Iron Fist Season 2 Fixed Marvel Netflix's Worst Show

Iron Fist's second season has transformed Marvel's worst show into one of its best. Although season 2 isn't flawless, it's tremendously enjoyable and fixes many of the core issues found in the first season.

Scott Buck's first season of Iron Fist was undeniably a popular and critical failure, disappointing fans and earning a paltry 19 percent on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. In spite of the show's failings, though, viewing figures were above average, suggesting it was one of the best-performing Marvel series on Netflix. As a result, nobody was particularly surprised when Marvel renewed Iron Fist for a second season.

The redemption of Iron Fist began with The Defenders, with showrunners Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez taking the risky decision to make Danny Rand the focus of the narrative. This allowed actor Finn Jones to play to his strengths, as he interacted well with the other Marvel Netflix stars. Jones' cameo in Luke Cage season 2 gave Marvel the chance to directly address the weaknesses viewers saw in Iron Fist's first solo series, presenting a character who was still recognizable and yet had dealt with a lot of his inner demons and found the central place that should have been his from the beginning. It was a tremendous setup, and it prepared the way for Iron Fist's new showrunner, Raven Metzner, to complete the challenge and turn Iron Fist into one of Marvel Netflix's best shows to date. Here's how he did it.

This Page: Iron Fist Season 2 Fixes Marvel Netflix's Pacing Problem
Page 2: Iron Fist's Horrible Action Is Fixed In Season 2
Page 3: Iron Fist Season 2 Improves Every Character

The Plot and Pacing of Iron Fist Season 2 Fixes Netflix Problems

On a very basic level, the story of Iron Fist season 2 is a remarkable improvement on what's come before, even when compared to other Marvel Netflix series like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, or Luke Cage. Metzner actually seems to have dealt with the trademark Marvel Netflix pacing problem.

In the age of binge-watching, episode-to-episode pacing is one of the biggest challenges a TV series faces. The best showrunners vary the pace subtly, with action sequences interspersed with slower, character- and plot-defining moments. Every series has its own balance, shaped by the kind of story it wants to tell, the genre it operates in, and the character dynamics in play. When a show gets it right, the pacing creates real and enduring tension, ensuring both slower- and faster-paced scenes resonate with audiences - and allowing viewers to watch at whatever pace they choose. Almost every Marvel Netflix show to date has been heavily criticized for leaden pacing, so much so that many viewers started to believe a shorter episode count was necessary in order to cut out the dead wood.

The real problem is much more subtle than that; rather, it's to do with the writing itself. Take the example of Jessica Jones season 2; that show lacked a clear antagonist, and as such failed to find a concrete direction. An intrusive 53-minute flashback sequence interrupted the entire ongoing narrative, and subplots failed to join up. All those different issues conspired to create a sense that the show was found lacking in terms of pacing. As for Iron Fist, the show is shorter than any standalone Marvel Netflix series to date (its ten episodes is only beaten by the eight-episode The Defenders), but that's not the reason the series is better paced. Rather, the writing is tight and focused, and every character's arc builds to the denouement. No time is wasted. Even the somehow-obligatory Marvel Netflix sex scenes are cut short, with the showrunner less interested in titillating his audience than in telling his story.

The quality of the storytelling displays itself in the intelligent themes developed over the course of Iron Fist season 2. One of the more fascinating is the idea that the Iron Fist is an addiction; that turns Ward's battle to deal with his own demon into a reflection of Danny's own struggles. In one telling scene, Danny talks about the sense of power he feels whenever he uses the Iron Fist, and Ward tells him that he can relate. By the end of the season, Danny has chosen not to regain the Iron Fist - and yet still can't help himself, dreaming of a time when he will have become the man who truly deserves to wield it once again. There are even hints that this addiction affects Colleen too; in the "months later" scene, she charges her blade with Chi in a moment where she doesn't really need to. Sometimes the theme is overt, sometimes it's implied, but it's ever-present and runs through so many character arcs. And this is only one of the show's themes, demonstrating how effectively Iron Fist season 2 is written.

