Iron Fist (season 2)

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Iron Fist
Season 2
Promotional poster
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes10
Release
Original network
List of episodes

The second and final season of the American

Raven Metzner serving as showrunner
.

Finn Jones stars as Rand, who protects New York following the events of The Defenders. Jessica Henwick, Tom Pelphrey, Jessica Stroup, and Sacha Dhawan also return from the first season to star and are joined by Simone Missick, reprising her role from previous Marvel Netflix series, and Alice Eve. The season was ordered in July 2017, with Metzner replacing Scott Buck as showrunner. Filming for the season began in late 2017 in New York City and continued until May 2018. Focus was placed on improving the fight sequences for the series after criticisms of the first season, with Clayton Barber taking over as fight coordinator after doing so for the MCU film Black Panther. Each episode in the season is named after a comics issue that Rand has appeared in.

The season was released on September 7, 2018, on Netflix and consists of ten episodes. The season received mixed reviews from critics but was considered a major improvement over the previous season. Netflix canceled the series on October 12, 2018.[1]

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title [a]Directed byWritten byOriginal release date
141"The Fury of Iron Fist"David DobkinM. Raven MetznerSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Billionaire
K'un-Lun
. Davos confronts Rand, revealing that he has discovered a way to take the Iron Fist from Rand. Davos believes it is his birthright, but Rand refuses to give it up.
152"The City's Not for Burning"Rachel TalalayJon WorleySeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Years earlier, Rand earned the right to gain the Iron Fist after being named the winner of a duel against Davos in K'un-Lun by Davos's father
Sherry
to talk her husband into peace. Davos later meets with Yang regarding shipments that he has coming into the Hatchet's docks; when he learns that the group can no longer secure his items, given that they now plan to share the docks with the Golden Tigers, Davos gives Yang a stroke.
163"This Deadly Secret..."Toa FraserTatiana Suarez-PicoSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Learning of Joy and Davos's partnership, Ward asks Rand to invite the pair over for dinner so they can all discuss their differences. Despite Davos's protests, Joy agrees to avoid suspicion. Mary leaves a set of surveillance photos showing Rand and Wing at the dojo, and when Rand confronts her about them, Mary says that they are being watched by someone named Walker. Ward believes that someone at his Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings is working for Joy, and becomes paranoid. He ultimately does not come to the dinner. Joy and Davos feign niceties until Wing demands that they discuss their grievances with Rand. Davos finds the surveillance photos, which he and Joy had arranged to be taken, and the pair leave. Rand and Wing come to an attempted parlay between the Hatchets, now represented by Mrs. Yang, and the Golden Tigers. Negotiations turn sour, and Rand, Wing and Mrs. Yang defend themselves against the Golden Tigers. Davos and Joy confront Mary—actually Walker—about the photos.
174"Target: Iron Fist"M. J. BassettJenny LynnSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Joy learns that Walker has
Misty Knight, a friend who Rand gave a robotic arm to after she lost hers fighting the Hand.[c]
Knight explains that the trap Rand had seen was actually police officers watching the parlay, and asks Rand to stay away from now on. He instead goes to the docks on his own, but Davos has already killed the Golden Tiger soldiers there and taken what he wanted: the tattooed skin from the corpse of an old Iron Fist. Rand is attacked, drugged, and taken by Walker to the site of a ritual in which the bowl, skin, and Rand's blood are used to transfer the power of the Iron Fist to Davos.
185"Heart of the Dragon"Mairzee AlmasDeclan de BarraSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Bleeding out, Rand is found by a group of local kids who have started their own triad. They plan to give Rand to the Golden Tigers in exchange for a bounty. Wing and Knight attempt to find Rand by tracking down Walker, and get Ward's help to quickly run a fingerprint search on the surveillance photos. Davos looks to become the Iron Fist that Rand never was, starting with ending the triad war himself. He goes to a nightclub owned by the Golden Tigers and kills their leadership. Joy begins to fear what Davos may do to her, and hires Walker for protection. One of the kids holding Rand,
Bethany
to tend to Rand's injuries. While Ward stays with Rand, Wing and Knight go to ensure that Joy is safe and find her with Walker. Wing and Knight overpower Walker, and take the two back to the dojo where Joy confirms that she knew what Davos planned all along and had wanted to hurt Rand.
