Iron Fist Season 2, Episode 10 title art. Photo courtesy of the the official Iron Fist Twitter Page.
**This review contains spoilers for “A Duel Of Iron” and events that occurred in Marvel Netflix shows prior**
“Chance always looks like fate in the tail lights.”
Where to begin. First, I have very conflicting feelings about this finale. There were plenty of really great things, and yet for each of those, there was something puzzling or unsatisfying. Let me just jump right in by saying that is it super exciting to have Orson Randall be introduced and to look forward to seeing that part of the mythology explored in the future. However, season 2 should have been about fixing and improving our main character—that is, giving us the true Iron Fist. Instead, Danny was sidelined for most of the season, and the show let everyone around him shine brighter than he did. I mean, the season ends by still having Danny completely stripped of the Iron Fist. It shouldn’t take three seasons to get your title character to their proper status and quality.
Yes, the new Iron Fist is Colleen Wig. This outcome works well for her character and arc throughout the season—but as a fan of the original mythos, I’m not fully in support of this idea. Again, we haven’t gotten a proper Danny Rand, and now someone else holds the mantle; someone else stopped the big threat of the season. Someone else is already better at using the Iron Fist powers than Danny ever was. Things like that are upsetting. Would it be cool to see Colleen in action? Yes. Do I want to see more of her journey with the fist? Sure. But it feels wrong to have her be the only wielder of the power. I mean, multiple people can have this power, and I don’t know why the show is trying to make it seem like that’s not the case. I mean sure—something’s up, since Danny clearly has some power within those pistols, but it’s all just confusion and questions until we get more story next season.
Speaking of confusion and questions, the season somehow managed to completely forget about the fact that K’un Lun disappeared. Never did it seem like it was an important loose end to plot of the show, and there was never even a slight hint as to what happened. Being such a big twist in last season’s finale, I can’t help but feel annoyed. Not only has the show not given us a properly powered up Iron Fist, but it has given almost no proper attention and detail to K’un Lun as a mystical city and the birthplace of the Iron Fist mantle. Sure, Danny and Ward being overseas could easily start focusing on this storyline—but we hoped for things like this going into season 2. Should I keep that hope again, or will we continue to get strung along?
Finn Jones as Danny Rand. Photo is a screenshot taken directly from the show.
As for Ward, once again he was one of the strongest parts of the season—especially towards the end of this season’s story. It was especially heartbreaking to see Ward denied access to his son—especially after he finally opened up in an emotional speech to NA. But this happened for good reason. As he admitted, he doesn’t know or like himself—or know what he wants. This is something he is going to have to fix. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when Ward hopped on the plane to join Danny on his journey overseas. I’m extremely pumped to see more of that dynamic, and also Ward in completely new and unique situations (as were teased at the very end).
Ward’s sister, Joy, didn’t get a super happy ending either. Nor did she get to hop on a plane to escape the country. While her backstabbing Davos saved the day in the end, things started to backslide for her. As much as she wanted to move on, Walker wasn’t going to let her—instead keeping Joy in her back pocket for later use. Joy’s journey through the season was an absolute—Joy—to watch. She has evolved so much, it’s hard not to be excited for what her future holds, especially if Walker is pulling the strings.
Walker—or Typhoid Mary—was the pleasant surprise of the season. While she was slow to pay off, once we became more accustomed with her multiple personalities, the character (along with Alice Eve’s performance) was a thrill to watch. The idea that there is another personality hiding from even Walker is a fantastic one, and sets the stage for her to become more akin to her comic book counterpart. It’s a shame that we won’t get more until next season—although I hope we see Walker leak into other shows. As for her part in the finale, it felt out of place for Danny’s last fight to be with her. It certainly wasn’t very satisfying, and the resolution to it was rather simple. At least we got to hear her classic saying from the comic.
Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing (left) and Sacha Dhawan as Davos (right). Photo is a screenshot taken directly from the show.
When it came to the true season’s villain, sadly I have to say that by the finale—Davos had fallen flat. The promise that he showed at the beginning of the season started to wane, and once unhinged, Davos became a shell of what he once was. No longer as compelling or interesting as he once was, Davos’ gravitas weakened even more when the battle for the Iron Fist became a struggle between him and Colleen—and not Danny. Now while the character may not have lived up to its potential, Sacha Dhawan’s performance still excelled the entire time.
While better than the first season, Iron Fist’s second season is still improved—but not nearly to the point that it should be. The finale resolved many things. Some were satisfying, others not so much. Plenty of exciting potential was teased for season 3—Walker’s mystery persona, Orson Randall, Ward’s trip with Danny, Vigilante Colleen, and more. Iron Fist still follows a rocky road, and while there’s plenty of potential, it’s hard to get too excited given the show’s history. At the very least, I hope season three can finally elevate Danny to the level that a title character should be–that is bigger and better (or at least equal to) than everyone around him.
Bonus Notes:
– Yes. Orson Randall can fix everything wrong with Danny Rand. He can be retcon heaven. But why do we need that in the first place? And why did we have to wait three seasons for it?
– Ward being the one to save his sister was great, and really sets up a different side of him.
– The Rand Corporation isn’t gonna be very happy.
– I did enjoy the subtle but honest parting of Danny & Colleen. It felt right.
You can catch Iron Fist Season 2 available now on Netflix.
