Incidentally, the drunken master in that scene apparently auditoned to play Iron Fist back when they’d considered going in a not-a-white-dude direction.
Yeah, that was uber-lame. I’d have mentioned it if I’d thought of it. In the original run, K’un L’un was pretty much a sausage-fest in the 1970s version, but in the 2006 rewrite, they added <gasp> gurls! And it made the book better. Imagine that!
The show’s version is much more in line with the 2006 version (they’re talking about the 7 Cities of Heaven, which is 100% new version) so it’s not like he hasn’t seen female warriors before.
A few episodes in, the other characters skepticism and disbelief wrt Danny’s claims of being “in a different dimension” is grating. Dudes, you live in a world where Aliens literally fell out of a hole in the sky, where you have a guy called the “Sorcerer Supreme” and a 98-year-old virgin, a hulking Green monster, super strong petit woman, a man who suggestions are irresistible and an actual Norse god* walk the Earth. A different dimension is unbelievable?
*Ok, they are technically not gods.
In fairness, I genuinely believe that folks in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would take him seriously if he’d, y’know, light up the glowing fist of chi in front of them.
Really gotta credit Jessica Jones for my continuing viewing of these Marvel Netflix series.
I liked the first season of Daredevil but there was a lot I didn’t like about it. A few excellent elements plus a number of pretty good elements got me to look past everything that bugged me. I rewatched it before starting Jessica Jones and I liked it better the second time around.
LOVED Jessica Jones and decided “O.K., I’m in!” for the Marvel Netflix world.
Disliked the second season of Daredevil. Didn’t hate it, there was a lot to like about it, but ultimately I disliked it. No mind, the next series would be Luke Cage and I already knew I liked the character and Mike Colter’s performance from Jessica Jones.
And… didn’t love Luke Cage. Lots that I liked but just too much that bothered me.
Now I’m halfway through Iron Fist and it’s pretty much entirely because I love Jessica Jones so much and know I will want to watch the Defenders series and don’t want to miss any of the lead up to it.
So, the best I can say about Iron Fist is that it’s o.k. There’s nothing bad enough to completely turn me off. I make it through each episode just fine, there’s just not any joy or excitement. I think the character is lame, not particularly bright, and pretty shallow and obnoxious. The shining exception for me has been the character of Ward Meachum. I thought he was a one-note stereotyped dick in the first couple episodes but he’s actually had the most interesting story arch so far (again, I’m up to episode 7), his inner turmoil is relatable and elicits empathy (I’m always interested when the writing and performance can make me empathize with a character who really is a total dick), and it looks like his character has more growth, peril, and conflict ahead of him.
This is my feeling after four episodes.
I think the “out of touch producers trying really hard not to be racist, but turning out to be even more racist” thing really matches the environment in which the original comics were made.
Like it seems many others, I’m really not feeling a connection to the character of Danny Rand so far. I struggle to find a reason to care about his, um, struggles. Granted, I’ve only watched two episodes, but I mean, what’s his motivation? What are his aims in coming back to New York? Did he think he’d just be handed his seat on the board of Rand Inc? And how the hell, out of touch with modern America or not, could anybody think that it’s a good idea to tell their shrink they’d just come in from the magical land of K’un-Lun in another dimension? Just nod when he asks if it’s in China, for Christ’s sake!
There’s a nice touch in the second episode, where he tells the doctor about going to a different dimension, and he’s all, “Yeah, we’ve been getting that one a lot since the Incident.” You gotta figure, “I have superpowers!” must be one of the top psychiatric delusions in the MCU.
I liked his earlier karaoke version of “Take on me” while surrounded by all the people he killed.
The second half of the series was vastly better. IMHO they should have introduced Bukato and Davos much earlier in the series.
I liked it pretty well. It’s better than the early critics’ reviews led me to believe. I liked the characters–especially Colleen and Joy. It moved along at a better pace than Luke Cage. I wanted to see more of K’un Lun.
I have a similar perspective, except that I liked Luke Cage way more than you. It appeals to my cultural sensibilities in a way that the other shows just… don’t. Luke Cage is my favorite Marvel Netflix series, with Jessica Jones a close second.
K’un Lun nothing, he’s spent the last week hanging around Colleen Wing, and he’s surprised women can fight?
To be fair, it wasn’t really much of a fight, once he managed to resist the poison; there were a lot of mind games from Spider-Lady, and then there was a lot of him wildly swinging and missing. And then, once he snapped out of it, he caught her with the One Hitter Quitter™.
But yeah, that was kind of a fuckboi thing for him to say.
Wow, you and me must be very different. While I loved the vibe and most of the music of Luke Cage, I thought they wasted his character and the plot…plodded along. I can’t believe a super-strong, impenetrable guy would so rarely use his power. I can’t believe the show had so few cool scenes. I did love the time he went in that building and everybody shot at him and he kept going like a tank, though. It was cool.
Funny thing, that. I thought that the plot moved along well, and didn’t really even think about the use of his powers. Like, even on re-watch, the superhero/comic book aspects of it aren’t even a tertiary consideration in evaluating the quality of the series.
“Oh no! The boxes closest to the door of the shipping container aren’t clearly labelled ‘DRUGS’ in a way that I can see from a distance! I guess we were wrong about there being drugs in there!”
I like 'em in the order they aired: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Doofus a distant last.
I think I left off on ep 8 or 9 last night, and don’t see any signs that it could get any better. Here’s hoping.
That “you’re a woman?” line is just one of many stupid lines. It’d be easier to list lines that didn’t sound stupid and/or lame.
Any word on what production team is making the Defenders show? I hope the makers of Iron Dork aren’t allowed anywhere near the set.
IIRC, there was one explicit peculiarity with Jeryn they apparently didn’t want here: he was, by dint of being the Rand family attorney, in charge of managing the estate back when everybody thought Danny was dead; and, with Danny back in the picture, Jeryn – would go right back to administering the whole enchilada if Iron Fist winds up dying in the middle of some implausible comic-book adventure.
So whenever he obligingly helps along a stalled investigation by giving info to Danny, and then cheerfully procures needed equipment upon hearing the risky plan our hero just now came up with – well, he’s not disloyal, he’s not going to tip off the bad guys or anything; but he’s not exactly Foggy Nelson helping out a best friend, is my point. Oh, he seems enthusiastic – and he is! – but why?
I have to say that most of the fight scenes are pretty lame. Do any of these people actually know anything about martial arts?
Two episodes in. I like it, but its bubble-gum compared to the darkness of DD and the slow tension of Cage. Every time Rand
opened his mouth when he was in the mental ward to spill out some other unbelievable fact about himself[, when he should have just appeased his jailers to get himself out of there
…I felt like thwacking him on the back of the head.
I did like the appearance of the Iron Fist. I also liked the message in the window.