Iron Fist
Netflix
Season 1, Episode 3 ‘Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch’
Danny manages to escape the Mental Health facility that locked him away and has turned to Colleen for help. Meanwhile, Ward and Joy prepare themselves for the wildcard in their lives, Danny Rand.
Danny gains some leeway into proving his name and attempts to make amends with his friends, Ward and Joy, played by Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Stroup. Rand continues to hold on to this desire to recreate this life be had prior to the plane crash. He carries the naivety of a child, and at the same time shows moments of great wisdom. Danny has been away from the real world for so long, yet has faced many obstacles, none of which could quite prepare him for life outside of K’un-Lun. Despite the issues faced in the first two episodes, Danny continues to looks forward. At times, Rand’s innocence can be a bit exhausting but this is a character who has not been around modern society since he was a teenager. Finn finds his stride as the title character and well represents this character who has been out of touch in the real world for such a long time.
Up until this moment, Ward showed traits of a typical villain, however it turns out we are still scratching the surface as Ward shows confliction regarding his role in the company and his role as his father’s errand boy. Meanwhile, his sister Joy takes on the role of the stronger sibling as she pulls no punches to close a major deal with the company. She also continues to battle the idea that Rand is who he says he is. Despite previously sending Danny M&M’s, at this point, it’s not quite certain whether she is willing to let him in their lives or she is closer to her brother than lets on.
This episode continues to dive deeper into the motives of each of the characters, specifically with Colleen Wing who up until this moment, appeared to be more level-headed character of the show. In this episode, we catch a glimpse of some of her personal demons as she partakes in illegal street fights, the same street fights she warned her students of. This hypocrisy and dishonorable act can only mean bad news for her in the long run. Colleen appears to be a much more complex character than she lets on, meanwhile, she is attempting to make her own assessment on whether Danny can be trusted or not.
This episode continues the trend and focuses on the impact Rand’s return has had on those around him. The overall progress of the series continues at a slow pace, but not once sacrificing the development of the characters in Rand’s universe. Iron Fist hasn’t quite hit the acceleration at full speed like previous Netflix Marvel series, but I’d say Rand is the most complicated character of The Defenders crew and this series well represents this.