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[Mel O'Drama]

Jessica Jones

Season Two (2018)

AKA Start At The Beginning / AKA Freak Accident / AKA Sole Survivor / AKA God Help The Hobo / AKA The Octopus
​

As mentioned when I watched The Defenders, I really did miss Jessica’s smart mouth and attitude. It felt like it’s been too long and I’m more than ready for another solo series.

There’s a lot of welcome familiarity, from the Alias Investigations office to the supporting cast.

We’re seeing a more assertive Malcolm this time round and it’s good to see the growth in the character.

Trish still hasn’t landed with me. I still can’t get past the fact that she’s just not the Patsy Walker I know. At all. It helps to think of her as a completely different character (which she is), but every reminder of her name is a setback. However, Trish’s mother Dorothy is so delightfully unlikeable it does make Trish a more sympathetic character. Dorothy is such an awful pushy controlling narcissistic stage mother that Trish’s bitch-slap felt quite cathartic. I’ve only just realised - and I mean this very morning - that Dorothy is played by Rebecca “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” DeMornay. She’s quite unrecognisable, and it’s a terrific performance. I look forward to her irritating the hell out of me for the rest of the season.

As Hogarth, Carrie-Anne Moss gets better and better. Since the last Jessica season, Jeri has popped up for welcome appearances in Daredevil and The Defenders, as well as being one of my favourite things about Iron Fist. The ALS storyline that’s begun this time round has given her some winning moments. It feels very much as though it’s headed towards Jeri willingly undergoing experimentation in the hope of prolonging her life and I’m curious to see how far this can be taken.

Will Simpson was pretty wasted this time round. It seems wasteful to see him brought back briefly only to kill him off, but that’s what we got.

continued…​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Jessica Jones

AKA Start At The Beginning / AKA Freak Accident / AKA Sole Survivor / AKA God Help The Hobo / AKA The Octopus

continued…
​

One thing absent this season is a clear antagonist. While Season One had Kilgrave, Season Two has had been almost too many low-key threats and fake-outs from people who initially appear threatening but aren’t.

Falling into the latter category (along with Will Simpson) are numerous new characters. The new almost-antagonists include the Super who wanted to evict Jessica, who quickly evolved into a generic potential love interest. Meanwhile, Trish’s too good to be true generic love interest had smouldering dark looks and a curious accent (I initially thought it was Australian but it evolved into a kind of Mockney-with-Americanisms), both of which suggested “villain”, reinforced by his mysterious secretive phone calls. The latest state of play is that he’s just a controlling, showy alpha type who gathered all Trish’s contacts in one space to watch him propose in order to guarantee an affirmative response. There’s also the smug rival Private Investigator and the mean film director giving Trish the requisite melodramatic MeToo moment.

All these characters, and yet not one of them has proved engaging.

Over a third of the way through the season and the Big Bad is still not quite clear. There’s Karl Malus and the Fake Dr Hansen, but neither has set the screen alight, and one feels Fake Hansen is as much a victim as the other supers. Watch this space, I suppose.

The Whizzer was a little eyebrow raising. He seems to pay homage to the comics Whizzer in terms of the name, powers and penchant for yellow, and yet is incredibly far removed from the comics character (who was long before my time and whom I remember best for dying in the first Vision and the Scarlet Witch issue I read back in 1983). The slightly comical character here - right down to the daft effects used when he was running at speed - felt like another example of the MCU mocking the source material.

On the subject of source material, AKA Sole Survivor featured what by my recollection is the first overt reference to an MCU character when young Vido Arocho (the Super’s son who makes me smile whenever he calls Jessica “Superlady") proudly showed Jessica his Captain America figure, mentioning him by name. Up to this point, every reference to the mainstream MCU has been oblique, with euphemistic names such as Flag Waver in place of Captain America. I can’t help feeling this shift means something, and it’s probably good news.

After an almost complete lack of representation for gay men in the MCU to this point, the opening episodes of this season have gone to the other extreme with a plethora of them. All (apparently) unrelated. There’s the married couple obsessed with It’s Patsy who hire Trish to appear at their child’s birthday party. Jessica’s snarky landlord, awaiting the arrival of his mail order boyfriend from Cambodia. And there’s possibly Pryce Cheng and his “client”. Again, I can’t help feeling this is going to link up somehow. But perhaps I’m reading too much into it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Jessica Jones

AKA FaceTime / AKA I Want Your Cray Cray / AKA Ain’t We Got Fun / AKA Shark In The Bathtub, Monster In The Bed / AKA Pork Chop / AKA Three Lives And Counting / AKA Pray For My Patsy / AKA Playland​

I’ve been either too busy or too lazy to write as I watch, meaning these last eight episodes of Season Two have all blended into one, becoming almost indistinguishable. However, taking the season as a whole, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

The twist of Alisa being Jessica’s mother sounds terrible on paper but worked very well and had a substance to it which has given Krysten Ritter some great scenes as Jessica. Janet McTeer was great and I enjoyed her playing Alisa as tormented which added layers of grey to what had initially looked like a black and white situation and it hasn’t hurt that in the long dark wig she reminds me of Joan Van Ark when Valene returned from the dead in the final Knots Landing episode. From the shifting relationship with Karl Malus to her torture at the hands of evil prison guard Dale Holiday to the sweet bonding with Dale’s replacement Marilyn Toussaint (whose death at Alisa’s hands was one of the sadder moments).

