Netflix Retrospective - Iron Fist Season 2 Episodes 3-4 - This Deadly Secret/Target: Iron Fist

We continue our look at Netflix's Marvel's Iron Fist with the next 2 episodes

This Deadly Secret

Danny is washing blood on his hands and off clothes. There’s still bad blood between the Hatchets and the Tigers and Danny’s busy trying to keep everything together until the parlay happens. Colleen is worried since he’s barely sleeping or staying and worries it might be systemic of other problems, like the ‘death’ of Daredevil and the potential lack of real purpose the Fist has now the hand are gone, she also mentions the phone call from Mary and it’s with that, the credits roll. What a thrilling opening.

NA meeting and Ward is starting off by being a jerk, wondering who told Joy about him attending these meetings. He’s concerned this information could be used against Rand and he talks to Danny about it, slipping in that Joy has partnered up with Davos. Finding this out, Danny and Ward come up with a plan to ‘hash it out’ with each other. It’s actually nice to see the two have a friendly conversation. Making things harder though, Ward asks Danny to keep his attendance a secret.

Danny settles things with Colleen as she continues her investigation into Frank Choi, breaking into the shop and it turns out BB followed her inside. He says that some of his friends used to sleep there since the shop isn’t alarmed, Choi would chew them out but he was never violent. Colleen stumbles upon a ledger for the shop

Joy talks to another associate about work on one of the patents she took upon departing from Rand, one for photo-voltaic solar cells. Basically, you continue work on it, and I give you a cr*pton of money for it. She asks for a day to look over the plans as Joy reveals she already has a factory ready to start production. Just after she leaves Davos, in as many words, says she’s a good negotiator. Joy then tells him about the invite and he’s reluctant but agrees they have to go.

The ledger from last time is all in Chinese and Colleen doesn’t know enough to translate but BB tells her that he always paid his dues, so his disappearance could be that he’s talking to the cops. Danny comes home with groceries as a package is slipped under the door, he sees Mary and chases after her, when he catches up she warns him that ‘Walker’ is watching him. Now, the only problem here is I immediately think of Trish, but we’ll have to ignore that because none of the shows are crossing over with Jessica Jones.

The envelope contains photos take of Danny and Colleen. Colleen is worried but Danny is surprisingly calm about it. Frankly, if I were in their position, I’d give them to Jessica, work out how professional the photographer actually is. Like I said though, we’re not seeing Jessica Jones for a while.

Danny and Colleen have something prepared but then Danny drops the bombshell that they’re not supposed to know Ward is coming and rightfully she thinks that’s a really stupid idea. It’s too late to discuss this, however, as Joy and Davos have arrived. Joy continues to feign niceness before they ask how Joy and Davos met. You know, you’re supposed to be convincing, right? Davos in Paris… yeah, I’m sure.

As for Ward, he’s still mentally preparing himself for something I guess, he gets his driver to move him on. With him still absent from the dinner, Colleen takes charge and decides to dispense with the small-taking and start airing grievances. It’s not like Danny doesn’t know what Davos’ grievances with him are, he’s made them clear on numerous occasions.

Joy airs her grievances and once again, I feel like her motivations are kinda pathetic, because this is all we get, and it’s honestly the main fault of this series. Davos spots the photos and tells Joy they have to leave, Danny plays the Ward card and it backfires, pissing off Joy even more. Danny, that’s the only way that would’ve ended, especially since Ward had not shown up.

Ward meanwhile is at the NA building, trying to apologise to the councillor for earlier, he’s not entirely successful but he gets some advice. If he can’t sort it out with Joy, he won’t be able to have a single successful human relationship. This is some dreadful advice, NA councillor.

Davos tells Joy about the photos and wonders how he got those. They’re heading to Walker to find out what. Colleen gets a phone-call from Mrs Yang, something’s wrong with the Parlay and they’ve been called in. She’s taking her husband's place at the parlay, claiming he has business elsewhere, but we already know different. She wants Danny and Colleen as a show of strength and they agree.

They arrive at the meeting and agree some favourable terms, but Danny sees some goings on out the window, and suspects this might be a trap. Danny encourages Mrs Yang to leave, and when she does so the Golden Tiger leader orders his men to attack. Danny uses the fist to take them out whilst Colleen and Mrs Yang kill the Golden Tiger leader. Danny gets no info as to who it was outside but the sound of police sirens outside gives a fair indication.

Joy and Davos arrive and Walker’s house and here it’s revealed she’s an alternate personality of Mary. When threatened, she manages to get a knife to Davos’ throat, just so you know she’s not to be trifled with. She says the situation is still salvageable

Mostly good, but with the odd problem and once again, it boils down to Joy’s underwhelming motivations against Danny in particular and basically everything to do with Ward, except when Danny is with him

Rating 7/10

Target: Iron Fist

We open on a subway platform; Danny is bleeding and down for the count. Colleen tries to call him but Walker destroys his phone before he can pick up. He passes out as Walker drags him away. See, this is how you do an opening stinger, roll credits.

