Iron Fist season 2
I finished Iron Fist season 2 yesterday, and that was AMAZING. That was easily one of my favorite show finales ever. If they get a season 3 I will be delighted, but if it ends there, it's a perfect, beautiful ending and there is nothing else I want out of life. I LOVE MY RIDICULOUS KUNG FU SOAP OPERA and I plan to write a proper rec post soon.
But first! Under the first cut, there's a really major spoiler that might be an enticement for people who don't want to watch the show because of its problematic premise. This is a twist that is WELL worth being unspoiled for if you already want to watch the show and prefer an unspoiled viewing experience. However, if you've decided you aren't watching the show, this might be a deciding factor that would help change your mind.
Basically, it turns out that the whole two seasons of the show is not Danny's story after all. It's Colleen Wing's origin story as the Iron Fist. Pretty sure that if they do get a season 3, Colleen's going to be the Iron Fist going forward. (Though obviously changes of showrunner could send it off in a completely different direction and Danny could get it back. You never know.) And obviously this doesn't mean Danny is totally sidelined. But by the end, he and Colleen are essentially co-protagonists, and the end of the second season is basically Danny handing the baton to Colleen and Colleen taking up her life as the Iron Fist.
Okay, and now ALL THE SPOILERS. I recommend not reading this if you plan to watch the show (and prefer to be unspoiled if you do). I struggled with temptation all throughout the last half of season 2 to look up some spoilers to find out if the show was going to break anything I didn't want them to break, but I am SO GLAD I got to experience that ending unspoiled. I literally screamed - well, okay, squeaked a lot.
I cannot believe how perfectly and beautifully the show gave me everything I wanted. Well, okay, I really didn't want Danny and Colleen to break up, but they almost had to, to give us that perfection of an ending, and it was a breakup that felt in character and didn't make me like either of them any less, or preclude the chance of getting back together in the future (or Colleen running off to Asia on a rescue mission after getting like a phone call from a cult in Malaysia that's hold two particular expat American billionaires hostage or whatever). Plus, with none of the major characters paired up canonically right now, it is WIDE OPEN for shipping whoever you like. Misty/Colleen? Danny/Luke? Danny/Ward? It's all fair game right now!
THAT SEASON THOUGH. THAT FINALE!
I loved the character relationships, I loved the new characters, I even loved Joy, who I didn't love in season one (hated what she was doing to Ward, but I really liked her as a character this season; she's come into her own beautifully from the damsel in distress/supportive sister in season one). I loved how there were multiple episodes with 3 or 4 or 5 women in a scene together just doing plot things and it was no big deal. I loved Walker/Mary a whole lot more than I thought I was going to - I went into it with rock bottom expectations for that particular trope (multiple personalities in which one is a killer) and was pleasantly surprised that Walker turned out to be a fully rounded person with a useful skill set and not just a psycho. (Her team-up with Ward!) And I really loved the gangster's wife too (forgetting her name at the moment). She was a great morally gray antagonist/ally. I hope she comes back next season if there is one.
COLLEEN'S ARC. It was SO good. The person who always wants to save the world, one person at a time, coming into her own as a hero. The lonely orphan finding and losing a surrogate family and then adopting a whole city. The young woman who went through fury and loss and questioned her own choices, finally stepping out on her own in that final scene with glowing sword in hand to defend her chosen people. (You know how I said I screamed? That was one of those moments, when she draws the sword and it starts to glow!) And I loved her and Danny together; I didn't want it to end, but even when they were having problems, they were always so good, as a couple or as friends - they trusted each other, they didn't keep secrets (well, mostly), they worked so well together. I hope they turn out to be shipping endgame (I know it's Danny/Misty in the comics, but the show just sold me so HARD on them), but even if they don't, they'll always be friends and fighting partners and share things they don't share with anyone else.
WARD AND DANNY. I got absolutely everything I wanted and a whole lot I never thought I'd get. The laughing and joking, Ward patching up Danny after a fight and worrying about him. Talking about feelings! Comparing Danny's single-minded focus on the Iron Fist to Ward's addiction! Ward calling Danny his brother! THEY SAID I LOVE YOU TO EACH OTHER. Their rapport this season was just glorious. And I really, really loved the thematic juxtaposition of the different sibling relationships this season: Ward and Joy, Danny and Davos, Ward and Danny - the way both Ward and Danny tried and tried to connect to their estranged siblings and never really managed to do it, and then ended up finding what they were looking for in each other.
COLLEEN AND MISTY. They were glorious. Their chemistry is fantastic. I loved having Misty around this season in general; she's so great, a character I've loved since I was a kid brought wonderfully to life, and her interactions with everyone were a delight. I don't know if the show is going for an eventual relationship or just friendship with her and Ward, but I'd be on board with it; they really sparkled in the couple of scenes they had together. And all the pieces are in place for a Daughters of the Dragon show - that would be INCREDIBLE.