Jeri, too, has been terrific this season. The ALS, Inez’s betrayal and Jeri fighting her associates have given Carrie-Anne Moss some wonderful moments. It’s been fun to watch the depths to which Jeri will go to get justice and payback. Her buying the gun from Turk was a nice touch, and I did actually believe she would use it herself but, of course, she was a step ahead and manipulated Inez herself into shooting the boyfriend who had pretended to be a healer (I assumed it’s intended to land Inez in prison for life, but it’s also occurred to me that she might plan to blackmail Inez, getting her off the charges on condition she returns to Jeri).

Malcolm’s more assertive persona at the beginning of the season has continued, reaching its natural evolution with him breaking out on his own and working his way into Jeri’s new firm. It’s been watchable enough.

Malcolm and Trish has been less watchable for me. Their pairing - while decently written - just didn’t work. And I know that’s the idea, but still, the inevitability of the dysfunction imploding made it difficult to invest in. Trish in general has been a chore this season. I’m just not a fan of the character or her portrayal. She’s been deliberately unlikeable due to the addiction and obsessions, but since she didn’t click with me before that it’s been difficult to dig deep and find any kind of empathy or even interest. I couldn’t even understand why she killed Alisa. Is she meant to have lost her mind entirely now? Because it made no sense at all. Of course it did inject immediate conflict between she and Jessica, but it made very little narrative sense for Trish to strike at that moment. Ah well.

Kilgrave’s brief return was a nice touch and enough David Tennant for this viewer.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Luke Cage

Season Two (2018)

Soul Brother #1 / Straighten It Out / Wig Out​

So far, there have been no big surprises. Nothing one wouldn’t expect having seen the first season. We’ve stepped back in with a similar tone to Season One, and that’s fine. Mostly.

It’s pleasing when the title character is one of the more interesting ones, as it’s not always the case (is it, Danny Rand?). Despite starting on a different footing since he’s no longer a fugitive, Luke’s having a time of it what with his beefed-up powers (in a nice touch, a side effect of his dip in the “bath” in Season One) and anger management issues (another side effect, I suspect).

In terms of supporting characters, Misty’s story so far this season has been a gem. Not only dealing with adapting to being an amputee, but also with others’ preconceptions and expectations. Her return to work when she was expected to take early retirement with a decent pension spoke volumes, and the scene in which she called the room to attention, inviting them to gawp at her partial arm was terrific. I was reminded of the Cagney & Lacey scene where Mary Beth announced to her assembled police colleagues that she had cancer, and the motivation was the same here as there: to stop dancing round the elephant in the room and get back down to doing their jobs.

Colleen Wing’s appearance was a nice touch and felt natural given her relationships with Misty and Claire. The scene in which Colleen watched as Misty got into a bar fight to help prove that Misty still had it was great, and I appreciated the Daughters Of The Dragon pairing.

The storyline with Luke’s father shows some promise.

I’m finding the antagonists less enthralling. Shades was always going to be the weak link, of cours, and it's business as usual there with the actor still delivering all his lines in a whispery tone of voice (I’m now convinced he’s attempting to imitate Vincent D’Onofrio’s Fisk), accompanied by tedious random pauses and the usual half smiling expression on his face. I don’t really get what John McIver’s deal is, but I’m trusting that it’s going somewhere. Mariah’s scheming isn’t wowing me but I have thoroughly enjoyed the scenes between her and her daughter Tilda. And I love the Mother’s Touch set with the atmospheric aged apothecary stuff all about.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Luke Cage

I Get Physical / All Souled Out / The Basement / On And On / If It Ain’t Rough It Ain’t Right
​

There have been some pleasant surprises this time round. For one thing, Claire hasn’t appeared in any of these five episodes. A very good thing in my eyes, since I was a bit Claired-out with her constantly popping up every time there’s a super crisis. Links to the wider Netflix Marvel universe have been kept alive by series regulars such as Luke and Misty, but also with a welcome guest appearance from Foggy, ironically suggesting that Luke should wear a mask.

Another welcome returnee was Scarfe, whose return was made possible by including the character in a flashback. It’s really well done and enhances this universe.

Shades may still be the weak link, but even he’s proving tolerable (fortunately, since he’s being given more and more screen time). He’s now killed his childhood friend and (if I’m reading the incredibly oblique dialogue correctly) prison boyfriend, but Misty’s on his trail, CSI-ing furiously. Misty now has a bionic arm courtesy of Danny Rand (because Tony Stark was unavailable). Danny was mercifully offscreen, but this seems set to change since he was about to be contacted at the end of the latest episode.

The soundtrack is also proving tolerable, though the frequent montages and music spots do make some of the episodes interminably long, padding out thirty five minutes of story into over sixty minutes of screen time.

Bushmaster isn’t the most thrilling of antagonists and I’m struggling to understand a lot of the dialogue.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Luke Cage

For Pete’s Sake​

Season Two so far has felt serviceable. Solidly so, but serviceable all the same. There’s a lot it’s got right, but for me it’s also lacked the heart and punch of Luke’s first season. And I’d made peace with that.

But then along comes For Pete’s Sake, delivering not only a top tier Luke Cage episode, but also arguably one of the finest hours from any of the Netflix series.

It’s an atypical episode in many ways, while at the same time taking us to the centre of what this series does best. It’s entirely character-driven, and feels almost like a bottle episode in that much of the episode takes place in one location - the Rand Enterprises Research Facility - over the course of one night with characters hiding out and forced to face one another and themselves.

