode airs, there will be an overall review of the season with spoilers at the end. It is only my second episodic review of a television series, so thank you for coming
Episode 3 of “Ironheart” is fifty-three minutes with Sam Bailey still in the director’s chair and cowriters Francesca and Jacqueline J. Gailes up for the first time. Episode 3 firmly establishes that this series knows how to start an episode hyped then bring the energy down gradually preferring to end on a downbeat. Characters are beginning to cross paths that were separate before. Xavier (Matthew Elam) functions as a better moral center for the series than Joe (Alden Ehrenreich), who visits Riri (Dominique Thorne) at home, which leads to implicit humor because Joe sticks out like a sore thumb in her neighborhood. It is a bit disappointing that it never occurs to Riri to ask him to pay her for their technological collaboration instead of working for Parker. Joe’s backstory is revealed and makes it more puzzling why she does not propose a joint venture with him as the venture capitalist. Ronnie (Anji White) is not given much to do except basic mom fare.
The crew was fleshed out a bit, but the actors are doing the heavy lifting filling in the blanks that the writers left. Some conflict is introduced, and let’s just say that I can’t have nothin’ because Cousin John (Manny Montana) is officially not my favorite. It is unclear whether he is acting to protect Parker (Anthony Ramos) and/or the crew from messing with the Hood when Parker is out of it, but I voted for the former. You will have to watch the third episode to see if I guessed correctly. If the Hood is evil, it has not activated Parker yet because he defuses the situation. Even though the team has known Cousin John longer than Riri, they side with Riri and Clown (Sonia Denis), but it is unclear whether they will choose Riri over Parker. Again, it is obvious from the outset of episode 3 that Riri should quit, but she stays on. “Ironheart” seems to conflate invention as necessarily being a part of criminal activity even with a milquetoast like Joe.
Bailey uses a daytime outing between Riri and Natalie (Lyric Ross) to show off Chicago’s lakefront, this time in the daytime. The pair visit Gary’s Garage, which belonged to Riri’s deceased stepfather, Gary (Laroyce Hawkins), and Thorne gets to explore her character’s emotions more, but honestly, I’m a little tired of sad heroes so maybe I am getting too old for this genre because it is standard. Side note: how are the Williams family able to afford keeping that property while mom is not working in a conventional profession?!? The theme of tech relates to memories of deceased fathers and the legacy that they leave for their kids, which leads to a tie in to “Iron Man” (2008), and you probably will not guess how. I really loved when Riri held up the photo in case viewers are like “who,” so they do not have to reach for their phones and Google the name. Riri gets a bad ass entrance in the suit and does some impressive stunts outside of them, so it is nice to finally not see her stumble around and mess up in such a clumsy way. She is too young for me to enjoy “Ironheart” without worrying about her.
Episode 2 and 3 establish the team’s modus operandi. They choose a CEO then convince them to put them on payroll. This week’s mark is Hunter Mason (David Vaughn), the CEO of Heirlum, whom the team derisively describes as a “glorified gardener,” but he sets the standard as someone who does not fold like a cheap suit. It also gives the audience to see what that hood can do, and whether the suit affects Parker. It also reflects that the crew’s overall youth and immaturity. None of them are about that life.
“Ironheart” finally delivers with a couple of fight scenes. If you want to be like Iron Man, you have to be more than the suit. It was not fun to watch, but she holds her own. She also makes a decision that should have a huge impact on her because it leads to her doing something that she cannot take back. Also, if anyone finds out what she did, the ramifications are going to be devastating. It will also affect the team, Parker and whomever Parker made a deal with for the suit, which is not revealed yet.
“Ironheart” is showing the mental health impact of Riri’s worlds clashing and a long overdue breakdown over the death of her loved ones. After going to the screening of “Thunderbolts*,” one of my film critic friends asked, “Do people watch Marvel movies to learn about depression?” Yes, yes they do. If you enjoyed that movie, you will love where show creator Chinaka Hodge takes Riri’s storyline and the Gailes writing team, who previously worked on “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (2022), prove that they can switch gears and get very somber when the assignment calls for it. If you are looking for light entertainment, perhaps save this series for another time.
An unfortunate prediction: I do not see how law enforcement can not snatch Riri up. Even though she is not guilty of what they are investigating, she is too close to the suspects to get off scot-free. It may be the first time in MCU history when law enforcement finally is accusing the hero correctly. Please let me briefly put my respectability politics pearls back on. Why does the Black woman hero have to be a criminal? It is “The Princess and The Frog” (2009) all over again when we finally got a Black princess, and they turned her into an animal. Also, her mom is too chill about everything. OK. I’m going to let it go again. It is a common storyline that because of lack of opportunities, great minds turn to a tenebrous life to survive. Hell, it has real world roots in Chicago—see the documentary “King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones” (2022).
I am looking forward to/dreading the fallout of Riri’s decisive, but devastating decision on her, her family, friend, neighborhood and the crew. I want more details on the power behind the Hood pulling Parker’s strings. Is Parker going to become an irredeemable character or stay in the gray? How will Xavier react when he sees Natalie and how will it impact his relationship with Riri? Is Riri going to get a therapist? It is great to see Thorne get to do more than be a cutesy rebel, but also heart breaking. Riri is only a baby. They all are.