I still think this is the weakest opening theme but it’s growing on me, I’ll admit it. We cut to presumably the day earlier where Danny and Colleen are trying to work out what happened last night with the parlay. There are doubts as to why either side would try and break the deal and why the men didn’t move in after they were discovered. Danny blames himself for screwing this up but Colleen is there to support him. This relationship is already infinitely better than the Luke/Claire one ever was.

Colleen suggests they try again at bargaining for piece, but Danny fears past experience would’ve burned the Yangs on the idea. Nonetheless, he agrees to try. Danny is regretful that everything has happened, and they can’t continue with Colleen’s leads, but that will still be there once the gang war is sorted.

Davos and Joy are still interrogating Walker. Davos’ threats mean nothing so Joy threatens to not pay her the large sum of money that was promised. Davos leaves, as he as plenty to prepare for. Ward wakes up with Bethany, his NA sponsor, love interest and so far a rather lacklustre human being. She’s decided to stop being his sponsor as the relationship is getting rather too intimate.

Danny and Colleen arrive at the rather pristine Yang residence, where the hear a heartbeat monitor. Mrs Yang speaks to them but with the Golden Tigers having seized the docks they have nothing more the Tigers want and they’ll have to fight them off as a matter of pride. She tells them about her husband’s stroke, the result of Davos’ intervention, and Danny is all kinds of agitated. 

Colleen gets him to leave the room, whilst she continues to talk to Mrs Yang, Danny he follows the sound of the heartbeat monitor to Hai-Qing, and sees the bruise on his neck. Hai-Qing (just realised, Hai-Qing, as in High King, cute) confirms Davos did this to him, and gives Danny a clue: Hancock 2-1-2 before passing away. They’re then forced to leave

Danny confirms to Colleen that the injuries were the devil’s claw, a K’un L’un technique that only he and Davos would know. When Colleen asks if Davos could’ve been at the Parlay, answers come from our special guest star, still the best thing about these Netflix Marvel shows, Misty Knight.

Misty explains that a task-force was set up by the police with the aim of taking down the triads. A member, Donnie Yang, a close friend of Misty’s became a right had in the Triads and now is in the hospital with 6 broken bones. The people Danny saw were likely a police squad trying to record the event, and being rather sloppy about it since it could’ve been any enforcer that saw that, and if it weren’t Danny it probably would’ve resulted in bloodshed as opposed to injury. 

Thanks to the Hancock 212 clue, Misty and Danny deduce Davos wanted something shipped in and thanks to the parlay, it was about to be blocked, hence giving Hai-Qing a stroke. A lot of this we already knew but it’s nice to see it all coming together. Misty tells them to back off, which Danny does not take well. He heads outside to ‘clear his head’ but heads off in pursuit of Davos.

Joy discovers paperwork proving that Mary has dissociative identity disorder. Her multiple personalities are aware of each other’s existence but otherwise share no memories and can communicate only through those post-it notes we saw at the house in episode one.

Misty talks to Colleen about her choice to stay out of the action and stumbles upon the photos. After a while, they realise Danny’s been out for a while and Colleen some realises what has happened. Joy pushes Walker one step too far, and gets choked for her troubles. With Joy now terrified, but maintaining composure, she asks for Walker to reassure her she can still play her part and manage her condition, which Walker says she can, and with that Joy leaves.

Davos is at the docks and finds that even without the hatchets bribing customs officers, his shipment made it in-tact. He opens the container, and inside the casket is the corpse of an iron fist. Davos gets to work, cutting the tattooed skin.

Night has fallen as Danny continues his search, he stumbles upon the dead Tigers, he sees the corpse inside the container, but Davos has conveniently removed any clues his identity, as well as the tattooed skin. Misty and Colleen arrive and Colleen berates Danny’s headstrong attitude. Danny reminds her of Bushido and she allows him to slip away whilst Misty is checking the corpse.

The ritual is being prepared with the aid of the 3 Crane sisters Davos had mentioned earlier. It starts with him drinking something, probably vile but Davos doesn’t care. Stage 2 Davos lies on his stomach. 

Ward stops by to talk to Joy, he found out about the photo-voltaics and bought the company in Jersey for her to use. She sees this as her being strong-armed back into Rand and tells him she wants nothing to do with him basically. Danny is at the subway and given where this episode started you’ve already guessed where this is going. Walker attacks, injecting him with a sedative, Danny holds his own for a while but Walker is pretty skilled in her own right and eventually the sedative takes hold and knocks him out.

Danny wakes up tied to a post where the Crane sisters continue the ritual. One of them takes blood from Danny, mixing it with the ashes from the tattooed skin to create a paint to craft a tattoo onto Davos, one of a snake. Stage 3 is to use a special grip to take the power of the Iron Fist for himself.

Wow, this happened in episode 4, it would’ve been a pre-finale in any other Marvel Netflix show, I’m really enjoying this pacing, and Misty Knight is a welcome addition to the cast.

Rating 8/10