Okay so where did we last leave
Danny Rand? Hm… oh right, he was being defenestrated from the top of Harold
Meachum’s secret apartment. And I posted this… back in March. Huh, if anyone
was really looking forward to me getting to episode 4, I’m… sorry? Sorry if I’m
doing Iron Fist a disservice, but somehow, I’m getting that fans of this show
are… few, to say the least. Let’s get to it, shall we?
 |
| Okay, what sort of face is Harold making? Smiling kindly? Evilly? Smugly? |
Moments after being pushed out a
window, Danny is able to catch himself on a light fixture sticking from the
building. He slips off a moment later, but temporarily stopping does slow his
momentum down so he doesn’t break anything. Hooray. He wakes up in the
apartment, where we learn that Ward was the one that shoved him out the window,
and he learns that Harold is alive. They have a small bonding moment, and then
Harold explains how he is still alive. His miraculous recovery is due to the
Hand. They used whatever secret Ninja techniques at their disposal to kill
Harold, and then raise him from the dead. Three days later. Uh, Iron Fist writers… that was a little too
on the nose. He’d been imprisoned ever since and been forced to do the Hand’s
bidding. He convinces Danny to help him, however he can. As a reward, Harold
has Ward drop all litigation again Danny, and announce to the press that Danny
Rand is back. Hooray. As they’re leaving, Ward warns Danny not to trust Harold
too much, as the Meachum patriarch has only ever cared about one thing.
Himself. Less Hooray.
Danny is presented at the Press
Conference, and even gives an eloquent speech about where he’s been, and how
he’s going to help Rand Enterprises be the best it can be. One reporter
questions him about his time at the psych ward, to which Danny gives another
well thought out explanation as to why he’d stay at a mental hospital before
Ward ends the conference. None of the reporters wanted to hear about Danny’s
life at a monastery? That’s way more unusual then a billionaire spending time
at any kind of hospital, just saying.
 |
| Real subtle blocking. |
After the meeting, Danny meets up
with Jeri Hogarth, whom explains somethings to him as he signs the final paper
work to get him control of RE. Namely, that while he doesn’t technically have a
job at RE, as the majority shareholder, he pretty much has the final say on
everything. He then goes to a board meeting where Ward is explaining a drug
that Rand has developed to combat some made up disease. While Danny is happy to
hear that, he’s disgusted to hear that the five-dollar pill that they produce
is going to be sold at fifty dollars a pill. Everyone explains that this is how
the business is done, that nearly all the proceeds will be reinvested in R and
D, and the company will only make a small profit on this. But Danny says No,
and they sell it at Cost. Not 100% up to date on my legal lingo, but I assume
that means that they’ll sell the pill at the price it takes to make it. Five
dollars out, five dollars in. Danny then leaves with Joy.
Later on, Ward gets a call Harold.
He’s advised to take care of the reporter that was asking questions about
Danny’s psych ward visit, to make up for buggering the pill price earlier.
Apparently, papa Meachum wasn’t happy about selling at cost, either. Danny and
Joy discuss marketing stuff, why selling things for a profit is good, and some
of Danny’s past as he trained to be the Iron Fist. All the while looking into
why Ward had been so interested in buying that Pier in a previous episode.
Their discussion is interrupted by Joy nearly being kidnapped by a bunch of
thugs. Danny goes to stop them. The thugs pull out hatchets. Did I just change
the show to Kung Fu Hustle? Or is
Danny actually fighting the Ax Gang? No matter, Danny beats the spit out of
them, and gets Joy to safety.
They meet up with Colleen Wing.
She’s been fighting in cage matches of late, just in case you’re wondering what
she’s been up to. Danny asks if she knows about the Golden Sands, the name of
the group that attacked them. She admits that they are a Triad. If the term is
new to you, it’s the Chinese, and I believe to a lesser extent Japanese, form
of organized crime. A Chinese Mafia, if you will. Danny goes to one of the
Golden Sands legit business fronts, a restaurant and tells their boss to back
off. Said boss admits that they just wanted to talk about, meaning force, Joy
to make a deal with them regarding the Pier that RE had recently purchased.
When Danny admits the Hand forced RE to buy it, they instantly back off,
metaphorical tails between their legs. Weird. Danny meets up with Joy and
Colleen, and he and Joy head out.
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| Hm... for some reason seeing Danny with these two women seem rather awkward. Can't put my finger on why. |
Meanwhile, Ward meets with the
reporter from earlier. He pretty much lays out everything about Danny’s
behavior at Rand, obviously embellishing in places, and makes particular note
of the drug price fiasco. She leaves a few minutes later, excited about her big
scoop. Imagine Ward’s anger the next day when it is clear in the article
headline that she decided to sing the praises of Danny selling a lifesaving
drug at cost. And, at his place, Harold is picked up by the Hand. His reward
for getting them the pier was a chance to see Joy for a few minutes. When he
sees she’s been hit, he asks one more favor, which the Hand allows. Namely,
killing the Triad member that hit Joy. Dark but intense fatherly love there.
Overall, this is a decent enough
episode. Fair amount of actions, with scenes that push the plot forward, and
all that. But that’s kind of part of the problem, actually. By this point, all
three of the other series in the Marvel/Netflix family have had at least one
excellent episode or episodes that kept the energy going. At this point, I’m
just chugging along because it’s a Marvel series. It’s decent enough, but it’s
just that, decent. Which is sad. And I was not a fan of the meeting scene. I
understand that they’re trying to build him up as a white knight, or whatever,
but yeah, if you want a business to do work, they need to turn a profit.
I have no business experience, and even I can appreciate that literally giving
away a product might seem fine on paper but it’s impossible to make it work
logistically. It’s the same problem that I kind of had with Ant-Man, trying to
make the hero too much of an outlandish goodie good hurts them as a character.
The reason Marvel’s character work so well s because at their core they’re
humans in an abnormal setting. Iron Fist has his flaws, like any other
character, but over exaggerating his ‘White Knight’ qualities just make him
less interesting as a character. Just saying. Also, Colleen’s story feels
really tacked on. Granted, her cage match is cool, but it really doesn’t
connect to anything in Danny’s story. Just saying. And that’s all I have to say
about that.
Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero
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