Marvel's Iron Fist - Episodes 2-4 Review

Marvel's Iron Fist begins to get somewhere in the following three episodes of its debut season, following Danny proving his identity to Joy and Ward with some help from Jerry Hogarth (Carrie Anne Moss returning from Jessica Jones), while Harold Meachum is threatened by the Madame Gao and the Hand.
Making the Hand prominent villains in Iron Fist is both a pro and con for the series, as while they are a big threat we want to see more of in the Netflix shows, and certainly makes Iron Fist feel less passable as a binge-watch before The Defenders later in the year, it does confirm that Danny can't defeat the Hand before the end of this series, so the stakes feel somewhat weak, and I have doubts as to whether Iron Fist, much like Daredevil: season 2 and Luke Cage, will be at all conclusive.
Harold Meachum though works as a more down-to-Earth antagonist, and while he's clearly not one to be trusted, he's been developed so far as a less "evil" character and more business prone. His protectiveness over Joy and Ward shows a sense of humanity that otherwise would be lacking, and he doesn't come across as being too similar to Wilson Fisk, as Cottonmouth had in Luke Cage (although Cottonmouth was undoubtedly one of the best things about that show). David Wenham (from The Lord of the Rings, no less) is fantastic in the role, and I'm really enjoying the interactions he has with every other character in the show, from his kindness to Danny to his gruffness with Ward. Wenham is really good in the show and keeps the intrigue up, even in the slower moments.
Joy Meachum seems to be a bit of an odd character in the series, at points made out as a likable friend to Danny, protecting him almost from Ward's general antagonism, but then she'll go and essentially blackmail a man into letting Rand Enterprises buy some land, making her seem a bit of a cow to be honest. The series makes her both a protagonist and antagonist, and while some could argue this is part of her complexity, the two sides don't mesh well into one character. Colleen Wing, meanwhile, seems to be rather underdeveloped considering what the series wants to do with her. She's a strong fighter, if a little too impulsive, yet is also the calm and reserved teacher. She can't be both student and master, yet the series tries to do both; much like with Joy, this doesn't work. Danny, meanwhile, is quite a fun character to have at the center of the series, at points being a little too childish and at others a wise master of the mystic. It's contradictory, much like with Joy and Colleen, but with Danny both sides are part of his character and make sense within the series. Unless the whole idea about characters having conflicting sides is what Iron Fist is going for?
While these first few episodes have hardly been action-packed, or even particularly super hero-y, I'm still not sure where the harsh criticisms for Iron Fist have been stemming from. The show is understandably a little slow at the moment, but so was Jessica Jones - and Luke Cage even more so. The fights have been a little hit-and-miss, with some looking ridiculously choreographed. They aren't as brutal as the fights in, say, Daredevil or DC's Arrow, but there's some nice beats in there. It did take a little too long to get to the actual Iron Fist, and while I do think it is very underutilized, we are only four episodes in so far. Nine to go, and plenty of time for Danny to do his thing.

Marvel's Iron Fist is available to watch now on Netflix.