With this episode, all the threads that have been woven throughout Season Two (and, in some cases, earlier) come together. Characters who have avoided or had conflict with one another are now in the position of having deep and meaningfuls with them in the still darkness. There’s a wartime kind of atmosphere, with this building the bunker in which the characters are forced to take shelter. It’s play-like, with a series of quiet, one-to-one conversations, rich in dialogue.

Writers Matt Owens and Ian Stokes choose their players wisely. Everyone involved in the two hander is a great performer. Shades is sidelined, so there’s no danger of the intimate conversations being brought down by sub-par performances. There’s no glimmer of Claire who - as previously mentioned - has been overused in the Marvel Television franchise. Misty comes in every once in a while, and we cut away to follow her negotiating immunity for Mariah, even though she hates it, and that livens things up a little. But most of the episode focusses on four characters, all of whom need to deal with their ghosts.

The episode is directed by Clark Johnson whose only other Netflix Marvel episode was the Luke Cage Season One finale. This is a different episode, stylistically, and Johnson makes great use of the darkened sets, creating an intimate atmosphere that dances between cosy and threatening. It’s the final work both writers and director did for Marvel, and all three go out in style.

continued…​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Luke Cage

For Pete’s Sake

continued​

Something this episode does so cleverly is a kind of rotation. Of the characters assembled - Luke, his father James Lucas, Mariah, Mariah’s daughter Tilda - we see every possible combination of two-handers, and so in addition to the detente between Luke and James or the friction between Luke and Mariah, there are also unexpectedly sweet moments between James and Tilda, Tilda and Luke, and even Mariah making sexual overtures towards James.

The episode’s showstopper, however, is a terrific scene between Mariah and Tilda which starts off as a quiet conversation, much like the ones already seen in the episode, but develops into an almost horrifying verbose monologue from Mariah in which she not only admits that she killed Cornell, but goes into the reasons behind it, revealing in great detail that Tilda is the product of incestuous rape. Compounding Tilda’s shocked horror Mariah delivers the coup de grâce: she never wanted Tilda, but Mama Mabel wouldn’t allow her to get the abortion she wanted. And every time she looks at Tilda, Mariah tells her daughter, she sees the face of her rapist, Uncle Pete.

It’s an absolutely electric scene, with a winning performance from Alfre Woodard. Kudos to Gabrielle Dennis as well, who has minimal dialogue once Mariah gets going, but who does a wonderful job of registering Tilda’s shock and pain, even getting into some messy snot acting as the scene ends. “You’re a monster”, Tilda tells Mariah more than once, but what makes this scene so powerful is that Mariah is not just at her coldest and most brutal, but also at her most vulnerable and honest. We can see and understand both of their points of view. And that’s what makes it so tragic.

It’s interesting that Tilda also featured in perhaps my second favourite pairing of the episode in her earlier scene with James Lucas who gives her a warm pep talk when he realises she’s shaking with fear. Reg E. Cathey is wonderful in this episode. Because we’ve been seeing his character through Luke’s eyes, it’s taken a long while for him to click with me, just as it has for Luke to warm to him. I appreciate that the performance has allowed this to be a satisfying and substantial journey.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Luke Cage

The Main Ingredient / The Creator / Can’t Front On Me
​

Compared with the previous episode, the first two of these episodes feel more workaday. They have their moments, but feel as though they undo - or at least move away from - the great work done in For Pete’s Sake.

There’s a Luke Cage/Danny Rand team-up of sorts, and D.W. - who’s moved from selling bootleg DVDs of The Incident to pushing Luke Cage/Power Man apparel from Pop’s Barber Shop - actually uses the phrase “Power Man and Iron Fist” when thinking of marketing for the two, which is exciting for this viewer who always associates the two. There’s a fight or two, and Danny is tolerable enough, but he’s never going to be a big draw. Incidentally, I thought Finn Jones’s American accent sounded a little more fake here than in previous appearances, with more emphasis than needed on the rhotic R sounds (which is a British cliche whenever I’ve heard someone attempt a North American accent, even though many US accents - particularly on the East Coast - aren’t defined by this). Certainly he’s got noticeably more rhoticity than Mike Colter. Once noticed, it became a bit distracting. But all things considered, perhaps the distraction is welcome.

Meanwhile, Mariah seems determined to live up to Tilda’s “monster” description by exacting violent revenge on friends and acquaintances of Bushmaster. While it’s kind of fascinating to see Mariah sabotage herself and push everyone away by going completely OTT, I feel one of the Netflix Series’ weaknesses is the “horror sequel” mistake of attempting to deliver a big shock or to horrify the audience. Some of these series’ more salacious and violent moments in particular have noticeably felt more about trying to be edgy than they have good storytelling. The scene in which she burns Anansi alive is a key example of this. Good storytelling, for me, is about tell, don’t show, and this scene reinforces why. Apart from being something I absolutely don’t care to see (though the powers that be evidently think we do, since it’s been shown in flashback in both the following episodes), there’s the small matter of not being able to do so effectively. The CG used for this scene looked particularly cheap. Distractingly so. And the charred body would have been more shocking had it been used more sparingly instead of plonked right out in the open. This series has much to be proud of, but this turn of events isn’t it, and actually ended up feeling cheap and a little cartoony.

Speaking of cartoony, Shades was back in the latest couple of episodes with more screen-time than ever. The story is interesting enough, but the performance continues to grate. Because of the hammy performance and irritating staccato delivery with its emphasis and pauses in all the wrong places, Shades comes across as slightly dimwitted, which makes me feel very sceptical that he has the intelligence to pull off these coups and comebacks. I see him as an opportunist chancer who’ll sleep with anyone, kill anyone or push anyone under the bus if there’s something in it for him, but a crime master he isn’t. For me, the character had served his purpose by midway through Season One and I’d have been a happy camper had he been killed in the lift during the botched attempt on his life. I don’t feel he’s added anything to the series. At all.