And that ending! I spent the last couple of episodes just braced for things not to go my way - for some of the characters to end the season hating each other, for Colleen to lose the Iron Fist, for someone to die. And then everything was beautiful and glorious! Colleen with the sword! And Ward and Danny on the runway. After all that with the NA meeting and Bethany earlier in the episode, I had wanted just one more scene with Ward in the season to give him some kind of closure, maybe not make his ending this season complete loneliness and heartbreak. So having him turn up to say goodbye to Danny and try to stop him from leaving ("Don't kung fu me, I can take a punch!" GOD WARD, NO YOU CAN'T) was all I'd dared to hope for, and then it got better. SO MUCH BETTER. This would be the other thing that made me actualfax literally scream and scare the cat, at "You're coming with me." This was all the sweeter because I had been vaguespoiled for Danny leaving at the end of the season, and I figured he just snuck off under the cover of darkness - which he basically did - so up to that point, everything was going exactly as I figured, but he DIDN'T GO ALONE and I'm still not done processing that.
And that would've been wonderful enough on its own, but then the TAG SCENE! With Ward and Danny gone full Indiana Jones, and the glowing chi guns! I'm not familiar enough with recent comics canon to know if that's a thing from the comics, but I never in a million years saw it coming. And I could just enthuse endlessly about all the details in that final scene - Ward ordering water in the bar (he's stayed on the wagon!), Danny being all badass with the long coat and the guns on his hips, and especially that little exchange with the baddies that says so much: “You don’t want to mess with me”/ “What if I disagree?”/”Then you’ll have to deal with him.” I've been rewatching some early season one episodes since
sheron is now watching it, which has really hammered home that Ward has never in his entire life had that: someone who is 100% in his corner, someone who will protect him. But he does now. And his casual confidence that Danny does have his back, and that laid-back Han Solo swagger that he never had at Rand, and both of them just clearly having fun on their round-the-world scavenger hunt ... oh, it's great.
It's also god's gift to h/c writers, with the ENDLESS h/c possibilities of the two of them gallivanting around the world dealing with thugs and gangsters, and especially since there is absolutely no reason why Colleen and Misty couldn't show up to help and/or get in trouble too. The finale was that glorious kind that leaves things wide open and teases new adventures while not really feeling like a cliffhanger at all. It was so, so good. I am so glad I took a chance on this show.
This entry is also posted at https://sholio.dreamwidth.org/1195435.html with
comments.
But first! Under the first cut, there's a really major spoiler that might be an enticement for people who don't want to watch the show because of its problematic premise. This is a twist that is WELL worth being unspoiled for if you already want to watch the show and prefer an unspoiled viewing experience. However, if you've decided you aren't watching the show, this might be a deciding factor that would help change your mind.
Basically, it turns out that the whole two seasons of the show is not Danny's story after all. It's Colleen Wing's origin story as the Iron Fist. Pretty sure that if they do get a season 3, Colleen's going to be the Iron Fist going forward. (Though obviously changes of showrunner could send it off in a completely different direction and Danny could get it back. You never know.) And obviously this doesn't mean Danny is totally sidelined. But by the end, he and Colleen are essentially co-protagonists, and the end of the second season is basically Danny handing the baton to Colleen and Colleen taking up her life as the Iron Fist.
Okay, and now ALL THE SPOILERS. I recommend not reading this if you plan to watch the show (and prefer to be unspoiled if you do). I struggled with temptation all throughout the last half of season 2 to look up some spoilers to find out if the show was going to break anything I didn't want them to break, but I am SO GLAD I got to experience that ending unspoiled. I literally screamed - well, okay, squeaked a lot.
I cannot believe how perfectly and beautifully the show gave me everything I wanted. Well, okay, I really didn't want Danny and Colleen to break up, but they almost had to, to give us that perfection of an ending, and it was a breakup that felt in character and didn't make me like either of them any less, or preclude the chance of getting back together in the future (or Colleen running off to Asia on a rescue mission after getting like a phone call from a cult in Malaysia that's hold two particular expat American billionaires hostage or whatever). Plus, with none of the major characters paired up canonically right now, it is WIDE OPEN for shipping whoever you like. Misty/Colleen? Danny/Luke? Danny/Ward? It's all fair game right now!
THAT SEASON THOUGH. THAT FINALE!
