One Of The Better Establishing Episodes, "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" Reveals Iron Fist!

The Good: Good performances, Decent characterizatios, Direction
The Bad: Dull plot, Subtext relies entirely on other works to even remotely understand.
The Basics: "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" fleshes out the backstory of Iron Fist, while Danny Rand remains in the custody of the Meachum siblings.


Serialized television succeeds when it effectively creates long arcs. Netflix's interpretations of the Marvel Comics works that they have developed into television series's have been very effective at making long, serialized, arcs. Iron Fist began with a very nebulous pilot episode that very generally established the fundamental characters of Danny Rand, Colleen Wing, Joy and Ward Meachum. Danny Rand's backstory is a mystery. That is where Iron Fist begins and it is continued throughout the second episode, "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight."

"Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" picks up immediately after the end of "Snow Gives Way" (reviewed here!) and it is impossible to discuss the second episode without some allusions as to where the first episode ended. After all, "Snow Gives Way" climaxed with Joy Meachum drugging Danny Rand and having him committed to a mental institution. "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" begins immediately after Danny Rand wakes up in his unfortunate prison.

Danny Rand wakes up, groggy, at Birch Psychiatric Hospital, where he is being heavily sedated and is confronted first by another patient. Joy and Ward Meachum have their morning meeting, where Ward tells Joy that he needs her help with acquiring a piece of property for Rand Enterprises. Joy, however, is very distracted with her guilt over having Danny committed to the asylum. Inside Birch, Danny tells his story to the resident psychologist, who claims that Danny is actually a Canadian with a different name (as evidenced by a passport he has with Danny's picture on it). On the streets of New York, Colleen Wing tests her students and is disappointed when all of them fail her practical exam, which involves them attempting to ambush them on the street.

Wing is miffed when she gets a call shortly thereafter at her dojo from Danny, asking for her help. Harold Meachum, meanwhile, monitors Birch and Danny Rand's story. Harold believes that Danny might be for real given that his story references monasteries and Orders that are not found anywhere in the region where the Rand plane went down. Dr. Edmonds finds a video online of a fifteen year-old Rand Oil & Chemical commercial that includes a young Danny Rand and Danny tells him about the day the commercial was shot. That leads Edmonds to question whether or not Danny might be telling the truth and he approaches Joy for verification of the story about the commercial (as Joy appears in it as well). Harold Meachum had Danny Rand drugged more before he visits him in the asylum, pumping him for answers about the nature of Rand's training and whereabouts for the past fifteen years. As Joy and Colleen get drawn into trying to figure out who Danny Rand is, Joy comes up with a test for the man in the asylum, while Ward takes a more aggressive approach to the prisoner.

"Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" characterizes Ward Meachum very well as a pathological liar. At this point in Iron Fist, the nature of the pills that Ward is seen taking is unclear, but the viewer already knows that Harold Meachum is alive and Ward knows that as well. So, Ward claiming that he cannot believe that the man he had committed could be Danny Rand is entirely disingenuous and that makes Ward seem like an obvious villain for the episode and the season. It is hard to see Ward as entirely villainous, though, as he is apprehensive when his father tasks him with meeting with Colleen Wing. Ward, despite being shown as a childhood bully of Danny Rand, seems to be obsessed with the business he runs and protecting it. His initial bias actually seems to be against doing anything sketchy that does not have a direct effect on Rand Enterprises. In fact, when Ward makes his initial offer to Colleen at her dojo, he is remarkably honest with her about his motivations and his monitoring of Rand, which makes him seem more manipulative than actually villainous.

Tom Pelphrey is good at making Ward Meachum seem twitchy. He plays Ward with an aggressive undertone, but also delivers some of the most sensible observations from the character in very organic ways. When Joy tests Danny Rand, her methodology is not entirely clear to Ward and that is a great detail, which Pelphrey pulls off brilliantly with an look of disbelief bordering on disgust. Pelphrey makes the viewer believe that, despite having an angry undertone to some of his interactions, Ward is just focused, driven, and a bit paranoid about the business, more than being a complete asshole or villain.

Colleen Wing is fleshed out in "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" quite a bit more than she was in the pilot episode. Wing is characterized as smart enough to instantly recognize Ward Meachum's efforts to discredit Danny Rand as an attempt to bribe her. She is not presented as a particularly compassionate teacher and her early characterization is anything but heroic. Danny Rand calls Wing for help and she explicitly states that she does not want to get involved, which is not particularly heroic. Fortunately, Wing is characterized as smart. In "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" Jessica Henwick is not given much emotional range to play as Wing.