After almost a whole season of finding Bushmaster less-than-scintillating, my stomach sank when I realised we were about to get an “origin” episode, with flashbacks to his beginnings in Kingston. Turns out they were very watchable and I enjoyed the way they tied the backgrounds of Bushmaster’s family and the Stokes family, creating a connection that made Bushmaster himself feel more relatable. Along the way, it also became clear that part of the reason Bushmaster hasn’t rung true with me is because of perception. In much the same way that it’s taken a long time to learn who James Lucas is, so it’s finally dawned on me that Bushmaster - while an antagonist for Luke - isn’t a villain. It’s a lot more complex and grey that this. Now that I understand where he’s coming from, I get it. It’s another example of the nuance this series excels at when it’s working well.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Luke Cage

They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)​

In most ways, this episode felt like a bonus. With Mariah arrested in the previous episode, it felt as though the story had been told and this would tie up loose ends. But there were some more twists to come.

The attack on Mariah in Ryker’s Island felt like what had been seen before: a nasty death in a women’s prison had featured in Runaways, while Daredevil had also featured similar threats and an uprising. This one had a series of twists to keep it interesting: first the guard is stabbed to death; then those killers come after Mariah; the would-be assassins’ throats are slashed by yet more attackers whose leader is known to Mariah and who makes it clear that Mariah will need to be subservient to her; Mariah agrees but ends up slashing the throat of the leader to take top dog position herself. I really liked the detail afterwards that Mariah was trembling and clearly both shocked and relieved as she used one of their phones to contact her lawyer.

It seems fitting that Mariah should end up killed by a kiss from her daughter (with poisoned lippy - how camp). And she died in Luke’s arms.

I’m really not sure about the ending, with Luke effectively becoming a Stokes, running Harlem’s Paradise and isolated. It’s perhaps even more bitter than the first season ending which had Luke going to prison. But at least then we knew who he was. This just feels a bit wrong.

The tribute to Reg E. Cathey at the end of the final episode was quite moving. Especially since I hadn’t known he’d died.

Overall, Luke Cage has been a decent series. There’s plenty I won’t miss - the horrible music that frequently drowns out the dialogue, and the guest music artists each trying desperately to be more street than the last. And Shades. But there’s a lot of good as well: Luke, Misty, Pops, Mariah, Tilda, James… And delivering an episode like For Pete’s Sake so late in the game reminded me of how great the series can be. It’s the right time to leave, but I hope we get to see some of these characters in the remaining Netflix seasons. And perhaps, in time, even in the mainstream MCU.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Iron Fist

Season Two (2018)

The Fury Of Iron Fist / The City’s Not For Burning​

At this point, I’m afraid it feels very much that I’m watching this series out of duty, the completist in me needing to watch the Marvel Television series in release order without skipping any. In fairness, I came into Luke Cage’s second season feeling the same way and I found enough reasons to enjoy it as the season opened up. I’m hopeful that may happen here, but these first episodes have done little to assuage my doubts.

Iron Fist Season Two feels like more of the same, but with the best parts of Season One excised. There’s no Madame Gao. No Jeri Hogarth. No Harold Meachum. The mysteries of Season One are also behind us, so while remaining Meachums, particularly Harold, are the most interesting characters, they’re not as psychologically fascinating as they were before.

Joy is now in cahoots with one of Season One’s dullest sub-plots, Davos who remains dull. His complex relationship with Danny is dull. The flashbacks to K’un Lun are dull (the only bright spot seeing Danny wearing something very close to the comics version of the Iron Fist mask). His chemistry with Joy is non-existent. And what’s happened to his accent? He still has the Manchester accent, but now sounds like he’s trying (without much success) to zhuzh it up into villainous RP. It sounds odd, not just because it’s clearly someone trying to sound grander than their natural speaking voice, but also because I’m fairly sure it’s different from the way he spoke in Season One.

Speaking of accents, since I noticed Finn Jones’s tendency to over-rhotacise (in his Luke Cage appearance) I can’t stop hearing it.

There’s a new mystery in town in the form of Mary Walker: Amnesiac Stalker. I have no idea what’s going on there. There’s some kind of recurring memory loss going on, with her finding post-its with warnings written on (presumably written by herself) around her apartment. But everything about her screams Bunny Boiler. All her scenes have that Nineties Basic Female Hand That Rocks The Fatal Single White Cradle vibe to them. And she was so blatantly disingenuous in her initial meeting with Danny, pretending to be adorably cluelessly lost (complete with the Agnetha-On-The-Bench inward facing leg pose), that I suspect even Prince Harry might have had red flags about her true motives. Not Danny Rand, though. It's not all bad news, however. A shot of Mary through the window of the Coffee A Go-Go in her cute knitted hat, gave off a late-Sixties/early-Seventies vibe (think Mary Tyler Moore; Mary Jane Watson; Peyton Place’s Rita Jacks) that I haven’t been able to shake. It’s helping.

Anyhow, I’ll struggle on. It’s a ten episode season so I’m hoping to get this one over with reasonably quickly.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Iron Fist

This Deadly Secret / Target: Iron Fist / Heart Of The Dragon / The Dragon Dies At Dawn / Morning Of The Mindstorm / Citadel On The Edge Of Violence / War Without End​

Imagine my delight, after averaging two-and-a-bit episodes per night, on thinking I was going to wrap up the series last night. Then came the disappointment of realising that I’d watched one less episode than I thought. It only felt like I’d trudged through extra episode.