196"The Dragon Dies at Dawn"Philip JohnMatthew WhiteSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Joy reveals that the ritual was carried out by three tattoo artists called the Crane Sisters. Hoping that they can reverse the process, Wing and Knight go to find them leaving Ward to watch over Rand, Joy, and Walker. Walker agrees to take Rand back to where the ritual took place to confront Davos, leaving Ward and Joy to discuss their relationship. Joy refuses to forgive Ward and leaves him. After explaining that they are accessories to a crime, Knight gets the Crane Sisters to agree to reversing the ritual. Walker reveals to Rand that she actually plans to kill Davos before running away to live in a secluded cabin in peace. This would allow her to avoid any of the triggers that bring Mary to the surface. Rand convinces her to take Davos hostage instead, and when he returns from his killing spree across the city Davos is subdued. He manages to break Rand's leg before falling unconscious. Walker calls an ambulance for Rand, but Davos is left behind when Mary is triggered and runs away after hearing that Walker plans to keep her trapped.
207"Morning of the Mindstorm"Stephen SurjikRebecca DameronSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
With the help of a state-of-the-art leg brace, Rand begins to recover from his injury but is unable to fight. Knight hopes to gain the help of the local police precinct to stop Davos, but Captain William Pike is unwilling to do so since Davos is putting an end to organized crime in the neighborhood. In addition to continuing his killing spree, Davos recruits the gang of local kids and plans to train them as soldiers to help fight his war against crime in New York City. Rand also wants to begin training again, hoping that Wing will re-open her dojo for teaching. She does not want to take the responsibility for a student who could fight and die, but eventually relents and begins training Rand to fight with his injury. Knight learns the requirements of the ritual from Prada, and goes in search of more help. Ward turns to alcohol to drown his sorrows, despite the protests of Bethany. Ward later hears her reveal in an NA meeting that she is pregnant with his child. Joy visits Mary, who realizes that she is protected by Walker. Mary leaves an encouraging message for Walker.
218"Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance"Julian HolmesMelissa GlennSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Walker watches Mary's message, and is confused when Mary thanks her for breaking them out of a
Paul Edmonds
suggests that they may have another alternate personality; Walker dismisses this idea. Joy attempts to undermine Davos by searching for the bowl, and asks Ward to take over a business venture that she is carrying out in the memory of their mother. He worries that she is in danger, and Walker agrees to help him kill Davos. BB helps Joy steal the bowl, while Davos unsuccessfully tries to convince the wider community of the nobility of his crusade. The remnants of the triads band together to stop him, and all Rand can do is try and stop him first. Wing tries to teach Rand to overcome his emotional bond to Davos, allowing him to realize the negative impact on his life that the Iron Fist has had. Rand suggests that Wing should take the power from Davos.
229"War Without End"Sanford BookstaverDaniel ShattuckSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Wing refuses to take the power of the Iron Fist. Knight returns with a police taskforce ready to capture Davos, as well as Frank Choi who had cut a deal to turn on the Golden Tigers. From Choi's information, Wing deduces that her mother came to New York and could still be in the city. Davos discovers the missing bowl, and critically injures Joy by pushing her off a balcony. BB contacts the rest of his gang, hoping that they will see reason, but they tell Davos that he has gone to a community center where Wing volunteers. Rand and Wing go to the center to stop the combined triads from mobilizing to attack, but Davos and his gang arrive. BB faces his gang, and is killed. Wing fights the rest off until Knight and the police can arrive. Rand overpowers Davos and meets the Crane Sisters at the dojo to undertake the ritual again. Mourning BB, Wing agrees to take the Iron Fist, but the ritual is interrupted leaving both Davos and Wing with the power. Knight, Ward, and Walker find Joy, and Ward takes her to safety. Walker then attacks Knight.
2310"A Duel of Iron"Jonas PateM. Raven MetznerSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
In pain from the interrupted ceremony, Davos flees back to his hideout and is pursued by Wing, also in pain, and Rand. Walker waits for Davos to return and attempts to kill him, but Rand warns that killing Davos will kill Wing as well until the ritual is complete. Knight wakes up, escapes capture, and helps Rand stop Walker by triggering Mary. Wing fights Davos, and is able to draw the rest of the Iron Fist power out of him. With Davos arrested, Rand is unsure of his purpose in life. Wing prepares to protect the streets of Chinatown as the new Iron Fist, while Joy attempts to return to her normal life. Walker, considering the possibility of having another, more violent identity, decides to stay affiliated with Joy and her influence. Ward attempts to reconcile with Bethany, but she chooses to raise their child on her own. Rand decides to leave New York to find Orson Randall, the man from whom Davos acquired the Iron Fist corpse. Ward travels with him, and months later Rand has stolen two guns from Randall with which he can form Iron Fists.

