[SEASON REVIEW] Iron Fist Season 2 punches through Addiction
Iron Fist Season 2
Starring: Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, Tom Pelphrey, Jessica Stroup Sacha Dhawan, Alice Eve
Directors: Declan de Barra, Melissa Glenn, Tim Iacofeno, Rebecca Dameron, Jon Worley, Daniel Shattuck, Karim Zreik, Writers: David Dobkin, Jim Chory, Jeph Loed, M. Raven Metzner.
3.5 out of 6 sodas.
rates Comics out of a potential 6 pack of Soda Cans – the score indicates the value of each release in Sodas.
In order to start this review, I feel a preface is needed. One that allows people to quickly see where I am coming from when reviewing Iron Fist Season 2. This may not be an opinion shared by all, but that is okay.
I did not enjoy Iron Fist season 1.
I felt the inconsistency in tone, plot, character development, as well as the ultimate point of the series to be severely lacking on all levels. More than that, Iron Fist as a character felt unnecessary. Daredevil had the crazy martial arts angle covered. Luke Cage covered the philosophical man of the people angle. Jessica Jones had the sassy detective show formula down pat. Hell, Daredevil even dipped its toes in the realm of mysticism. With all of that, where does Iron Fist fit into the equation? The end of season 1 never fully answered that question. With all of that in mind, what did season 2 have to offer?
The Story
After the events of the Defenders, Daniel Rand takes up Matt Murdock’s mantle of defending the streets from crime. Its a good start to season 2 and, as a story thread, it continues to be relevant all the way up to the end. That was something lacking in season 1 so alright it gets points for improvement. Carrying over the thread of Davos and his quest to take the Fist from Danny was a welcome addition to this little story soup. Colleen and Danny exploring their relationship together is a cute way to defuse tension as well as give Danny a way of playing off someone to give himself a bit of character. Adding Alice Eve as the character Mary Walker was a nice hint of spice as she added an extra element of chaos to the character equation. The only downside to the affair was…
The Meachums
I despised the Meachums in season 1. Not because they were good or interesting. It was because they were annoying affluent brats that had built this “happy” little life for themselves on the corpses of the Rand family. When Danny turns out to be alive? They go from “he is a fake, kill him” to “he is real, lets be friends” to “go to hell Danny I wish you had stayed dead”. It was annoying drama fluff. Which, unfortunately, is on display once again in season 2. It was painful to me to watch either of them on screen.
What is the most interesting thing about season 2? It wasn’t the martial arts, the mysticism, Misty Knight coming in being sassy (loved her), or the interplay between Danny and Davos over lineage and tradition. No, the most interesting part was a sub-theme sprinkled through the entire show.
Addiction
Addiction takes center stage in nearly all the characters for this season. The ones I could define are:
-Davos was addicted to the idea of being Iron Fist.
-Ward Meachum had an addiction to narcotics, but he was also addicted to the idea of validation through others.
The list goes on, but the most important one was:
-Daniel Rand was/is addicted to using the Iron Fist.
That last one has huge implications for the character, as well as shaping up how the season ended. Unfortunately it, like season 1, ended with more questions than answers as to how season 3 will shape up (if it shapes up). All I can say, in conclusion, is that while season 2 is an improvement it still has a long way to go. One last thing?
#TheDevilLives
Iron Fist Season 2 is out through Netflix.
Writer. Amateur critic. Lover of storytelling.