Rather than excited anticipation about the next episode, we have reached a situation where most evenings I find myself asking “Shall we plod on and get this series over with?”

The very visible flaws are still there. One of the most telling thoughts that occurred to me - and not even on reflection afterwards, but actually as I watched - was that some of the well-choreographed action sequences (especially those featuring Colleen) are actually highlights of this series. And the main reason for this is because they give respite from the less-than-sparkling dialogue.

In fact, though, it’s not all bad news with this season. I may not be excited, and it may frequently feel more like passing time than actively enjoying myself, but despite myself I have found myself drawn in to the storyline as we approach the end. The progression of the writing is working for me. There's a kind of focus there. It’s just that, more often than not, this series lacks something in the execution.

Some aspects are consistently good. It’s wonderful to see Misty Knight in the thick of things. Simone Missick's arrival gave the series an immediate and very welcome injection of energy. She's a great Misty (though Simone actually looks exactly how I always envisaged a real-life Monica Rambeau to look when reading comics). Yes - it feels a little like Misty has taken over Claire Temple’s role of butting in anywhere there’s some super-action going on, but with Misty and her police role it feels far more appropriate and far less contrived. All of her scenes crackle and I love her attitude and earthy wisdom. The relationship with Colleen in particular continues to be enjoyable, and Colleen herself is pretty watchable. In any of her scenes, I’ve never quite been able to forget how different she is from the Colleen of the comics, but this different interpretation does still work.

Mary Walker has been more watchable than expected. With the (admittedly broadly telegraphed) revelation of her dissociative personality disorder has come some substance and while I dare say the show’s treatment of this condition is somewhat frivolous and even inaccurate, two connected scenes in particular have hugely impressed me. In Morning Of The Mindstorm, “Mary” recorded a heartfelt video message for her alter, “Walker” before finally allowing Walker to take control. It was a terrific scene for Alice Eve, and the most literal soliloquy I’ve seen since she is literally speaking to herself. This was built upon in the following episode when Walker watched the message. During both these scenes, I forgot that this was one actress and one character. It genuinely felt like two different characters. Very impressive.

continued​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Iron Fist

This Deadly Secret / Target: Iron Fist / Heart Of The Dragon / The Dragon Dies At Dawn / Morning Of The Mindstorm / Citadel On The Edge Of Violence / War Without End

continued
​

There's been a second “real life issue” thing with Ward’s addiction. He’s been attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings this season. As with Mary’s DPD, I’m sure there are liberties taken that are somewhat inaccurate. Like Ward’s sponsor being a predatory, manipulative woman who evidently preyed upon a vulnerable and wealthy man, grooming him into sleeping with her and quickly becoming pregnant by him. I have grave doubts that this (largely) accurately reflects how these groups work. All the same it is refreshing to see this kind of situation shown with a manipulative woman in a position of power (she’s both his sponsor and the chair of the meetings, controlling what’s said and turning the spotlight on whomever she pleases). The Hollywood stereotype is for the man to be the predator and the woman the victim, which gets tiring, so I give the series points for that. Also, Ward's continued to be extremely unlikeable, while still getting the viewer's empathy, which is great. The scene in the bar where he drunkenly decided to fight the big hunky bearded barman who tried to settle things peaceably before landing a few power packed punches on Ward reminded me very much of the kind of situation Gary Ewing would have found himself in.

Joy’s been harder to get a handle on this season, stuck as she’s been in a storyline with dull Davos. As the season nears its end she’s heading towards redemption and I’m getting her again. She was one of the better parts of Season One for me, so I’m glad she’s back to wrap things up, even though she’s now been seriously injured having been pushed from a great height by Davos. Joy’s betrayal of Davos and her collusion with BB to steal back the bowl had an exciting undercurrent (it could have been absolutely thrilling, but didn’t quite get there). I was sorry to see BB get killed off since he was so likeable. He felt like the kind of Jimmy Olson-ish supporting player who’d make it to the end, which is what made his demise so effective.

It’s notable that in talking about all these episodes’ plots, I haven’t once mentioned the leading character, and have only mentioned the primary antagonist in passing. And that’s Iron Fist’s biggest failing. The primary hero and villain are extremely uninteresting. Neither commands the screen. Quite the opposite. Their laboured performances drag the series down.

It’s definitely largely down to the actors (Finn Jones’s overdone accent and embarrassingly bad “injured acting” hobbling certainly haven’t helped, and he’s had a couple of gravely earnest monologues during which I’ve found myself tuning out and thinking of something more interesting). But I don’t know if part of the blame also lies with writing for these characters (Davos actually used the word “merely”, like a a 1960s comic villain. With his Manchester accent it sounded nothing short of ridiculous). Or perhaps it’s just the characters themselves that don’t work.

Whatever the case, Season Two has had its moments, but it really does feel as though it’s diluted a lot of Season One’s goodness in an attempt to make it go further. Despite its shorter-than-usual episode count, and mercifully brisk episodes (each episode is averaging less than 50 minutes, which is how all these shows should be in my opinion), it still feels overlong. To my mind, they could have condensed the best of Season Two’s story into a two hour special and delivered a really decent Iron Fist. As it is, I’ll plod on and get this series over with.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Iron Fist

A Duel Of Iron

​

The last episode was pretty much what I’d have expected for an Iron Fist season finale. Frankly, it was over-long even at fifty minutes. Pretty much all threat was dealt with in the first half, leaving the rest for psychobabble and diatribes. Danny had several earnest monologues for which it was impossible to keep my listening ears on. He also had a verbose final one-to-one conversation with Davos which is a hot contender for the most boring MCU conversation ever.