Jessica Stroup, on the other hand, makes decent use of her time on screen as Joy. Joy has a feeling that Danny Rand might be telling the truth and Stroup infuses her performance with little glances and facial ticks that speak at least as loudly as her lines. Stroup easily prevents Joy from appearing monolithic as she plays Joy as strong and forthright in her delivery of lines that are business-related, but obviously conflicted about her feelings for the vagrant who claims to be Danny Rand. Similarly, Murray Bartlett slumps through the role of Dr. Paul Edmonds, but has him ask Rand and Joy questions in a way that convinces the viewer that Edmonds could actually be a medical professional who once cared and had a mind for unlocking the mysteries of the human brain.

"Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" is actually one of the stronger episodes of Iron Fist as it helps to establish through more subtle means than expositional dialogue some of the key dynamics in the first season. From the first episode and the promotional materials for Iron Fist, David Wenham's Harold Meachum was set-up as the Obvious Villain. But in "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight," Harold is characterized as meticulous and manipulative, with only minimal character defects. Harold is mean to his assistant, Kyle, but even there he explains how he developed to be an unapologetic man. And "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" very smartly insinuates that Harold Meachum is under the thumb of The Hand, not someone who has a purpose that is actually inherently adversarial to the Iron Fist. David Wenham does a good job of making it seem - through eye movements and body language - like the wheels are turning in Harold's head. The moment Harold begins to believe Danny Rand's story, Wenham's performance convinces the viewer instantly that Harold just wants to use Rand as a tool to get free of The Hand.

Director John Dahl makes one of the coolest shots of the entire first season of Iron Fist in "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight." When The Hand sends Harold Meachum a message, the reveal of the power and impact of that message is very well-directed and edited.

Despite the good performances, decent characterizations and fine direction, "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" is very basic on the story front. Finn Jones as Danny Rand spends most of the episode in a claustrophobic setting, reacting to other characters and actors who are smarter and more emotionally-developed than Rand. The mystery of Danny Rand's return starts to come into focus as Rand declares that he is the Iron Fist, the sworn enemy of The Hand, which is interesting to those who have seen the second season of Daredevil (reviewed here!). Within "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight," The Hand is not present as an active villainous force, so the allusions mean nothing to those who are only watching Iron Fist.

Ultimately, "Shadow Hawk Takes Flight" continues to set up the players in Iron Fist well, even if the pieces are not moved much on the board.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Iron Fist - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Finn Jones, please visit my reviews of:
Game Of Thrones - Season 1
Game Of Thrones - Season 2
Game Of Thrones - Season 3
Game Of Thrones - Season 4
Game Of Thrones - Season 5
Game Of Thrones - Season 6

6.5/10

For other Marvel movie, television season and episode reviews, please check out my Marvel Cinematic Universe Review Index Page for a listing of those reviews!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"Snow Gives Way" To An Average Beginning For Iron Fist.

The Good: Decent-enough performances, Good direction
The Bad: Severe character issues with the antagonists, Protagonist does not seem very smart or even very resourceful, Very basic set-up plot
The Basics: "Snow Gives Way" begins the story of Iron Fist in a fairly generic, though somewhat necessary, way.


Super hero origin stories have become pretty passe. There is a pretty predictable formula for the rise of a superhero and the development of their primary adversary and it is a hard formula to effectively shake up. In fact, in recent memory, the most impressive super hero origin story was for Daredevil as the entire first season of Netflix's Daredevil (reviewed here!) acts as an origin story for both Daredevil and The Kingpin. So, as Netflix attempts to make another Marvel Universe hit with Iron Fist, it is tough not to think that the show begins at a disadvantageous position with "Snow Gives Way." After all, I am certain that I am not the only person who had no real foreknowledge of Iron Fist before sitting down to "Snow Gives Way."

"Snow Gives Way" is the origin story of Danny Rand, who is poised to become The Iron Fist.

Danny Rand is walking barefoot through New York City, excited to visit the skyscraper offices of Rand Enterprises. Rand wants to see Harold Meachum, but security is called on him instead. Rand incapacitates the guards sent after him and makes it to the 45th floor, where he finds Ward and Joy Meachum in charge of the company his parents built. Ward and Joy are convinced that Danny Rand is dead . . . and has been for fifteen years. Joy actually believes that the stranger could be Danny Rand, but Ward has Rand forcibly removed from the building.

