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 along for my experiment, which happened in less than twenty-four hours!
Episode 5 of “Ironheart” is fifty-seven minutes, the longest episode of the season, with director Angela Barnes returning and writer Cristian Martinez at bat for the first time. This episode is simultaneously the most gonzo action packed and anticlimactic one. Getting an incomplete side of the story, the crew is hunting for Riri (Dominique Thorne). Remember, Riri is a nerd, not a fighter, plus she is outnumbered so she relies on her wits to get her out of the jam until she finally meets a foe that can fight her to toe-to-toe even in her iron suit.
Even though the Blood Siblings, Roz (Shakira Barrera) and Jeri (Zoe Terakes), are the most into inflicting damage, Riri takes them out in the most cartoonish way ever. It is basically as if “Novocaine” (2025) faced off against kids from “A Minecraft Movie” (2025). Clown (Sonia Denis) is the cleverest one in the bunch, but she does too much, which got everyone in trouble in Episode 3 and almost takes her out, but if Clown could rein in the nuttiness a bit, Riri would not have made it; however, Riri’s most devastating blow does not involve physical force. Slug (Shea Couleé) takes a different approach but is also true to themselves and may be the smartest henchman ever because she just peaces out when it gets too tough while looking fabulous and somehow still standing.
Ezekiel Skane (Alden Ehrenreich) comes to the rescue of everyone in more ways than one. Despite making a deal with the devil, Skane’s moral center is still intact. Speaking of “Novocaine,” Ehrenreich is delivering some Jack Quaid energy in his second act when he is not flexing his new tech. That’s right. He has embraced his legacy now, but since it is unrelated to magic, he is still in trouble. Age does not equal wisdom, and though Skane is the oldest member involved in these physical skirmishes, his experience with manipulation is never exploited.
Here is where Episode 5 kind of falls flat. It feels silly that Parker (Anthony Ramos) sent his team to execute Riri when he is so pissed. Obviously, it is not the last episode, so Parker cannot face her, but he clearly doubts his team’s veracity so what is the point. Also, there is a big confrontation between the team and Parker that is less damaging than the crew had with Riri, which is ridiculous considering that Parker killed Stu (Eric Andre), and the influence of the Hood is complete. Not a single self-preservation gene among them. Fortunately for them, Parker is turning the other cheek. So, I am hoping that they will reappear in Episode 6 to redeem themselves and help Riri. Then when Parker reveals his evil plan, it is so trite and universal that you want to allow it, but it is also like, “Dude, go to therapy.” He did so much for so little. While his backstory is sad, it is so hastily drawn that it feels incomplete even in its final form. His evil is broken.
Paul Calderon is Parker’s big bad, which should be awesome because he is a great character actor famous for playing villains. If you want to see the most legally accurate episode of “Law & Order,” watch Season 8 Episode 24 titled “Monster.” Calderon plays the titular character, and it is so chilling that I still remember it to this day. The man is a legend, and he is given absolutely nothing to do. The scene falls flat and has zero frisson. It is supposed to be this cathartic confrontation and revelation, but you will just feel like saying, “That’s it!” It is a shame that it does not work because Ramos really gives it his all, but it is just poor writing. The world ends with a whimper, not a bang.
What does work? The chemistry between Ramos and Ehrenreich. It is the kind of dry humor puncturing the action characteristic of the MCU. “Ironheart” is good but as serious as a heart attack, so this reluctant pairing is terrific albeit horrific. From the first episode, Parker and Cousin John acted like pimps in the way that they drew people in then would not let them go and acted as if they owned their employees. Skane is just another person in a long line of their prospective slaves, but at least this time, the banter is light and fun.
The entire season of “Ironheart,” Riri has alienated everyone in her life, and in this episode, they all come together. Riri finally asks for help from her mom, and while the underlying sentiment is sweet, her mom and all her loved ones turn out to support her, it also suddenly becomes possible for her to build an iron suit even though the entire time that she has graced our screens, she acted as if she had to break every rule to do so. Sure, magic is involved, but it does not explain how easy it was to get the suit assembled. It did not even take the entire episode or a whole day. It is so ridiculous, but you will be able to overlook it because it is a much-needed emotional break for the protagonist.
Riri finally faces her real motivation for building the suit, which makes a lot of sense, and there are some sweet memories that everyone can relive thanks to the magic of AI. The entire series is one love letter to AI as people who are alive, not just unfeeling tools. Is this propaganda? I like Chat GPT as a limited tool to be used judiciously and constantly checked, but even I found the love to be too much.
No Cree Summer, but Zelma (Regan Aliyah) is back, and hot take: I wish that Zelma and Riri teamed up earlier. Natalie is fine and keeps things light, but Zelma fits into the overarching story. She has information on the real big bad. Hint: the villain was in “Doctor Strange” (2016). The villain’s role here feels like a demotion, but there is one more episode and a tease that there may be a plot to destroy Earth, so fingers crossed. Magic is going to be front and center in the last episode, and Riri’s decision to use it has unintended and possibly devastating consequences again. Can we give this girl a break?
I am looking forward to wrapping this season up because I am doing this review in the middle of a weeknight before the entire screener evaporates at 9 pm on June 24th. I have to go to work the following day and also have a screening to attend. I want to see how Riri and Skane get out of this predicament. I want to see how the Big Bad plays out and what the crew will do. I hope that everyone lives even if they are all messed up. Other than Parker, they are not really murderers or irredeemable, and I even have a soft spot for him because Ramos is killing it.
