Copyright Marvel/Netflix
At the start of September, we saw the release of the second season of Iron Fist and with it the 10th Season in the Marvel TV Verse as well, now we’ve had a few weeks to digest what we saw on our screens and we thought we would share our thoughts on Season 2 and whether or not it’s worth watching.
When the first season of Iron Fist was set for release there was quite a buzz in the air with the hope it was going to be another great hit for Netflix and Marvel, with a stellar trailer, some great marketing it naturally created some hype… Unfortunately, it is safe to say it did not live up to the hype. Critics slammed it, audiences disliked it and to be honest we weren’t exactly impressed with it either but you’ve got to give it to Netflix and Marvel they stuck to their guns and ordered a second season of the show. Now the question is, is Iron Fist season 2 worth watching? We’ll get to that but it’s best we explain the events that led us up to this point too!
Let’s Talk About Season One
Let’s just get this out of the way and we can say season one was far from great and easily became our lowest-rated season in the Marvel TV Verse, even with subsequent releases since its initial release back in March 2017, the season still leaves a bad taste in the mouth for a lot of people.
The controversy of casting
Before the show aired there was some controversy surrounding the lead role of Finn Jones being cast to play Danny Rand. Now for reference in the comic, the back-story of Danny Rand slightly differs from that of the Danny Rand we see in the TV show but the end justifies the means and Danny in both versions enters K’un-Lun after his parents die in the Tibetan Himalayas. Once there Danny was trained to become a master in hand to hand combat and earned the right to fight the Dragon Shou-Lao to claim the power of the Iron Fist. Now the issue some online had with Finn Jones playing the character was not his acting ability but rather that they were of the belief the show was whitewashing and that a Martial Arts master shouldn’t be played by someone who is of White descent rather a person of Asian descent should have been cast instead. We won’t divulge any further into that but it is interesting to bring up controversy where controversy existed.
The weak story
Now there genuinely was good hype leading into season one, there was a cool kick-ass trailer, Finn Jones looked pretty badass as Iron Fist and Marvel was on a great streak of good TV! To put simply the show fell flat on its face, the story was weak, the villain poor and Danny Rand was an unrelatable hero and often it was hard to sympathize with him or get behind him. I could spend a lot of time into why season one failed but we’re here for season two after all.
I will say this though It wasn’t all negative as the martial arts scenes were fantastic and choreographed really well. A great highlight is the Iron Fist vs. Drunken Fist fight and along with some of the smaller characters like Coleen and Ward who were by far the best 2 characters as they easily had the best character development throughout.
So is season two worth watching?
Going into season two I was very apprehensive with absolutely no expectations of it being good and I shall be honest I had thought of skipping it altogether before even starting it BUT I’ll tell you what I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this season. Funnily enough, it even broke the tomato meter record for biggest improvement from Season one to Season two of any show!
What Improved?
While it was praised for its improvements from season one the general consensus from critics has been “Yes it’s better but its still poor”, I’m in the camp that disagrees with the critics (Shocker, am I right?) as I really enjoyed this season. The Characters finally felt relatable and believable, the fight scenes were even better this time around and the story itself was ten times better!
The Characters
Danny Rand finally became a hero that I could get on board with, I was able to sympathize with him and he became more relatable as a person. Misty and Colleens growing friendship throughout the season felt organic and not forced with the pair having a lot of chemistry together and hopefully, we see them matched up again in a future season. The exploration into Ward and Joy Meechum’s dysfunctional relationship as siblings was endearing and how both are trying to deal with their demons in their own ways.
The Villains
So not so much of a SPOILER ALERT Davos is the main antagonist in this season, and while he didn’t engage me, in the same way, I was with Kingpin, Kilgrave or Coppermouth I would say he has definitely been one of the better villains in Marvel as a whole and definitely memorable. Throughout the season you will see the descent of how much power can change an individual and while he is on screen I always had the foreboding feeling of “Man, someone can fricken die any second”. They do flesh out the character better this season than what they had last season, you see more of the relationship between Danny and Davos and Davos’ time in Ku’n-Lun is explored also.
I can’t really explain Mary’s character without exploring spoiler territory but let’s just say she has a mixed bag of tricks and is a very two-faced manipulative character!
The Verdict
While season two of Iron Fist didn’t take my breath away like Daredevil and Punisher this season it is definitely worth watching, a great improvement considering how the first outing was and I am finally onboard with Iron Fist and after how this season ended I cannot wait for Season 3!
Are you going to watch Season two of Iron Fist? If you have already let us know what you think in the comments below! While you’re here make sure to check out the Preview for Daredevil Season 3!
