In an effort to ease the tension between Ward and Joy, Danny and Colleen switch gears and host a dinner party. Mary delivers a warning.

The third episode of the second season of Iron Fist is interesting as it’s all about negotiations. There’s two major parts to the story but before we get to those….

Mary sees Danny and gives him photos informing someone’s watching him. All she’ll tell him is “Walker” when asked who. It’s interesting and shows off Mary isn’t as innocent as she seemed in the first two episodes. By the end of the episode we learn that Mary’s last name is Walker.

Got to keep the creep factor going….

The episode has Danny and Colleen overseeing a negotiation between two gangs hoping to broker peace. Something interrupts that and things aren’t looking good. Who’s this third party? Is it a rival gang? Is it someone else? It’s nice to see this plotline for the show as it lowers the stakes in a way or at least grounds the villain to something that’s easier to relate to than ninjas or some super powered being.

But, there’s another negotiation. Ward and Danny concoct a plan to invite Joy and Davos over for dinner and find out what they’re up to. This is a pretty interesting plan and part of the show as it really shows the hear of Danny. We know this isn’t going to go well. We know that Joy and Davos aren’t going to spill the beans. But, Danny is a person who’s all about the positive and hopes for the best. Here we see that on display as he attempts to move on in a positive way with both Joy and Davos.

We also get the motivation for both of these individuals. Colleen, who isn’t getting along with Joy or Davos. Joy admits she’s pissed about Danny and Ward hiding the truth about her father. Davos is pissed because he thinks he should be Iron Fist. We now both have their motivation. We just don’t know their plan.

The episode is good in that it really emphasizes Danny’s positive outlook. We might call him naive and one has to think that he’s harder to relate to because of that. We’re so used to the jaded Luke or Jessica and to some extent Matt, but Danny is the far end of positive compared to those three. That’s something we just don’t see much in the real world. It’s a trait that was present in the first season but it’s front and center here in the second season driving Danny and not seeming as much as someone who’s completely innocent leading to bad decisions.

The first two episodes were the set up, this is the one that gets things really rolling. It’s a great one in a study of the small details of what is said and how it’s said, especially Colleen and Joy’s back and forth. While the episode is still relatively slow in action, it’s one that’s needed to really show us who these characters are.

Overall Rating: 7.75