'Iron Fist' recap: 'Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch' 

Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, Jessica Stroup

From the moment I saw Carrie-Anne Moss’ name in the opening credits, I knew that I would probably enjoy this episode more than I did the first two. I’m happy to report that I was right, but just barely. Moss, as power lawyer Jeri Hogarth, injects the episode with some energy that’s been missing so far; however, that can only carry things so far.

The arrival of Jeri Hogarth allows the show to tackle the issue of money. Is money the only thing that matters? If not, what could possibly be more important? Can you actually afford to not think about money? These questions are present in almost every plot in tonight’s episode. For Danny and Colleen, this means violating their beliefs and actually giving a damn about money for once, and for Ward and Joy, we find both of them forced to wonder if there’s more to life than just holding onto money. While these are inherently interesting avenues of exploration, they only barely begin to address the show’s blandness problem.

After escaping from the psychiatric hospital, Danny seeks refuge at Colleen’s dojo — without asking her permission, might I add. Colleen is excited about having a potentially crazy person who enjoys mansplaining kung fu to her staying at the dojo, but she has a kind enough heart and agrees to let him crash there if he follows a few rules. Naturally, Danny ignores said rules, because he’s Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist Goddammit!

For some reason, Danny hasn’t learned his lesson about dealing with the Meachums and approaches Joy once more, believing they had a breakthrough with the cheesy-as-hell M&Ms thing from the last episode. But he’s very much mistaken. Joy offers to give $100 million for his shares in the company if he agrees to change his name. “It’s not about the money. I thought you understood that!” says an insulted Danny. She responds, “I have to live in the real world, Danny. This is how it works.”

So, this latest disappointment sets Danny down a path that leads him to Jeri Hogarth’s doorstep. It turns out that The Lawyer Formerly Known As J-Money was a legal intern at Rand before the accident, and now she handles the Rand estate. After Danny proves he is who he says he is, she agrees to help him fight for his company but warns him that he’s actually going to have to care about the money because that’s the only language the Meachums speak. In his pre-air review of the first six episodes, EW’s Jeff Jensen said there were hints that

wanted “to be some subversive scold of capitalism or secularism” and you definitely get that sense here, except it comes off as a shallow, like when your friend discovers socialism for the first time in high school.

Speaking of the Meachums, this episode manages to find the most boring way possible to develop them as characters: a real estate deal. Following Harold’s instructions, Ward asks Joy to close a deal with Raj Patel for some pier that Rand is overpaying for. Instead of throwing more money at Patel, Joy decides to get personal and offer him something a bit more important: a liver that’s a perfect match for his ailing son. It’s her way of showing the kinds of favors available to someone who is in the Meachums’ good graces. Tonally, it’s a very jarring swerve in the episode that doesn’t gel with anything else.

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