Are we going in circles? Which Netflix show am I watching again? Is it the one where the hero has to rescue a kid at about the halfway point? Or is it the one with spoiler spoiler spoiler at the end of a middle episode? Several shows do that? Oh. That’s a shame.
Iron Fist s01e07: Felling Tree with Roots
writer: Ian Stokes
director: Farren Blackburn
Netflix
Quick Review:
Two things aren’t working for this show: 1) It is kind of bland. 2) It is pretty similar to the other shows, big picture wise. When I repeat and repeat similar things, it starts to get pretty boring. This was about the time in Luke Cage where I just gave up on reviews. I wonder if a similar thing will happen here. Oh, there was a sex scene this episode. A really dull, passionless sex scene. Almost like a metaphor for the entire series.
Spoilers Lurk Below
Analysis:
Let’s get to the meat. When Daddy got stabbed by Brother, my first thought was of Luke Cage. For most of that show Cottonmouth served as the big bad. And then he was killed off in wha tI assume was an attempt to set up Mariah as a villain and make room for that other guy. All that really did was let the air out of the show. I’m pretty worried this same thing will happen to Iron Fist. Except it doesn’t have much air.
I guess I should have seen it coming. It was either this episode or the last where we got a few scenes of humanity for Daddy. It was almost like the moment we get to see a reason for sympathy, a villain gets killed off. Again. And again. Are we doing paint by numbers, because it feels that way.
Now, let’s talk about sex, baby. Let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things there can be. Let’s talk about a lack of chemistry. Let’s talk about how there was never any real build to the relationship between these two. At times I thought there might be a build, but then I decided, naw, I’m just shipping because I know the comics. And then they screw.
Sometimes I feel like an old man, even though I’m only 35. I see a scene like this and I wonder, if they are supposed to be a couple and share a tender scene, can’t they do something besides just bang? Is just straight sex shorthand for intimacy nowadays? it just feels lazy. Maybe if it was a wild, passionate moment I would be along for the ride, but that was in no means what happened.
And then there was the “Are you sure you want to do this?” line from Danny. Man, did that feel out of place. I get what they were going for: confirming consent. But, really? Danny Rand was basically raised in his sexually formative years in the mystical land on Kunlun. The only alcohol he has had is homemade plum wine. How does it make sense for him to know the “correct” way to verbally confirm that sex is okay?
Even more so, how much sex was he having at that mystical, far away monastery? These were the questions I was pondering during the sex scene. Partly because I don’t think we have been shown enough of Danny’s past, and partly because this scene was very, very flat.
My other thoughts were of how would the scene have played out if Colleen had been more of the aggressor? What is she had confirmed with him about the sex? Maybe I’m stereotyping people who grew up in monasteries, but I’m assuming that she has had more sex than Danny. I don’t know what this scene means for their relationship, but part of me thinks that if she had been able to take more of a lead, and he had been shown as less worldly, it would give them more places to go. Hell, commit to Danny’s naiveté and make him a virgin. Make it part of the character where now, in addition to all the other craziness going on, he has an attachment to Colleen just because of the physical act they shared. Make sex a part of the story.
And maybe they will do something more with it. Although, I have a feeling this will just be a little part of the storyline so they (the producers) can say there was romance, hollow as it was.
Wrap Up:
You know a series is suffering when rather than giving the benefit of the doubt, you just assume that the show is going to screw something up and take the road less interesting. Can we please just have Danny fight a dragon so I can go home?
More Iron Fist reviews:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
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Deadly Troubadour 