Why Did You Watch Iron Fist and Why Did I?

Samir Mehta | October 6, 2017
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Aaron Shurtleff | October 7, 2017
Oh no. As a person who only enjoys vanilla ice cream, I got a feeling I got ridiculed...again.

I haven't seen this, obviously, since I have no Netflix, but someone has to defend vanilla ice cream!

Samir Mehta | October 7, 2017
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Scott Hardie | October 7, 2017
I like vanilla ice cream, too, actually. Its flavor is subtle, and while its versatility with mix-ins is a virtue, I really do like to eat it plain. Plus, it's pretty hard to find other flavors in lactose-free varieties. But yeah, it's the only flavor that works for that particular scene. (Spoiler alert.)

Otherwise, agreed. Iron Fist is terrible. Its main problem is the hero, who is insufferably stupid and hot-headed for most of the series. There's a late-season reveal that he's supposed to be that way because of some things that happened in his past; until that point it comes across like really shitty writing.

The budget limitations of Netflix's Marvel shows is wearing on me, particularly the endless fights in the dark. Iron Fist had more than its share of these. Fox's The Orville is not a great show, but it is an expensive one; every scene looks like it cost the entire season budget of Iron Fist.

I don't think casting an Asian actor as an Asian version of the character would have helped. The racial cluelessness of the show is only a minor sin in the scheme of things. For whatever it's worth, if you remember the mid-season episode where they went to China and Danny fought a master of drunken-style kung fu, the actor playing that combatant was the other finalist for the lead role. Netflix said that they were color-blind in their casting and hired the best actor for the part; I'm sure Finn Jones's connection to Game of Thrones had no influence on their thinking at all.

There is one scene that I liked despite it being more than a little hokey: The "Bride of the Nine Spiders" fight. Someone (possibly director RZA) worked overtime to bring some visual pinache to that scene that was so badly lacking in the rest of this cheap, lazy series. The scene is not well-written or anything, but if the rest of the 13 episodes had as many visual ideas as that scene, at least the show wouldn't have been boring.

Why did I watch Iron Fist? Sake of completion, I guess. I really hate to skip episodes of any show, and these Netflix Marvel shows all feel like one big series, with the imminent The Punisher being season seven. I may or may not bail on season two of Iron Fist; the fact that a new showrunner will be in charge gives me hope, as does the fact that reviews and audience reaction have been so negative that the powers that be may demand better.

Samir Mehta | October 8, 2017
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Scott Hardie | October 8, 2017
Yeah, Luke Cage is much better. And what a great soundtrack! Having so many scenes set in a nightclub really allowed them to bring in some great performers for cameos.