The second half of the episode becomes even more pointless when much of it seems done to pave the way for a third season, or for the characters to wander into others, neither of which (to the best of my knowledge) ended up happening.

This means there was no real ending for characters like Mary Walker, though I did like the tantalising revelation (already foreshadowed through the season) that there was a third alter within her who had killed her way to escape in Sokovia. I thought references Mary’s time serving in Sokovia were a nice acknowledgement that this takes place in the same universe as the real MCU, though I’m not sure exactly where it fits into the timeline. Presumably Mary would have been there some time before Age Of Ultron.

While I’m not at all sad to leave Iron Fist (both series and character) behind, the Meachums have been decent enough to make it worthwhile. I’ve never stopped seeing them as the MCU’s Fallon and Adam Carrington which has helped. Neither was as well-serviced in the second season as the first (and at times they were wasted in this series) but they still had their moments. I may not have cared for the exploration between Ward and his predatory sponsor, but Tom Pelphrey had a winning monologue in the final episode as Ward tearfully shared at his NA meeting after learning he was to become a father.

The character I will miss most is Misty Knight whom I believe we’ve now seen the last of and who had become a great character in her own right. The arc in the latter part of Iron Fist felt like it was gearing up for a Daughters Of The Dragon spinoff, and while I’m fine with that never happening (Misty and Colleen are far better as supporting players in any media), it would be a waste for Misty to never be heard of again in the MCU.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Daredevil

Season Three (2018)

Resurrection / Please / No Good Deed

​

After the second seasons of Luke Cage and Iron Fist, I’d made peace with the fact that the best days of the Netflix Marvel saga were in the past. It was my hope that Daredevil’s third season would be a step up in quality. What I really wasn’t expecting was a season that, based on its opening episodes, is already the most instantly gripping, accessible, powerful and moving of any Marvel Television season.

Wisely, this season has gone back to basics with the relative simplicity of Matt versus Fisk while starting once again as The Man In Black.

Of course, there’s the added complication that Matt is “dead”. Even though we already knew he was alive, I was expecting others learning of his status to be a necessary evil that would slow things down to begin with before it got going. His escape via storm drain did little to change my mind, since it reminded me of Michael Myers at the beginning of Halloween 5. Not a good association.

The series immediately redeemed itself by making the response to Matt’s death not a plot but the driving force of the season so far. Grief and loss hangs thick in the air of this series like New York smog in 1966.

It’s purely about characters’ responses to the situation based on guilt, anger, hope, etc., and performances all round have been terrific.

What I most enjoyed about the opening episodes was just how character-driven they are. The few action scenes fit in organically, but there are LOTS of scenes that take place in stillness, with pages of wonderful dialogue and realistic interactions between characters. After losing the will to live with Iron Fist, I’d almost forgotten how great these series can be when they’re well-structured, well-cast and shot with beautiful cinematography.

We’ve had a peek at post-Defenders Foggy and Karen through appearances in other series, but this is the first time we’ve delved this deep, and the first time we’ve seen them interact and actually address the devil in the room. There’s a sweet scene where Foggy finds Karen at Matt’s apartment and realises she hasn’t been packing it up but has been paying Matt’s rent (as well as her own) in the hope he’ll return. She’s running out of resources, and Foggy agrees to go half with her on the condition it’s just for one month.

Best of all, the series’ deeply psychological approach extends to Matt coming to terms with his new status, the intermittent loss of his heightened senses as a result of his grievous injuries as well as once again attempting to reconcile his dual identities and work out how he fits into the picture.

This comes with a healthy dose of a crisis of faith. This is always good for drama, enhanced here by the iconography, since Matt is effectively living in a crypt (the basement of the church, having been moved from the orphanage in which he grew up), his only interactions being with Father Paul Lantom and Sister Maggie Grace. Both are great, but especially the latter. Who doesn’t love a smart talking nun? I made the mistake of clicking on Maggie Grace’s name on the MCU fandom website because the character’s name was familiar. I wanted to check this was her, and also to see if she’d appeared in the comics. But I immediately half stumbled upon a huge spoiler. Damn! I clicked out so quickly I’m only 80% sure I actually saw what I saw, so here’s hoping. Either way, I’m sure there’s more to the story.

I’m enjoying Ray Nadeem and curious about Benjamin Poindexter, though it’s still unclear to me how they properly fit into the story. I’m looking forward to finding out.

It’s been a long time since one of these series has felt so deliciously moreish that I immediately want to know what happens next. I experienced it a little with The Punisher. Before that it was probably Daredevil’s first season. If it continues the way it began, Daredevil Season Three has potential to outshine them all.

 

[darkshadows38]

season 1 of Iron Fist i really loved i haven't seen season 2 yet to be fair. i bought No Way Home on 4K last week i think i have now 3 or 4 left to get and than i will have them all on 4K at least when it comes to them being on 4K that is.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Daredevil

Blindsided / The Perfect Game
​

The first few episodes weren’t a fluke. This is a quality series. Hugely so.

One of the best things about this season has been its sense of subjectivity. Scenes in the first few episodes captured Matt’s disorientation and isolation incredibly well as he came out of his coma and things were hazy, combined with his loss of hearing and “vision”. We really got a sense of how he heard, saw and felt the world.

