By MARK O’CALLAGHAN
Co-Arts Editor
Currently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is like an unstoppable machine with its dominance over Hollywood with successful movies and critically acclaimed shows. Although some of their products have been mixed, season one of “Iron Fist” became the first horrible thing to come out of the MCU. The season seemed rushed with its confusing storylines, bad direction that made most of the actors seemed bad and terrible fight scenes that didn’t look rehearsed. Well now Marvel is trying to right its wrong with season two and it succeeds any expectations.
Season two of “Iron Fist” is about Danny Rand (Finn Jones) being determined to keep Chinatown safe after the events of “The Defenders.” The Hand, now gone from the city, different fractions of the Triad try to take control of the land. On top of that, his former friend turned enemy, Davos (Sacha Dhawan) seeks vengeance on Danny. Along with Colleen (Jessica Henwick), Danny must be the hero that his city needs.
Ever since season one, Jones seems to be getting better and better as Danny. He started off badly but that was more because of the direction. Jones now has some charm and swagger to his character without being overly preachy and whiney about his goals. It seems more in line with the Danny Rand from the comic books. Yet this season, it doesn’t feel like he’s the main lead.
The other lead would be Colleen who was one of the few highlights from last season and the spotlight on her increased to the show’s benefit. She remains as the best character that could easily lead the show. Her chemistry with Jones really shows as you root for them all season. Perhaps her best pairing is Missy Knight (Simone Missick) from Luke Cage who shows up in a guest arc. Their pairing in the comics (The Daughters of the Dragon) is fantastic to see and hopefully, Netflix sees this as an opportunity for a spin-off.
The other supporting characters do a great job in keeping the show balanced. Danny’s childhood friends, Ward (Tom Pelphrey) and Joy Meechum (Jessica Stroup) get an upgrade from last season. Gone are boring scenes of business discussion at the boardroom and instead, we get a deeper look at them. Another breakout character is played by Alice Eve who has a dual personality. There’s Mary who’s sweet and innocent then there’s Walker that’s absolutely deadly. Eve masterfully portrays both sides very well that makes her stand out in a great season.
Another highlight from season one that gets a bigger showing is Davos as he’s the big bad. He joins other the top tier MCU villains that are terrifying but you can understand their sympathetic goals. His character gets to really show during the second half as we explore his motivation on why he hates Danny and what he took away from him.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade we see is the fight scenes. Now the “Iron Fist” comics were inspired by 70’s martial arts movies for naturally we would expect a fight heavy show. Well, that came in the form of crushing disappointed as the fighting was terrible. Reports that the actors and stunt doubles would learn the scene hours beforehand really show.
So, Marvel did the right thing and hired Clayton Barber a choreographer who worked on “Black Panther.” These scenes are so crisp and clean to watch that you feel every hit that happens. He perfectly captures the old school kung fu feeling from the 70’s while getting a modern update with the editing. Compare that with Danny’s power move of harassing chi into his fist and it’s some of the most fun fight scenes since Marvel’s “Daredevil.”
For those who hated the first season of “Iron Fist”, season two is the redemption that fans need. Just watch the season recap video and you’ll be ready for a great binge. With fleshed out characters, engaging scenes and fantastic fight scenes, Marvel is successful in redeeming “Iron Fist.”
