Iron Fist Season 2, Episode 9 title art. Photo courtesy of the the official Iron Fist Twitter Page.
**This review contains spoilers for “War Without End” and events that occurred in Marvel Netflix shows prior**
“The day is young.”
Well…they did it. Colleen has the Fist. I wish I could be more excited for this. I really do. But as I mentioned in the last review, we haven’t even gotten a proper Danny Rand Iron Fist, so it’s hard to swallow somebody else running around with his mantle for good—let alone potentially being the one to bring down Davos. Before I make my final stance about it, I’ll have to see how they end up finishing out the season. Apart from the Fist, Colleen did have some good character development that got her to to the point where she could make that decision. She needed to step up like she has always been telling others. She also got to take part in a pretty great action sequence with BB’s former comrades.
As for Danny, he at least got a moment this episode. He controlled his emotions and impulses, and he put down Davos—even without the Iron Fist. It was a fairly satisfying yet simple affair, that was choreographed really well. I liked how Danny made sure to mislead Davos into thinking he was still injured (which honestly, he should be). The show does seem to be closing Danny’s arc, seemingly trying to permanently sideline him in his own show. At least, that’s what I fear is going to happen if Colleen holds the mantle. But hey, if both Davos and Colleen can have the power, then Danny can as well–right?
Sacha Dhawan as Davos. Photo is a screenshot taken directly from the show.
It was getting close there, but we did get our Turk cameo! It’s always a pleasure, even more so when it’s accompanied by the pairing of Ward and Walker. The odd pairings are really fun to watch bounce off each other (though Tom Pelphrey could masterfully play off any actor). I hope we get to learn more about what Walker read in the now burned file, because the writer’s kind of skipped right over that. When it came to saving Joy though, Ward got those honors. I think at this point Ward deserves a little slack from his sister– right, Joy? When it came to Walker’s part in the warehouse, she was extremely over-prepared. That didn’t stop her from nonchalantly killing Eye Patch, knocking Misty out in the process. Does she have a plan we don’t know about? Or was knocking out Misty the only way out of the room?
Surprisingly, this episode didn’t focus much on Davos. The focus was primarily on Colleen, as she thought about her huge decision. But the moments we did get were great. His steel determination makes him extremely scary, especially seeing how clearly unhinged he is. At this point he was even ready to kill a bunch of innocent citizens in the shelter. From him shoving Joy to her near death to potentially decapitating a man with his red fist, it’s clear that he can no longer see straight. All of this made his confrontation with Danny all the more satisfying– in particular, seeing Danny finally so calm and in control, and Davos not even entertaining the thought that he might lose the fight.
Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing. Photo is a screenshot taken directly from the show.
Things started to speed up as Danny and Colleen finally got back into action and bested Davos. The episode gave us some great fight sequences and more great character moments across the board. That doesn’t excuse the spontaneity of Joy’s family plot line, or the fact that Danny might not be getting his Fist back. With one episode left, I really have no idea how the show might leave us.
Bonus Notes:
– Completely called BB’s death as a motivator for Colleen earlier in the season.
– While Colleen’s family side-plot helped make her decision, it’s presence sure hasn’t added a natural flow to the season. It just kind of appears and disappears randomly, whenever the plot needs it.
– Joy has been killing it. The scenes in which she stood up to both Davos and Eye Patch were amazing—and great for her character.
You can catch Iron Fist Season 2 available now on Netflix.
