Iron Fist...

[Arcana]

Just finished it.  Have to say, I wasn't a fan.  It felt very choppy to me, almost like each episode came from an alternate reality in which the previous episodes were slightly different.  For example, Ward's evolution was completely jerky (in more ways than one): was I supposed to believe that green liquid he was injected with contained a soul along with medication?  And was Joy replaced with a Skrull at the end?

And I actually got a little annoyed by everyone in the show telling me Danny Rand was a nice person when he really isn't.  It was like a kind of Mary Sue phenomenon where the show kept having to remind the viewer why we were supposed to like Danny.

I did like the character of Colleen Wing.  Her taste in men is completely bonkers, but otherwise she made sense to me as a character.

Iron Fist felt the most disjointed of all the Netflix series.  I didn't hate it, but there were many times I was annoyed by it.  And the parts that should have been the saving grace - the action/fight scenes - were very uneven.  Again, Colleen Wing's fights felt more real.  Many of Danny's felt too stilted and choreographed.  If I had to fight one of the Defenders, it would be him.  I can't take Daredevil, I can't begin to fight Jessica Jones, and I can't even injure Luke Cage.  I'm pretty sure I can read a fortune cookie to Danny Rand and when he bows I can bash him over the head with a library book.

They made it a point using Claire to point out that you have to be at least a little crazy to be a superhero.  But the things that drive DD, JJ, and LC are all amped up versions of understandable conflicts.  DD is a vigilante that believes the system should work for everyone.  That fundamental conflict is what tortures him and also drives him.  JJ is a recovering everything, someone that used to believe in being a hero before the tables were turned on her.  She doesn't believe in black and white anymore but a part of her still likes and wants to help people, even as the cynical part of her wants to drown that part in alcohol.  And Luke Cage is someone that distrusts the system and comes from a background that teaches the nail that sticks up gets hammered down, but comes to believe that some causes are worth fighting for.

I don't know who Danny Rand is supposed to be.  I know who his parents are.  I know where he came from, where he's been living for the last fifteen years.  I know he is arrogant, has a temper, believes he is superior to his peers, and acts on his own personal desires to the exclusion of all else.  Also, he's kind of an idiot.  Fundamentally, he is so easy to manipulate, so morally rudderless, so lacking in self control, I think he might actually be the poster child for why some people really shouldn't have special abilities.  Everyone who wanted something from him ended up getting it from him, often to the detriment of others.

Maybe I was supposed to recognize that Danny is a cipher because in many ways he is a child that hasn't had a chance to grow up yet.  If so, I don't think that was executed very well.  In my opinion, the show needed an anchor, and Danny Rand was not it.

[Vee]

I can agree with Arcana on almost every point (though really this Danny wasn't too far removed from the early one in the comics who was also a bit of a dope iirc) but I still liked it. This is the most disjointed of the Netflix shows but I'll still take this over, well, every non-Netflix superhero anything with the possible exception of JLU and the Dark Knight up to the point where Joker gets all explainy.

[Power Gamer]

I liked Iron Fist precisely because it was not like the other offerings.

[Arcana]

I liked Iron Fist precisely because it was not like the other offerings.

Actually, I can appreciate that DD, JJ, and LC were all very distinct from each other.  But Iron Fist has some unflattering echos of Luke Cage.  I'm not a reductionist when it comes to art comparisons, but both Danny Rand and Luke Cage are trying to re-enter the world after being confined.  They find themselves in the middle of a power struggle involving relatives with a sibling dynamic.  They both struggle with the conflict of staying in New York or leaving the conflicts behind. 

Spoiler for Hidden:

They are both unexpectedly weakened by unusual weapons in similar ways.  They both discover they were betrayed by lovers.  There's even a major plot point involving a secret set of files that can exonerate the protagonist.

There are a lot of repeated beats that are a little too uncomfortably close for me.  There's a little bit of overlap with Daredevil, but you could look the other way given the unavoidable overlap of martial arts and the Hand.  But there isn't the same reason for there to be so much shared DNA with Luke Cage.  I would think the IF people would actually watch the other series and specifically try to avoid any resemblance to them.

[Power Gamer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma_yQgfO3xQ

[CG]

I watched the first episode, but didn't find Danny all that likeable, nor the show that compelling.  From reviews, it sounds like it drags a lot.  Does anyone have recommendations for some key episodes that would be good to watch and catch the high points or major events?

[Vee]

just skip it and read spoiler-rich summaries?

[Arcana]

I watched the first episode, but didn't find Danny all that likeable, nor the show that compelling.  From reviews, it sounds like it drags a lot.  Does anyone have recommendations for some key episodes that would be good to watch and catch the high points or major events?

It is not really that kind of show.  There are several different plot threads for which a lot of small background is laid and then there's a payoff down the road.  Watching the payoff alone will be confusing.

At best, I can say that for the most part you could watch the last six episodes and get the gist of the most important parts of the main plot.  Also most of the best action.