So. After the first season, I said I wanted nothing else to do with this show. Don't believe me, here's my post. That first season was awful. Then those antics carried into "The Defenders". When Danny Rand showed up in ONE episode of Luke Cage this year, I felt that maybe they got it right.
Then this show just kind of showed up out of nowhere. It's weird, but there was not the press that we have seen from all the other Netflix shows, so I thought it was weird that this just appeared.
I watched the entire season and I can safely say, I really liked this season. I can't believe those words are coming out of my mouth, especially after I wrote off anything related to this show. They fixed just about all the problems I had with the first season. I will take it a step further and say that there was a change in this season that I HOPE carries over into the other Netflix shows. For the first time, a Marvel Netflix series (excluding the Defenders) was ten episodes. With this season, I think that is the magic number. If Game of Thrones can tell a compelling story in ten eps, these shows could too. Thirteen eps has always been a bridge too far with each of these series. By trimming the fat, the show is more streamlined.
I have to admit, when I got to episode ten, after feeling so final, all I could think is, "Oh Lord. NOW what will they do for the next three episodes?" Thankfully, that was it. We have the magic formula now. Ten episodes. I hope they keep doing this now. Jessica Jones definitely needed it. So did Luke Cage.
Anyways, the action was so much better this time around. A new fight choreographer did wonders for the action on this show. Also, I felt like they really embraced the kung-fu-ness that this show was supposed to be in the first place. Now, Danny looks like a real martial artist. In addition, one of the main thrusts of the first season was a lot of corporate/business nonsense which this show smartly puts on the backburner. The last thing I want to see about a guy that knows a mythical brand of kung fu is watching debates about stock options and shareholders. Am I being reductive? Yes. However, if you watched the first season, you know what I mean.
Not only did they get the fighting right, but I feel like they fixed Danny Rand. No longer is he (as) whiny as he was in the first season or the Defenders. He does have a problem that after watching Luke Cage, Daredevil and Punisher I have become tired of. They all have this unwavering moral compass that they feel gives them this superiority. They hold on to it like there's nothing else and it honestly makes them very unlikeable. Rather than grow, they want to stay in their position. Now at least in Luke Cage, that lead to everything being flipped on it's head. Here, things are flipped in a different way. Even though this has been out for a few weeks, I don't want to spoil it, but the status quo gets shifted in a big way at the end.
Going back to Danny, we get to see his relationship with Colleen Wing and how that gets tested. Another gripe about these netflix shows now. All these characters are so damaged that they struggle in their relationships. I thought for a while, this one was going to break that trend. They seemed to work to stay together. Clearly I am alluding to something, so sorry. Spoiler?
It's not like I haven't made this statement before that I am about to make. I love Misty Knight. She's the best. She shows up to help anchor this show. It's amazing how she really makes an impact with her presence. They built on the Misty/Colleen relationship even more in this series and now my Daughters of the Dragon show is becoming more of a reality. Not only that, I feel like the actresses play off each other pretty well, so it at least feels believable. Misty is an interesting character in her own right and she can easily carry her own show.
Like with all the other series, this show inhabits it's own corner of New York. This time we remain in Chinatown and deal with Triads. Whereas the first season was lost and aimless, there is a clear focus here. We also get a compelling villain in Davos. Compelling in the way that a good villain should be. They have good intentions and think they are the heroes in their own story. Unfortunately, they come at it from the wrong angle. Since Davos has that past with Danny and is his equal, we get a believable good guy/bad buy dynamic here where you know they can go toe to toe.
If there was anything I didn't like, it was Ward and Joy being back. Ward is still a P.O.S. and Joy served as a good counterpoint to Davos for most of the season. She had clear beef with Danny stemming from the first season and I hate to see that halfway she changes. I would have liked her staying on that path. Also, I don't want to see redemption for Ward, but they try real hard for that here.
I have done everything to talk around the twist I didn't see coming and that is the interesting direction this show ends on. Like Luke Cage, it was unexpected and I completely dug it. We are left on a true cliffhanger as the status quo has clearly shifted, but they are not going to tell us what happened.
I can't believe I am saying it, but I am all on board for a third season and I really, really enjoyed this season. I was coming in expecting it to be a chore and all it took was the first episode to convince me this was a finely tuned product. I will tell anyone I can to watch this show and basically ignore that first season.
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