Nah. My problem is that Ansari still tried to run game on her. If he wanted a groupie, then he should have kicked her out and cut his losses the second she proved herself to be a tease. But that probably doesn’t fit with his nice guy image of himself, so it’s not something in his repertoire. Instead he’s pouring…

I was kind of excited to see what they did with this Punisher. The DD2 set up is great with the head trauma angle. The PTSD, the family tragedy add other layers. Combine that with the government conspiracy and you have a good recipe for a lot of paranoia, mental illness, and genuine emotional trauma. Which of those…

That’s not the way Punisher has been characterized in DD2 or this first episode however. Hell, while he was working construction he was actively trying NOT to be The Punisher. He hasn’t made the leap from “out for revenge” to vigilante. As far as I’m concerned, he’s still in the middle of his origin story. Killing…

Soooooo, Devil in Cell Block D next? I mean, that would require a semi competent Iron Fist, but I’m down.

But being a billionaire means something to Danny, whether he knows it or not. So does having that glowing fist even if Danny has no clue how to be the true Iron Fist. But my overall point is that Kun Lun needed him and he wasn't there. Danny had something to go back to that meant more to him than the 15 years he spent…

"To call him a cultural tourist is to assert that he came to Kunlun with advantages over those people, with the ability to take from them without giving. "

Well Luke did pretty much render Danny's entire post IF season 1/pre Defenders journey useless. Instead of getting his ass whooped in Cambodia, he could have just asked Ward what was going on. So even if the privilege part is ham fisted, the scene still does Danny no favors.

That revenge arc isn't superficial. They still end up shoehorning it in. But in a stupid way because in this version, Danny doesn't know his parents were murdered until Gao tells him. Now instead of leaving Kun Lun for revenge, Danny left because… he's a dumb homesick kid that didn't know he even wanted revenge until…

It's a great climax for Colleen and the end of a multi episode arc, and it does some final place setting for the Meachums, which would have perfectly led into a season 2 (and still ends up doing so). But I don't think it does anything for Danny. as a character. So we get this tacked on 13th episode that presents…

Not exactly. And this next part is speculation based on some comic plot events:

I never got the chance to join in on the Iron Fist debate since I only recently watched the show but I gotta get this off my chest.

You can literally watch the first and last episode of Iron Fist and understand Danny's entire story.

There's a probable reason for it that would spoil her real identity. Assuming the show goes that route.

"I don't feel that the narrative required it yet."

Well, worst case scenario is that the blind guy, the black guy that's caught up in the criminal justice system, and the female rape survivor end up helping a billionaire work out his psychological hold ups and learn how the proles live.

That's fine, but no arc is presented. He ends the series as traumatized, messed up, and needy. So in the sense that this is an origin story… it isn't. Either these are his character flaws/struggles and he's the Iron Fist in spite of them (Daredevil), or they are obstacles to overcome on his way to being the Iron Fist…

You could get away with watching the first and last episode. You'd get Danny's entire arc, and the only things you'd miss are the twists and turns for the side characters (since only Ward and Colleen have real multi episode arcs).

Am I the only person who thought the finale made the show worse? All of Danny's character work is done in a conversation with Gao, a fight with Harold, and a conversation with Claire/Colleen. One episode contains the entire character's arc. Prior to that, there's nothing. And I was fine with Rand being a bland…

I've been half ass watching it (got it on in the background) and with my expectations suitably lowered, it's not that bad. You just have to treat it like some broadcast show that has no idea what it wants to be, and is still figuring itself out. Don't get me wrong, it's still solidly mediocre and takes effort to…

Oh wow