This has been built upon with some of the scenarios. Matt’s entrapment in Ryker’s Island, for example. I smiled when it ended in yet another series of corridor fights because I know it’s become something of a cliche for this series (though Daredevil did originate it, so if not here, where). But the sense of going down the rabbit hole in the scenes building up to this with the assassination attempt on Matt by inmates and guards both (first the people working for Fisk, then the Albanians). The feeling of dread was almost suffocating as Matt was taken deeper and deeper into the prison to be locked in a room with a medic, ostensibly there to make sure he’s OK but actually intent on killing him. It was so uncomfortable I found it almost a relief once it broke out into the more familiar chaos of fighting, though the disorientation and senseless violence of the rioting was its own kind of horrific. Even after Matt’s escape, things didn’t let up with him being driven into the water, trapped in the back of the locked taxi and we got a Matt’s-eye view of the water rising above eye level.

With this season there’s a sense that all bets really are off. How quickly Fisk has learnt of Matt’s living status and acted upon it. If Fisk knew Matt was Daredevil I’ve forgotten it. Matt’s fighting abilities seemed like news to him, and yet he didn’t seem all that surprised. But then responding impassively to almost any surprise is one of Fisk’s strengths (unless it relates to Vanessa, of course).

It’s a testament to the incredibly strong ensemble in this series and to the compelling storytelling that around two-thirds of The Perfect Game went by before it struck me that we hadn’t seen Matt at all in the episode. And this is with the previous episode ending on a cliffhanger that had his life in the balance. Foggy running for DA (I now keep seeing similarities between Foggy and Cliff Barnes); Karen’s quest to bring Fisk to justice; Matt becoming wanted by the FBI after Fisk told them Matt was working for him… there were so many compelling elements.

Poindexter’s psychiatric history being brought vividly to life onscreen as Fisk read through his medical records was wonderful. The execution reminded me of Misty Knight reliving a crime as she worked the scene. It’s theatrical and very effective. In the space of less than an episode, Poindexter became a living, breathing human being. I do love a good origin story, and I feel we’ve only just scratched the surface. Dex’s obsessive and compulsive behaviour and the stalking of his ex-colleague was great.

Karen’s desperation this season has been great, as has Deborah Ann Woll’s performance. The scene in which she pulled a gun on the thugs harassing young women was most effective because Karen’s character wasn’t lost. It didn’t come easily to her. It’s a similar story with own wild-eyed obsession in trying to bring down Fisk - going to someone’s home for a story because she couldn’t wait until their meeting the next day. And her response when confronted by the FBI, as she tried to hold it together and meet them in a level way while very clearly extremely shocked and anxious was just spot-on.

Likewise, Karen’s response when Foggy came to her with news about Matt was nothing short of wonderful. It’s an outlandish situation which Deborah Ann Woll makes entirely human, beautiful and convincing. Soaps and other drama series would do well to take a lesson from these scenes: this is how a back from the dead should be done!

season 1 of Iron Fist i really loved i haven't seen season 2 yet to be fair.

If you loved the first season there's a good chance you'll like the second, I think. While I enjoyed some aspects, there was a lot of the series that wasn't my cup of tea, but that's fine. It's different strokes for different folks.

i bought No Way Home on 4K last week

Enjoy. I've hit a bit of a wall with No Way Home. I'm opting not to continue with the films (or my subscription) until it appears on Disney+.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Daredevil

The Devil You Know / Aftermath​

Season Three of Daredevil has got me in touch with my inner MCU Peter Parker. I have nothing new to say, but I just want to keep checking in to say “Omigodthisissocoolican’tbelievehowgoodthisis”. And not without reason.

Unless there’s a profound change, Season Three of Daredevil is quite possibly the best Marvel Television season to date. It’s consistently watchable and downright thrilling. It’s incredibly well-structured. The storytelling not only comes with a sense of its own history, but with such confidence that embracing iconography from the source material - most notably Fisk finally adopting his “Kingpin” garb of the white suit with contrasting shirt, not to mention the hidden lair from which he rules Hell’s Kitchen, despite being constantly surveilled by the FBI.

Another comic book cliche - the villain masquerading as the hero in order to tarnish their reputation by committing wrongdoings - is given a great new twist here. Poindexter becoming “Daredevil” was wonderfully executed and took me by surprise. Considering how accurate all his throws were, is he on the way to becoming Bullseye? I have no idea, and the possibilities ahead fill me with excitement.

Dex’s arc has significant echoes of Lewis Wilson’s in The Punisher. Both ex-vets displaying symptoms associated with PTSD. Right down to the scene in which both come close to suicide-by-gunshot. There are also noticeable similarities with Mary Walker in Iron Fist. And indeed, Frank Castle in the previous Daredevil season. These series are incredibly good at nuanced details that fill the viewer with empathy for their antagonists. The lengths to which Fisk has gone to understand Dex are both impressive and disconcerting. He’s right inside Dex’s head, the better to manipulate and control him. But I still find myself thinking perhaps Fisk really does care in his own way. Perhaps he is being genuine. All of which goes to show the shades of grey here. Dex’s inner thoughts with its intrusive voices is another example of the subjectivity that is this season’s strength.