I loved the character relationships, I loved the new characters, I even loved Joy, who I didn't love in season one (hated what she was doing to Ward, but I really liked her as a character this season; she's come into her own beautifully from the damsel in distress/supportive sister in season one). I loved how there were multiple episodes with 3 or 4 or 5 women in a scene together just doing plot things and it was no big deal. I loved Walker/Mary a whole lot more than I thought I was going to - I went into it with rock bottom expectations for that particular trope (multiple personalities in which one is a killer) and was pleasantly surprised that Walker turned out to be a fully rounded person with a useful skill set and not just a psycho. (Her team-up with Ward!) And I really loved the gangster's wife too (forgetting her name at the moment). She was a great morally gray antagonist/ally. I hope she comes back next season if there is one.
COLLEEN'S ARC. It was SO good. The person who always wants to save the world, one person at a time, coming into her own as a hero. The lonely orphan finding and losing a surrogate family and then adopting a whole city. The young woman who went through fury and loss and questioned her own choices, finally stepping out on her own in that final scene with glowing sword in hand to defend her chosen people. (You know how I said I screamed? That was one of those moments, when she draws the sword and it starts to glow!) And I loved her and Danny together; I didn't want it to end, but even when they were having problems, they were always so good, as a couple or as friends - they trusted each other, they didn't keep secrets (well, mostly), they worked so well together. I hope they turn out to be shipping endgame (I know it's Danny/Misty in the comics, but the show just sold me so HARD on them), but even if they don't, they'll always be friends and fighting partners and share things they don't share with anyone else.
WARD AND DANNY. I got absolutely everything I wanted and a whole lot I never thought I'd get. The laughing and joking, Ward patching up Danny after a fight and worrying about him. Talking about feelings! Comparing Danny's single-minded focus on the Iron Fist to Ward's addiction! Ward calling Danny his brother! THEY SAID I LOVE YOU TO EACH OTHER. Their rapport this season was just glorious. And I really, really loved the thematic juxtaposition of the different sibling relationships this season: Ward and Joy, Danny and Davos, Ward and Danny - the way both Ward and Danny tried and tried to connect to their estranged siblings and never really managed to do it, and then ended up finding what they were looking for in each other.
COLLEEN AND MISTY. They were glorious. Their chemistry is fantastic. I loved having Misty around this season in general; she's so great, a character I've loved since I was a kid brought wonderfully to life, and her interactions with everyone were a delight. I don't know if the show is going for an eventual relationship or just friendship with her and Ward, but I'd be on board with it; they really sparkled in the couple of scenes they had together. And all the pieces are in place for a Daughters of the Dragon show - that would be INCREDIBLE.
And that ending! I spent the last couple of episodes just braced for things not to go my way - for some of the characters to end the season hating each other, for Colleen to lose the Iron Fist, for someone to die. And then everything was beautiful and glorious! Colleen with the sword! And Ward and Danny on the runway. After all that with the NA meeting and Bethany earlier in the episode, I had wanted just one more scene with Ward in the season to give him some kind of closure, maybe not make his ending this season complete loneliness and heartbreak. So having him turn up to say goodbye to Danny and try to stop him from leaving ("Don't kung fu me, I can take a punch!" GOD WARD, NO YOU CAN'T) was all I'd dared to hope for, and then it got better. SO MUCH BETTER. This would be the other thing that made me actualfax literally scream and scare the cat, at "You're coming with me." This was all the sweeter because I had been vaguespoiled for Danny leaving at the end of the season, and I figured he just snuck off under the cover of darkness - which he basically did - so up to that point, everything was going exactly as I figured, but he DIDN'T GO ALONE and I'm still not done processing that.
And that would've been wonderful enough on its own, but then the TAG SCENE! With Ward and Danny gone full Indiana Jones, and the glowing chi guns! I'm not familiar enough with recent comics canon to know if that's a thing from the comics, but I never in a million years saw it coming. And I could just enthuse endlessly about all the details in that final scene - Ward ordering water in the bar (he's stayed on the wagon!), Danny being all badass with the long coat and the guns on his hips, and especially that little exchange with the baddies that says so much: “You don’t want to mess with me”/ “What if I disagree?”/”Then you’ll have to deal with him.” I've been rewatching some early season one episodes since
sheron is now watching it, which has really hammered home that Ward has never in his entire life had that: someone who is 100% in his corner, someone who will protect him. But he does now. And his casual confidence that Danny does have his back, and that laid-back Han Solo swagger that he never had at Rand, and both of them just clearly having fun on their round-the-world scavenger hunt ... oh, it's great.
It's also god's gift to h/c writers, with the ENDLESS h/c possibilities of the two of them gallivanting around the world dealing with thugs and gangsters, and especially since there is absolutely no reason why Colleen and Misty couldn't show up to help and/or get in trouble too. The finale was that glorious kind that leaves things wide open and teases new adventures while not really feeling like a cliffhanger at all. It was so, so good. I am so glad I took a chance on this show.
This entry is also posted at https://sholio.dreamwidth.org/1195435.html with
comments.