Iron Fist Season 2 Episode 3 Review: This Deadly Secret...
Olivia Popp
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On Iron Fist Season 2 Episode 3, Danny and Colleen host TV's most boring dinner party and are warned of a mysterious enemy named Walker.
Now, this quote from Colleen essentially sums up this season's entire problem, which it still hasn't solved:
This has nothing to do with the fact that K'un-Lun is gone? That the Hand is gone? And without them, the Iron Fist has no clearly defined role? You build your identity around this mantle, then the wind changes.
Colleen
Danny has yet to actually prove himself as even a worthy successor of Daredevil -- Matt Murdock also had fewer personal issues and personal enemies to work out (Davos and Joy, anyone?).
Case in point, Colleen is the only character actually making any forward-thinking motions in Danny's narrative during the dinner party. She's the one who cuts through all of the politeness to get everyone talking, while Danny mostly ends up whining.
Unfortunately, at this point, it's tough to see where Ward fits into this whole narrative arc. It's possible that he'll play a greater role in disrupting Joy's scheme, but right now, he's only serving as a distraction.
Families are crazy. Relationships are hard. And life brings challenges, always. This is a flashpoint for you, this thing with Joy. Whatever the hell is going on between you, if you don't work it out, I'm afraid you won't be able to have a single successful human relationship.
Bethany
He was the one to collaboratively come up with the dinner party along with Danny. However, the real question is who came up with the dinner party plot?
Along with an obnoxiously large dose of exposition, it drags out and serves virtually no purpose both narratively and creatively. It's quite unenjoyable to watch and also goes nowhere.
Who wants to watch people argue at a table when they could be engaged in combat or cunning conversations and searches? It really serves absolutely no purpose other than to drag out the story without any substance.
Both Davos' and Joy's character potentials are completely wasted. Davos is an amazing fighter and Joy has already proven herself as a devious mastermind, so why not watch them do more of this at work versus a yelling session onscreen during dinner?
Joy's character is the most enjoyable to watch when she's scheming and playing a part, and she as an antagonist completely loses validity when she breaks that facade.
Aside from the dinner party, several comments and plot points in this episode make little to no sense and are almost quite laughable.
Joy notes that she has an MBA, therefore she has the foresight and risk-assessment skills to know that having Danny think she's a friend is a good idea -- isn't this completely obvious?
It's also been three episodes and we've gotten little to nothing of Davos and Joy's plan. It was nice to see Mary's character develop beyond the character (and quite a lot at that), but we'll have to wait and see how that will play out.
Danny's choices in trying to make peace between the triads are also quite dubious. He chooses to protect Mrs. Yang of the Hatchets, even though siding with one specific gang is clearly not a good idea.
Just because he previously struck up a deal with Mr. Yang doesn't make it appropriate to side with the Hatchets rather than the Golden Tigers. Colleen is also dragged along for the ride (although with a great hairpin to the eye by Mrs. Yang!).
Danny's new get-up suddenly and very aggressively turned cheesy during the parley when he shows up with the bandana covering his face. Clearly, the Golden Tigers know who he is, and this break from previous encounters simply just plays off as infantile.
Lady, you've got nice legs. But bullshit walks, money talks.
BB
The only mildly enjoyable sections are Colleen and BB's interaction in Choi's furniture store. Their growing relationship is so tender and gives Colleen an outlet beyond the stiffness of Danny.
However, Colleen's potential is alternatively squandered -- she's given barely a single 10- or 15-second fight scene at the end and spends much of the episode trying to calm Danny down.
I'm hoping that Colleen's mysterious heirloom plot will be given a slightly larger role or turn into something more intense that ties into the triads story.
Colleen: Thank you for that, Sherlock.
BB: That's a stupid-sounding name.
One of the only redeeming parts was the sound design. The electronic music, sound, and distorted sirens made a fascinating touch to the otherwise bland episode.
This show could really take a leaf from Jessica Jones' book and veer away from the comics. Introduce the characters, set the scene, and run wild with an actual story rather than adhering to old plots that are not particularly transferable to the small screen.
Danny's origin story was already somewhat modified, as Wendell Rand was the one in the comics who fought Davos/Steel Serpent. It's not a stretch to allow even more room to grow.
Make sure to watch Iron Fist online and see for yourself!
What did you think of the Mary/Walker reveal? What do you think is Joy and Davos' endgame with Danny? Let us know in the comments below!
Olivia Popp was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the site in September 2018.