Karen’s confession to Foggy about killing Wesley has been a long time coming. It’s one of those secrets that after all this time I thought was buried. With all the Marvel Television series being connected, there have effectively been nine full seasons between the end of Daredevil’s first season and the beginning of its third. The truth coming out felt unexpected. Almost anti-climactic, but not in a bad way. I’m sure it’s going somewhere, and I can’t wait to find out where.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Daredevil

Upstairs/Downstairs / Revelations
​

One aspect of these series I haven’t mentioned too much has been the scores. But how could I not mention the terrific work John Paesano is doing with Daredevil. He’s surpassing himself with Season Three and is another of the many reasons this is such a great season. It has a great energy and wonderfully combines classical and contemporary sensibilities. At times it’s Herrmannesque with its horns or frenetic strings. Then it goes into something more poppy and it works perfectly. Even the title music sounds better than ever. I don’t think it’s been re-recorded (though I’m not sure), but the heartbeat sounds at the end are more prominent the way it’s now edited which makes it feel beefier and more complete.

Corruption within organisations who are there to serve and protect has been a key theme in the entire Netflix saga. If these series are to be believed, nobody - no matter how official, senior or powerful - is to be trusted. While Fisk’s hold on the F.B.I. is, on paper, a variation on this theme, the execution is so well-done that it doesn’t feel that way.

Following Nadeem as we have this season, I found myself seeing through his eyes and I was as surprised as he was when the boom was lowered and we realised how well-staged his setup had been. Nadeem’s superior, Hatley, showing her true colours was one of those moments that pulled the rug out from under the viewer, not only because it wasn’t telegraphed at all (not to me, at least), but also because of Jennifer Lynch’s direction which didn’t reveal what had happened until it was practically over, allowing us to experience it subjectively.

During the three-person meeting at Hatley’s home, which is being audio-recorded for the record, we see only Winn in frame as he is shot (by a fourth person from outside the triad, I assumed). Then we hear Hatley screaming for Nadeem to put down the gun he has just wordlessly handed over to her. Somewhere in the chaos we move past Nadeem to reveal Hatley holding the gun while wearing vinyl gloves, having just shot Winn but still screaming as though she’s witnessing Nadeem carry out a shooting. Then the penny drops that she’s corrupt and Nadeem is being framed. And with a damning recording - and the potential testimony of a powerful superior - as leverage, Nadeem, like Hatley and Poindexter, is in Fisk’s pocket and set up to betray Matt. It’s a tightly woven skein, to say the least.

continued…​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Daredevil

Upstairs/Downstairs / Revelations

continued
​

What separates Nadeem and Hatley from Poindexter is that Dex seems to thoroughly enjoy his corrupt work, carrying out shakedowns and beatings and threats with a smirk. Of course, even there we understand that he lacks empathy because of his mental health issues. But that knowledge doesn’t make it any easier to watch.

Following on from Fisk donning the classic John Romita white suit, the series now completes the picture by introducing his Marvel comics alter ego: Kingpin. It’s been so cleverly done. Had the character been introduced with the white suit, codename and lair with cameras from which he surveys almost every aspect of the characters’ lives back in Season One it would have been too much. Too cartoony, even. But because this Fisk is not only a living, breathing character, but one who is genuinely threatening and sinister, we accept it. Embrace it. Besides, we wouldn’t dare mock someone who’s done some of the things we’ve seen him do.

Not that this has stopped Karen, who visited him to taunt him with the whispered revelation that she killed James Wesley in order to… well, I’m not quite sure. Provoke him into attacking her on camera, yes. But I don’t know. It doesn’t seem that well thought through. I understand that Karen is obsessive and not thinking clearly, but her unilateral decision to do this without anyone knowing just seems out of character. Yes, she’s got her ballsy side and she’s taken risks in the name of justice. I just found this one a little hard to swallow. It felt more stupid than brave. Selfish, even. It wasn’t clever and even assuming Karen was on some kind of extreme suicide kick I couldn’t think of any outcome that would swing the balance favourably in Foggy or Matt’s direction. Both actors really sold the scene as much as they could, but I never completely bought it.

Another revelation, sadly, is the one that was spoilt for me when I clicked on Maggie’s name earlier in the season. However, I’m glad that Maggie being Matt’s mother has come to light this early in the season. It would have been terrible if this had been the final scene of the final episode and I knew it. Now I can continue to the end of the series knowing everything is going to be new to me. And I’ll be as careful as I can not to click or look at anything. I haven’t even looked into the Season Three soundtrack yet because I know those track lists can be very spoiler-ish.

 

[Crimson]

we have reached a situation where most evenings I find myself asking “Shall we plod on and get this series over with?”

Congrats on your persistence. I gave up on IRON FIST in season one; not only didn't I watch S2, I'm not sure I even knew it existed. As noted, I don't have strong specific memories of these Netflix shows, but broadly speaking our opinions have aligned. I liked DAREDEVIL and JESSICA JONES the most; thought THE DEFENDERS and THE PUNISHER were enjoyable; kinda-sorta liked LUKE CAGE, S1 much more than S2; and lost interest in IRON FIST almost immediately. I think these Netflix shows were cranked out too fast and some of them suffered from not being developed enough.

With some broad ponderings on the landscape of TV, it seems to me we've come full circle in quality. For most of its history, American TV has been a wasteland of rigid formula, driven by the necessity of filling network schedules with shows with the broadest appeal possible. About a decade or so ago most of those norms started to break down; TV was somewhat niche, adventurous and cinematic. And now, in the age of streaming, we're right back; the streaming services need to fill an insatiable demand for "content". If the biggest failing of shows in the old network age was staleness, now it seems to be shows feel half-baked. So many modern shows have interesting ideas and ambitions, but those usually feel unfulfilled.

Which is how IRON FIST seemed; there were interesting elements, but it didn't seem to be well developed or fleshed out.