Page 2: Iron Fist's Horrible Action Is Fixed In Season 2

Sacha Dhawan and Finn Jones in Iron Fist Season 2 Netfix

Iron Fist's Horrible Action Is Fixed In Season 2

Iron Fist is supposed to be one of the most skilled martial artists in the entire Marvel Universe, the most competent warrior in the Lost City of K'un-Lun. That made season 1's poor fight choreography absolutely unforgivable. Although star Finn Jones underwent a grueling training regimen for the role, in interviews Jones revealed that he'd sometimes had only 15 minutes in which to familiarize himself with the fight choreography for a specific scene. The lack of time showed, and professional fight choreographers were unimpressed with Jones's performance; they argued he lacked the skill level needed to play the part. The problems were exacerbated by choppy editing, partly necessitated by bad execution of the choreography, with one clip boasting a staggering 56 cuts in a 35-second fight sequence. Although this kind of editing is sadly not uncommon in Hollywood, it only served to highlight Finn's inexperience and lack of skill.

But both Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick were able to start training for Iron Fist season 2 long before production began. In Jones's case, the actor began training a full five months before filming started up, and it paid off. As Marvel's Jeph Loeb observed in the show's production notes:

"Finn decided this year that it was important that most of those stunts be done by him and you can see it in the trailer. There’s an amazing moment from episode one where he’s beating on this sheet of metal and he has no shirt on. You can clearly see that Finn was working for the five months prior to when we started shooting, but it wasn’t just about working on his body, he also got into working with a sensei and he did yoga and he got into all different kinds of religious aspects of the role. He really came into his own in terms of who Danny is and who Finn is and his commitment to that."

Marvel recruited Black Panther fight choreographer Clayton Barber to work on season 2, a smart choice; Barber was responsible for the tremendous Warrior Falls fight between T'Challa and Killmonger, a breathtaking action sequence that delighted viewers. He choreographed some tremendous action scenes for Iron Fist, allowing both Jones and Henwick to demonstrate their increased confidence and skill. This time around, the actors were frequently able to perform the fight choreography well enough that they only needed one shot. In the case of Henwick, there's one scene in which her character Colleen Wing is holding her own against two of the Crane Sisters. Her opponents were both being played by professional stunt actors, and yet Henwick looks just as proficient and capable as them. Iron Fist season 2 can count its fight choreography as a tremendous success.

Page 3: Iron Fist Season 2 Improves Every Character

Iron Fist Season 2 Improves Every Character

And this brings us to the third dramatic improvement in Iron Fist season 2; the quality of the show's characters. This was another major issue in the first season, with - unfortunately - Finn Jones's Danny Rand as the most problematic character of all. Danny was supposed to have become the greatest warrior monk in the Lost City of K'un-Lun, and yet he lacked any sense of a spiritual center. It was as though he'd completely failed to absorb any of the Buddhist philosophy you'd find in such a place. Marvel recognized this issue, and worked on it through The Defenders and Luke Cage, telling a story in which Danny gradually found his balance. By the time of Iron Fist season 2, Danny is in a place of relative peace.

And yet, ironically, that very place of peace is the cause of some of his greatest issues. Danny has dedicated himself to Matt Murdock's mission, becoming a would-be Daredevil; as Loeb reflected in the show's production notes, "When you look at Matt's life, it's really not anything you want to aspire to have." This puts a massive strain upon Danny's relationship with Colleen, and in one key scene, Danny seems almost unconcerned about redefining their relationship by having Colleen retrain him. The actors' performances sell that moment so effectively.

The series is strengthened a great deal by incorporating Simone Missick's Misty Knight into the plot. The dynamic between Missick and Henwick is tremendous, and viewers aren't just clamoring for a Daughters of the Dragon series because the two women were a team in the comics. Henwick, for her part, almost feels season 2's co-star, and as a result it's perfectly fitting that she becomes New York's new Iron Fist. Meanwhile, Alice Eve's Typhoid Mary is perhaps the most striking performer of the show as she switches from the "Mary" to the "Walker" personas with ease, demonstrating just how skillful an actor she is. That particular piece of casting seems just as perfect as Vincent d'Onofrio as Kingpin or David Tennant as Kilgrave. In just ten episodes, Eve has come to define her role, and her future in the Marvel Netflix shows looks bright.

All these factors come together to give Marvel fans a tremendously improved show. Iron Fist season 2 demonstrates that you should never write a series off. Marvel learned from their mistakes, they hired a showrunner who was able to understand just what the series needed, and they gave their actors the time they needed to train. Given the amount of clear setup for season 3, we can expect to be seeing a lot more of Danny Rand, Colleen Wing, and Typhoid Mary in future.