IRON FIST: SEASON 2 Lives To Fight Another Day
The new season of Iron Fist is now here and I actually couldn’t be happier. The first season drew some pretty proper criticisms for its structural aspects and some fans are apparently still apprehensive in their lingering sentiments over the show’s star, Finn Jones. I have to say though that there’s plenty that comes out much better in the handling of the action to coincide with some of the drama.
Continuing from season one and its ensemble pivot to The Defenders, Danny Rand has taken the mantle in protecting New York City from crime. Balancing it all with his personal life with Colleen Wing still has its challenges but it’s nothing they can’t handle until questions begin to stir some gravely important issue concerning them both. This, while in the midst of finding themselves as mediators in a brewing war between two Triad factions, ensues bittersweet reunions with friends-turned-foes, and interpersonal struggles that ultimately put the fate of the prized Iron Fist at stake.
Indeed, there are still matters of the usual regurgitations over certain moments between our characters and thankfully it’s a little less than usually seen in Netflix’s cadre of Marvel TV spectacle. Jones and lead actress Jessica Henwick are still great together on screen and with Finn’s role proving much more resilient in his development and evolution per the show’s progression. Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Stroup reprise their roles as siblings Ward and Joy Meachum, etched in deep affliction since the events of the first season.
I probably couldn’t add much that might have already been said about the action, but it helps to reiterate their approval this time around as we’re treated to an array of solid seqences that are better handled and delivered than before. We saw a sign of this in Jones’ return in The Defenders and in a cameo appearance next to actor Mike Colter in season two of Luke Cage and next to the resounding fan reception over the summer from the Comic-Con crowd, I had my hopes up and I wasn’t at all disappointed. More to the point, it convinced me that Jones can assuredly carry this kind of series.
In addition, it gives us some extensive and much-deserved pleasure in watching Sacha Dhawan who stars opposite Jones as Davos, Rand’s fellow monastic brother from Kun Lun whose continued pursual of the Iron Fist remains ever more foreboding to those who choose to deal with him. The same goes for actress Alice Eve’s amply chilling debut of the role of Mary, whose dissociative identity dissorder perfectly sets her up as a force to be reckoned with between our heroes AND villains.
Fans will also get a kick out of the entry of the Crane Sisters, played by Lori Laing, Lauren Mary Kim and Jean Tree, as two thirds of them will go toe-to-toe with one of our heroines in a key fight scene midway in the season. Not to be outdone is actor Fernando Chien whose career has taken great and ongoing shape in the years since his Reel Kick days, now pounding the pavement as a witting co-conspirator of Davos’ violent retribution in the villain role of Wu Chien.
I wasn’t too sure what to make of the final scene in the last episode and my guess is that one might speak more to comic book fans who’ve actually read the source material. It was definitely confusing, but I was still fulfilled to a certain extent with the degree of caliber we get in Jones’ Danny Rand despite his often times preachy and pedantic nature as has been written before – it still is, though it felt more bearable.
I suppose what helps is the fact that season one is shortened by three episodes, next to a strong enough cast, stronger and more sturdy fight scene delivery, and what I felt was some clever writing to boot. The ending teases a continuation that definitely has my interest piqued. Regardless of what anyone thinks, there’s a bigger mythology being explored this time around and a third season definitely deseeves our attention.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!