There are some definite similarities to the first two episodes of Netflix’s new series Iron Fist and the first couple of episodes of FX’s Legion. Sadly, Iron Fist isn’t as stylized or as intriguing as the other property. Even several episodes in, while there might be grave doubts to who David (Dan Stevens) is, and whether or not he’s sane, there are no such complexities when it comes to Danny Rand (Finn Jones). The first two episodes drag out Danny’s return to New York and his re-connection to a pair of childhood friends who take the odd homeless man as either a mentally-deranged fool or con artist. Hoping to reclaim a part of his life before the plane crash which marooned him in the Himalayas fifteen years ago, Danny struggles and is eventually institutionalized by the very friends he returned to find.
The first two episodes, the second of which finds Danny locked away on a psychiatric hold for the entire episode, slowly tease us with who Danny Rand is. As to the Iron Fist, we don’t learn that until the very end of the episode. A sworn enemy of the Hand, Danny is destined to fight the insidious organization as the show teases the season’s big villain returning from the Second Season of Daredevil. Danny isn’t the only one aware of the Hand, as we learn that his father’s longtime partner is in hiding and shows keen interest when he learns that Danny might be able to destroy them.
“Snow Gives Way” and “Shadowhawk Takes Flight” introduces us to Danny, the Meechams – Ward (Tom Pelphrey), Joy (Jessica Stroup), and their not-so-dead father Harold (David Wenham). The other main character we meet is Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), a martial arts teacher who crosses Danny’s path. She becomes a reluctant friend to the hero, although his manner and the trouble he unintentionally brings to her door continue to make the woman hold the odd man at arms length. While dealing only loosely with where Danny has been, and just what abilities and skills he has picked up over a decade and a half, various pieces seem to suggest a showdown coming between the Iron Fist and the Hand is coming.
