Marvel’s Iron Fist has long-since established that it takes place in a comic-book alternate universe, but “Under Leaf Pluck Lotus” begins by ramping that up to almost campy levels. I refuse to believe that new high-end drugs are peddled by buxom pharmaceutical reps, and I am positive that this is not the best way for Iron Fist to introduce a possible drug epidemic.
Still, a drug epidemic starting in Rand’s newly-acquired pier isn’t a terrible plot development. Speaking of Rand, they remain cartoonishly evil, and it results in Joy, one of the show’s more well-rounded characters, being frustratingly inconsistent. In one scene, she stands behind her mustache-twirling brother as he refuses to settle with people whose children got cancer from a Rand chemical plant, and in the next she’s wondering if they’re bad people. Um, yes, Joy, you are categorically bad people. Danny, true to form, pledges to make things right when one of the mothers shows him a picture of her son, who now has leukemia. (This leads to the episode’s dumbest line; Danny looks at the picture, clearly taken on class picture day, and says “Class picture day.” Why even write that?)
Still, “Under Pluck Leaf Lotus” – God, that title – works, occasionally, because it focuses on developing Danny and Colleen, who are way cuter together than are Danny and Joy. Colleen is giving martial arts lessons to Claire Temple, who it’s always nice to see, but Iron Fist continues to show how Colleen is the world’s worst sensei – I can kick something repeatedly at home, so why the hell would I pay Colleen for it? Anyway, it all leads to a pretty sweet scene wherein Danny has expensive catering brought to Colleen’s dojo. This is the closest Iron Fist comes to feeling relaxed or confident, as it relies on the chemistry between Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick, which is getting pretty good. Colleen agrees to help Danny investigate the pier, which really should have been this episode’s A-story.
(Also, I appreciated that “Leaf Lotus” hung a lantern on Colleen’s refusal to let anyone pay her rent by having Danny admit that he bought her building, which is also a nice cocky billionaire move.)
There’s really no reason that the dealings of Rand Enterprises should be front-and-center here; imagine an episode of Daredevil that was mostly Matt and Foggy poring over documents, followed by ten minutes of fighting. But it seems like the chemical plant lawsuit is going to become a larger part of the series, which is great, because who cares about a cabal of ninjas?
In spite of all that, the pier investigation makes for a fun first date, and Jones and Henwick are charmingly awkward around each other. Inevitable though it may have been, Colleen gradually coming around on Danny has been one of Iron Fist‘s bright spots, and this is a good way to showcase it.
However, the show still has major pacing problems – this episode feels much longer than it is. At times, it feels like it’s floundering; sometimes it feels downright improvisatory. There are far too many scenes of Ward just puttering around his office (although I guess he just spends his time getting day drunk, which is good work if you can get it). It all leads to him finally trying the synthetic heroin that Danny gave him, and he ends the episode on his couch in an opiate stupor. If you’ve read my work before, you know one of my least favorite things in TV storytelling is a character’s sudden spiral into addiction (looking at you, Arrow and Orange Is the New Black), so I guess we have that to look forward to. There is a possibility, though, of Ward ending up in some kind of debt to Shao Lao the Undying, which would put him further at odds with Danny. Which wouldn’t be terrible, I suppose. But realistically, if Ward can’t perform his functions at work, Danny will have to cover the slack, so the show’s gradual transformation into fuckin’ Suits or something continues.
“Under Pluck Leaf Lotus” ends pretty strongly, however. Danny sneaks on to one of the trucks and has a cool fight scene in a live-in shipping container. The chemist who makes the drugs get stabbed, which is a pretty efficient way to tie Claire back into the story. But we don’t learn much more about the drug, or the Hand, or even the pier, which after being discussed for two straight episodes barely registers as a locale.
A Few Thoughts
- I hate Danny’s work outfit so much. No one can pull off sneakers with a suit, and the fact that he doesn’t wear a belt continues to infuriate me.
- Second funniest part of the episode: Ward finds out that Harold has his office bugged after a conversation with Joy, when he gets an all-cap text from Harold reading DO WHAT JOY SAYS.
- Colleen, no one says “pics” in real-life conversation.
- “You know before all this shit went down he’s in my office talking about a dragon?”
- Funniest part of the episode: while working on the chemist, Claire says she needs a hand, and Danny gives her his credit card, saying “Whatever it costs.”
- Claire warns Danny against taking on the Hand by himself, which tells us a few things. 1, the Hand were the ninjas in season two of Daredevil, which were coincidentally the most boring part of that season. 2, the Hand will likely be the big villain of The Defenders.
2.5/5
About Author