Rand breaks into the brownstone that used to be his family's - and now belongs to Joy - before settling in for the night at Central Park. Rand confronts Joy the next morning and she is upset to learn he broke into her home. Rand returns to Central Park, where he meets Colleen Wing. Joy goes to work at Rand Enterprises where her brother suggests that Rand is a tool of corporate espionage. Danny Rand carjacks Ward and attempts to tell him the truth yet again. After crashing Ward's car, Rand returns to Central Park. After attempting to get a teaching job at Colleen Wing's karate studio, Rand is pursued by Rand Enterprises security guards who are dressed in plainclothes and try to kill him.

Peppered throughout "Snow Gives Way" are flashbacks to the young Danny Rand. Rand recalls the plane crash that killed his mother and playing games at the brownstone with Joy and her bully of an older brother. This instantly gives credibility to Danny Rand, so the viewer can believe that he is who he says he is, which is decent storytelling.

"Snow Gives Way" does not waste any time in getting to a fight scene. Danny Rand has to fend off multiple security guards when he tries to see Harold Meachum at Rand Enterprises. The initial fight is fairly low-key and feels obvious and is fortunately contrasted with Rand being very even-tempered and neutral most of the rest of the episode. Far less violent than most of the other Netflix Marvel shows, Danny Rand works very hard to only incapacitate the security guards sent after him in "Snow Gives Way." "Snow Gives Way" is a remarkably bloodless Marvel television pilot episode.

The pilot episode of Iron Fist includes some other unfortunate conceits, primarily the "dead dad" conceit for the Meachums. The Meachum siblings tell Danny Rand that Harold Meachum is dead and Rand corroborates that when he meets a homeless person with an iPhone in Central Park. Here, Iron Fist suffers because of its own hype, opening credits, and the common sense of casting that comes when Harold Meachim is shown. It's an impossible stretch for viewers to believe that David Wenham was hired only for flashback sequences and newspaper photos. So, much of "Snow Gives Way" has the viewer waiting for David Wenham's Harold Meachum to show up alive.

And, assuming Harold Meachum is alive from the outset, the conversation where Ward and Joy talk about how the man claiming Danny Rand cannot possibly be him seems entirely ridiculous. After all, if they know that Harold is alive but is claiming to be dead, how can they plausibly believe that no one else is pulling the same thing?! Well before the end of "Snow Gives Way," Ward Meachum responds to Danny Rand as a threat that clearly illustrates that he believes Rand is who he says he is.

Twenty-one minutes into "Snow Gives Way," Iron Fist runs into its first major problem with continuity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not knowing New York City's skyline well enough, I'm not exactly sure where Stark Tower should be in the skyline, but it is not there. But when Danny Rand does a flip over an oncoming taxi, Joy's reaction puts her entirely out of touch with every other civilian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since the end of the second season of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (reviewed here!), Inhumans have been popping up all over and New York City was one of the locations that was sent terrigen contaminated vitamins. Virtually every other civilian in New York City in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jessica Jones and Luke Cage has had a "you're one of those" reaction. And, in fact, Joy Meachum's most logical conclusion upon seeing a powered individual who claims to be Danny Rand would be that he is some sort of shape-changing or memory-stealing Inhuman, rather than someone believed long dead.

Ward Meachum is a fairly generic antagonist for Danny Rand. Ward is well-represented as a bully who grew up to be a full-fledged corporate asshole and he is well-played by Tom Pelphrey. Danny Rand is undermined almost instantly by the fact that his attempts to authenticate his identity without any credible means. Ward asks him for fingerprints and oddly, Danny Rand claims to have never been fingerprinted. Billionaires usually do have their children fingerprinted for security and insurance - and (having been born in New York State I know for a fact) Danny Rand's footprints, at the very least, would be on his birth certificate. But, Danny Rand takes a long time before he tries to tell either of the Meachums anything remotely personal that might help them to believe him.

"Snow Gives Way" is very much a pilot episode, the beginning of a mystery. While it is very insular and gives very few answers, it sets the first season story up surprisingly well. While Danny Rand ambles through "Snow Gives Way," he has a sense of purpose and backstory that is compelling-enough. Rather smartly, "Snow Gives Way" includes a character who does ask all of the important character questions to establish the sense of mystery for what is essentially only an insinuated plot in the first episode. Rand Enterprises is expanding and the Meachums are wary of corporate threats; what they are expanding into in China is a subtext that runs throughout "Snow Gives Way."

While Finn Jones ambles through establishing Danny Rand, he is not bad at portraying a quiet, spiritually-centered character. Danny Rand might not be particularly compelling in "Snow Gives Way," but he is ably performed at the outset by Jones.