Cast and characters

Production

Development

In January 2015,

Raven Metzner taking over as showrunner from Scott Buck, who served that role for the first season.[8] Marvel Television head and series executive producer Jeph Loeb explained that Marvel had known Buck would be unavailable for the next season of Iron Fist due to his commitments to another Marvel series, Inhumans, so the studio began looking for a replacement showrunner. Metzner pitched a story for the season that excited Marvel, and Loeb compared the change to a new writer taking over on a comic.[9]

Writing

The season begins after the events of

K'un-Lun than was shown in the first season by spending more time there.[10] Each episode is named after the issue title of various comics Danny Rand has appeared in,[2] after the first season named each episode after Shaolin kung fu sequences.[11]

When asked how the season would be influenced by the criticisms of the first, Metzner said that Marvel had allowed him to tell his own story rather than follow on from the first season and so he just approached the project as a fan of the comics and characters. He described the second season as an "evolution" of the first.

holistic", wanting the series to feel like being on the streets of New York.[13]

Casting

Mary Walker.[4][14] Metzner had previously written a different version of Typhoid Mary for the film Elektra (2005), and was always interested in that character and well-versed in her comic story. Eve described her introduction in the season as an origin story that explores the mystery of the character's multiple personalities, while Loeb said, "We meet her at a certain point in her life and then cards get tipped over as you go."[15]

With the announcement of the season, it was revealed that

Filming

Filming for the season was expected to begin "soon" after it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con,[17] with actor Sacha Dhawan saying then that "they're hopefully starting" by December 2017.[18] By December 13, filming on the season had begun,[19] in New York City where the production wrapped on May 10, 2018. Jones described this as the end of a "long and physical 7 month winter shoot".[20] Extensive filming took place in New York's Chinatown.[10] Niels Alpert served as cinematographer for the season.[13]

Clayton Barber took over as the fight coordinator for the season, having also served in the role on Marvel's Black Panther (2018),[21] after the fight choreography of the first season was widely criticized. Barber was inspired by "old school kung fu" such as the works of Jackie Chan, and wanted to make the fights of the series feel like "a punk rock song".[22][23] Metzner noted that Jones had months of lead time before work on the season began to "hone his skills" with the fighting and stunts, and said that he and the rest of the cast along with Barber "really pushed themselves" with the fight sequences in the season. Jones added that all of the fight scenes have "an emotional standpoint" so that they drive the story forward rather than simply being "awesome fight scenes" for the sake of having fights.[24]

Music

Robert Lydecker composed the music for the season.[25]

Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins

The fictional country of

Sokovia that was introduced in the MCU film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) is referenced in the season as part of Walker's past as an operative in the country.[26]

Marketing

Jones, Henwick, Missick, Eve, Loeb, Metzner, and Barber promoted the season at San Diego Comic-Con 2018.[21] Charles Pulliam-Moore of io9 felt the footage shown at the panel left him optimistic for the season, since "It finally feels like Iron Fist may have figured out what people wanted out of this show in the first place." He felt the clips showed "how drastic an improvement" there was to the fight choreography, thanks in part to new fight coordinator Barber joining the series. One clip that showed Rand facing Davos in K'un-Lun felt "brutal and bloody" while also being "fluid and elegant in a way that feels fresh, new, and exactly like what you want from Iron Fist."[27] At the panel, Loeb appeared in a karate costume, as part of a comedic bit with Henwick, who later appeared on stage telling Loeb to remove the outfit. Some criticized the outfit as insensitive and "several layers of bad".[28][29]

