Welcome to the Second Union Iron Fist Watchalong Event! Watch along with us for the next several weeks as we check out the next “hero in the making” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage). Iron Fist’s entire first season was made available for viewing on Friday, March 17th on Netflix. Every weekend (Saturday and Sunday) starting Saturday, March 25th we will post overviews and opinions of an episode of the series. WARNING: This article is full of SPOILERS!

If you haven’t already, read the previous article for “Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch”.

As I’ve done the past three episodes, I will be talking about the Story, Action, and Writing. Let’s get started.

STORY

The fourth episode picks up right where we left off, with Danny pushed out of the penthouse window by Ward. He survives and is retrieved by Ward as per Harold’s demands. So now Danny knows that Harold is actually alive. He reacts as one would expect: with many questions. After this discussion, Danny announces to the press that he is, in fact, who he says he is. It was actually really satisfying to finally see this conclusion, as the “Danny isn’t Danny” story arc was really starting to get on my nerves. Colleen Wing also had a lot to do this week. Her cage fight went viral, for starters. Her students are seen crowded around, trying to watch it on a cell phone. For some reason, she decides to do another one and demands not one, but two opponents to face off against. More on that scene in a bit. While Danny and Joy are catching up, Joy is attacked by a group of warriors, intent on taking her alive. Danny fends them off, but not before Joy is hit by one of them. This scene was really short, but it’s kind of tied up later when Danny goes to negotiate with their leader. Of course, they know about the Hand as well and walk away silently after hearing the name. The story in this episode was definitely a welcome turn. I really enjoyed it. I enjoy the way it handled the new revelations, and it was a more enjoyable episode, possibly because it finally gave up on the “he isn’t who he says he is” storyline.

ACTION

The action in this episode was awesome. As you probably expected, Colleen Wing kicks major a** in the cage fight again, taking out her two foes with ease and total epicness. The music accompanying these cage fights is really great as well, so I hope that if they stick with these, they just keep on doing what they’re doing. This one was edited pretty well, and yet again, Colleen proves that she is the most interesting character on the show. The hallway fight was also not terrible. It was very short, but it was fun to view.

WRITING

The writing in this episode isn’t spot-on. It has plenty of issues. But it’s proving that it can get much better, and I enjoy that. There really isn’t a given as to why Colleen is actually doing these cage fights (aside from the cash, of course), but it is fun to see her taking out these dudes with ease. The reveal to the public and press that Danny is who he says he is was what I’ve been waiting for because I was starting to get a little sick of it dragging out that story. The reason why those people were trying to capture Joy was a little underwhelming, but seeing them walk away after Danny mentions the Hand shows that they share a common enemy. The Hand was the least intriguing part of Daredevil Season 2, but at this point, it’s working for this show, and I’m glad that they chose to tie in one Defender show with another.

“Eight Diagram Dragon Palm” was a pretty good episode. The show is shaping up after Episode 3’s lackluster qualities, and I’m glad. I’m going to give Episode 4 of Iron Fist an 8/10.