Ultimately, "Snow Gives Way" is a very average set-up episode. Some of the character defects are annoying, but director John Dahl makes the episode look good and flow well, so it is not the dog of a beginning as some might have made it out to be.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Iron Fist - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

For other pilot episodes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, please visit my reviews of:
"Moment Of Truth" - Luke Cage
"AKA Ladies Night" - Jessica Jones
"Into The Ring" - Daredevil
"Pilot" - Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Now Is Not The End" - Agent Carter

5/10

For other Marvel movie, television season and episode reviews, please check out my Marvel Cinematic Universe Review Index Page for a listing of those reviews!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Rebirth Of Nuke, The Downfall Of Jessica Jones: "AKA Sin Bin"

The Good: David Tennant's performance, Simpson's plotline, Plot climax
The Bad: Meanders, Jessica Jones's character, Inorganic character and plot development
The Basics: Jessica Jones beats the crap out of Kilgrave for no particular reason, which undermines all that the season has accomplished up until "AKA Sin Bin."


After Jessica Jones hit a season one (and Marvel Cinematic Universe!) high with "AKA WWJD?" (reviewed here!), there was a somewhat inevitable quality to the fall the season would take with its subsequent episode. Unfortunately, the fall is farther than it otherwise might have been because the season takes a turn for the utterly baffling when the protagonist makes a decision out of pain and ends up creating the villain. Like The Flash episode "Gorilla Warfare" (reviewed here!), "AKA Sin Bin" takes a character who is at a malleable position and can be turned to good and generically pushes that character into being a villain for no organic reason. Fidelity to the source material is placed above the organic development of the characters in the television incarnation.

And that is disappointing.

"AKA Sin Bin" is disappointing because it makes Jessica Jones almost unwatchable for the episode. A significant aspect of the episode's unwatchability comes from David Tennant's performance and Jessica Jones's severe character defect. In "AKA WWJD?" Jessica Jones saw the potential to harness Kilgrave and his power for the side of good; in "AKA Sin Bin" Jones tries to antagonize Kilgrave into being the villain she initially saw him as, completely neglecting the perspective she was opened to in the prior episode. And Tennant's performance as Kilgrave is heartbreaking to watch.

Kilgrave awakens in the hermitically-sealed room that Jessica set up and immediately begins getting tortured by Jessica Jones. Jessica Jones begins taunting Kilgrave with footage of the experiments that were performed upon him as a child. While recording Kilgrave, Jessica Jones tries to extract a confession through taunting Kilgrave and electrocuting him. Elsewhere, Simpson is mortally wounded and Trish drives him to Metro General Hospital as he cries out for Dr. Koslov. When Hogarth arrives, she advises Jones to release Kilgrave. Hogarth lets Jones know that Hope Shlottman is being offered a deal and Jones leaves Hogarth with Kilgrave while she gets a detective who can authenticate Kilgrave's statement.

Enlisting the aid of Detective Clemons and Trish, Jessica Jones returns to Kilgrave's cell where she tries to goad Kilgrave into using his powers on her so that she can exonerate Hope Shlottman. While Simpson gets healed back into a mysterious medical program to recover from almost being blown up, Trish returns to Jessica's side. Trish and Jones begin the search for Kilgrave's parents with the hope that they can antagonize Kilgrave into revealing his powers on camera.

"AKA Sin Bin" is packed with information, but is tainted by Jones acting more villainous than Kilgrave. Jones notices that the footage with the experiments done on Kilgrave when he was Kevin Thompson includes multiple other children who were experimented upon, potentially setting up future seasons of Jessica Jones.

The character of Jeri Hogarth is given more depth in "AKA Sin Bin" and actress Carrie-Anne Moss has the chance to illustrate just how cold and calculating she can make Hogarth. Hogarth squares off against Kilgrave and her moral ambiguity reaches a new low when she expresses a willingness to use Kilgrave's powers for her own means. Given that Hogarth's big conflict now is with her acrimonious divorce with Wendy, Hogarth's willingness to use Kilgrave seems particularly petty.

The Simpson subplot is interesting and gives rise to a secondary villain for the first season of Jessica Jones. Simpson, as it turns out, was once part of some form of super soldier program and in "AKA Sin Bin" he re-enters it. Simpson is motivated by guilt over his friends getting killed at the climax of the prior episode and his attempt to take power back in his own life is the mirror image of Kilgrave being robbed of his power until the end of the episode.