Release

The second season of Iron Fist, consisting of ten episodes,

high dynamic range.[31] The season, along with the additional Iron Fist season and the other Marvel Netflix series, was removed from Netflix on March 1, 2022, due to Netflix's license for the series ending and Disney regaining the rights.[32] The season became available on Disney+ in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand on March 16, ahead of its debut in Disney+'s other markets by the end of 2022.[33][34]

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 55% approval rating, based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Better action scenes and tighter pacing elevate Iron Fist's second season, but it remains a lesser light among MCU shows."[35] Metacritic assigned a score of 39 out of 100 based on reviews from six critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[36]

Accolades

The season received a nomination for Best Original Score TV Spot/Trailer/Teaser for a Series at the 2019 Golden Trailer Awards.[37][38]

Notes

  1. ^ Each episode is named after the issue title of various comics Danny Rand has appeared in.[2][3]
  2. ^ As depicted in The Defenders (2017).
  3. ^ As depicted in The Defenders and the second season of Luke Cage.

References

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  2. ^ a b Bundel, Ani (July 26, 2018). "The 'Iron Fist' Season 2 Episode Titles Will Be Tweeted Out One At A Time". Elite Daily. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  3. ComicBook.com
    . Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Otterson, Joe (December 5, 2017). "'Iron Fist' Season 2 Adds 'Star Trek' Alum Alice Eve (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Otterson, Joe (July 21, 2017). "'Iron Fist' Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix". Variety. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  6. Zap2It. Archived
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  7. ^ Goldman, Eric (July 28, 2015). "Netflix On Marvel Series Release Plan And If Punisher Could Get A Spinoff". IGN. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  8. ^ Hibberd, James (July 22, 2017). "Iron Fist changing showrunners for season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
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  11. ^ Golder, Dave (January 23, 2017). "Iron Fist Episode Titles Inspired By Shaolin Kung Fu Moves". Mym Buzz. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  12. ^ Damore, Meagan (August 10, 2018). "Iron Fist: How Season 1 Criticisms Impacted Season 2's Direction". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Damore, Meagan (August 17, 2018). "Iron Fist's S2 Crusade Will Bring New Challenges, Make Him More Relatable". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  14. ^ Shaw-Williams, Hannah (July 19, 2018). "Iron Fist Season 2: Alice Eve Confirmed As Typhoid Mary". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
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  19. ^ Mitchell, Bea (December 13, 2017). "Iron Fist season 2 reveals first look at Netflix's kung-fu Defender". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  20. ^ Erao, Matthew (May 10, 2018). "Iron First Season 2 Wraps, Will Be 'Unlike Anything Seen Before'". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  21. ^ a b c Patten, Dominic (July 19, 2018). "'Iron Fist' Gets Season 2 September Launch Date On Netflix – Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
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  24. ^ Damore, Meagan (August 17, 2018). "Iron Fist Showrunner Reveals How & Why Season 2's Action Scenes 'Evolved'". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  25. ^ "Alumnus Robert Lydecker scores second season of "Iron Fist"". USC Thornton School of Music. September 11, 2018. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  26. ^ Owen, Phil (September 8, 2018). "Does 'Iron Fist' Season 2 Tie Directly to 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'?". TheWrap. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  27. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (July 19, 2018). "Holy Crap, Iron Fist Season Two Actually Looks Really Good". io9. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  28. ^ Rivas, Mekita (July 20, 2018). "Marvel Executive Jeph Loeb Is Under Fire for Wearing a Karate Uniform to Promote Iron Fist". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  29. ^ Krishna, Rachael (July 20, 2018). "People Have Mixed Feelings About Marvel's Head Of TV Dressing In A Karate Uniform To Promote "Iron Fist"". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
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External links