Ultimately, "AKA Sin Bin" is unpleasant to watch; there is nothing entertaining about watching one person torture another. The episode's climax goes a long way to saving the episode that otherwise meanders and includes some truly melodramatic scenes between Hogarth and Pam, but it is not enough. Sadly, it's almost like the writers and director John Dahl knew how far gone the episode was when Jessica Jones comments on how watching the footage even she feels sorry for Kilgrave, but she does not stop tormenting Kilgrave, so it's kind of a wash. In fact, as Trish and Jones hunt for Kilgrave's parents, Kilgrave very simply writes out "Help Me" in sauce on the glass of the tank and Jessica's response only adds to her cruelty.

The result is that "AKA Sin Bin" becomes the low point of the first season of Jessica Jones, despite the fact that David Tennant's performance is absolutely amazing.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Jessica Jones - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Thomas Kopache, please visit my reviews of:
No Country For Old Men
The West Wing
"Harbinger" - Star Trek: Enterprise
"Broken Bow" - Star Trek: Enterprise
"Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"Ties Of Blood And Water" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"The Thaw" - Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Generations
"Emergence" - Star Trek: The Next Generation
"The Next Phase" - Star Trek: The Next Generation
"The Parliament Of Dreams" - Babylon 5

4/10

For other film and television reviews, please check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Cliches Go Round In Rounders

The Good: Acting, Pacing
The Bad: Plot, Characters
The Basics: Great acting saves the otherwise droll characters in this predictably-plotted tale of underworld gambling.


[So, I was rereading my previous review of Rounders and I knew it wasn't the best review I ever wrote.  At the same time, I couldn't remember much about the movie to add to it and I remembered it just well-enough to recall that I didn't want to watch it again.  So, here's an early review from me!  Enjoy!]

Rounders is a drama about underground poker games. I felt like starting one of my reviews with the most direct possible ways. Sue me.

While the plot was overall predictable, the acting was good. The film opens with Michael (played by Matt Damon) playing a serious game of poker. Following that game, he gets a real job and goes clean. That is, rather predictably, until his old running buddy gets out of jail. His friend, Worm (played by Edward Norton) immediately gets into trouble in the gambling underworld and, unfortunately, Michael had vouched for him.

Thus, when the "bookie" (I'm not sure that's the right term for that type of criminal) goes after Worm, Michael and Worm are put in a position where they need to come up with $15,000. Quick. When Worm books, Michael is left holding the bag and his card playing skills are put to the ultimate test. So, Michael goes on a gambling spree to try to save his butt.

If you're a follower of my reviews, you've noticed I'm using more colloquialisms than I usually do. They're there for a reason. Rounders is full of gambling dialect and jargon. The thing is, much of it is explained, or in the context it becomes evident what everyone is talking about.

Michael does voiceovers throughout the film and that's part of the film's overall cliche. We know most of what happens by the opening of the film. As such, most of the characters are flat. Each of them is fairly one-dimensional. The exceptions are in the peripheral characters. Martin Landau and John Turturro appear too briefly in the film acting as Judge Abe and Joey. Both of the actors excel and both of their characters have sufficient depth. That is, they had more to them than that which was part of the main plot. They were characters.

Outside the two of them, the film is populated more successfully by actors than by characters. Matt Damon gives an excellent performance as Michael. Michael? He's one dimensional, but Damon plays him well. Gretchen Moll appears in the film in a role that is completely chiched. It's a stereotype fit in to the plot of "good guy tries to come clean from the Underworld and is lured in against all reasonable judgment." She fits the role of "loving support that serves as foil to the Underworld." Gretchen acts well; it's the role that stinks. John Malkovich plays Russian card player Teddy KGB whose actions open and close the film in relation to Damon's character. And Malkovich gives his usual superb performance. Unfortunately, the writers of the film assume less of the audience than they ought. What is supposed to be the surprise revelation in KGB's character is given away in the first scene. The acting, however, is superb.

The only time the acting failed was in a scene immediately following Mike and Worm getting beat up. While they exert themselves greatly in getting themselves off the ground, defining the wounds we can't see (i.e. a broken rib), they then have dialogue completely devoid of expressing the pain they ought to be in.

This was another average film that came down to a coin toss for me as to whether to recommend it or not. It's average. The acting is pretty wonderful, the film moves well, but the film is sorely lacking in character development outside the lines of a cliched rise, fall, and resurrect hero arc that dominates Hollywood plots.

For other dramas that have an element of tension to them, please check out my reviews of:
Shutter Island
The Game
The Social Network

5/10

For other movie reviews, check out my very organized listing on my index page!

© 2010, 2001 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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