Now, I should note that I know nothing of the character. He does martial arts and he's best friends with Luke Cage, becoming "Heroes for Hire". As such, I can't really tell you how close this is to the source material. It could be 100% accurate, or maybe they changed things; I really have no way of knowing.
From what we see, Danny Rand, the protagonist and figure who eventually becomes the titular Iron Fist, is something of a send up of Bruce Wayne or Oliver Queen. He's the son of a billionaire industrialist who disappeared and than came back several years later on a more noble quest.
Where the two aforementioned figures were met with media hoopla and open arms, Rand is met with hostility and suspicion. Early on, it seems like the people he interacts with have no idea who he even is. It makes for an interesting dynamic and paints Rand in a quirkier light. It's later explained that Danny allegedly died in a plane crash years ago, hence the skepticism. I actually kind of liked the idea that people were completely clueless as to who he was, though this is the more logical approach.
Finn Jones got a lot of flak for being cast, but honestly, I thought he did fine. He has an approachable charm to him that makes it very easy to like and connect with the guy. Also, he's good with dogs; that's always a plus. Sure, he's a bit of an oddball (it'll definitely be interesting to see how he interacts with the other defenders,) but the quirkiness makes him stand out and you sympathize when everybody seems to go out of their way to avoid talking to him.
His presence gives the show a much lighter tone than the shows that came before. It's more in line with what you'd see in a cinematic entry as opposed to the grittier street heroes we've seen in the MCU to date. Whether that's a good or a bad thing depends on your individual tastes. I found it fun, but mileage may vary.
Jones also deserves credit for pulling off the other aspects well. When Rand starts to get more intense, such as when he's holding a character hostage in a speeding car (it makes sense in context,) he does it in a believable fashion.
The other characters are OK, though they take a back seat to Danny for understandable reasons. Colleen Wing and Big Al are probably the two supporting characters that left the most lasting impressions. One for her cautious apprehension to Danny's introductions and the latter for just being a genial guy who takes an instant liking to Danny.
Sadly, the villains are beyond underwhelming. They're just Danny's father's coworker, who is now running the company, and his two kids (who Danny was close to in childhood.) After Diamondback, I'm not sure it was the best idea to have another antagonist with ties to the hero's childhood, though this could be from the source material. If that is the case, it's a tad harder to criticize. It does feel a bit repetitive in either case.
On top of that, they have no real motive or menace. They want to keep running the company and are not too keen on a stranger claiming to be their dead friend taking over. Even if we assume that they were somehow responsible for the plane crash and grabbed power through illegitimate means, it still pales in comparison to the villains we've seen before. Hopefully somebody from K'un L'un ends up being the true big bad because these guys are lackluster, to say the least.
I did find it odd how they came up with the idea that this person claiming to be Danny was part of some corporate sabotage to create inner conflict and undermine credibility in the company. I know this is a world with aliens and Hulks and LMD's, but that didn't fly with me. Despite the reputation, companies don't really do that. This isn't "Young and the Restless".
Surprisingly, there's little talk of Danny's origin. We get some brief flashes, but nothing too in depth. I know we'll be getting it over the course of the show, but with this being the first episode, you'd think that it would get more focus than it ultimately did.
A part of me can see why they structured the story this way, but I also wouldn't have minded just having the origin told in a linear fashion. Seeing things from the plane crash to Danny's time in K'un L'un probably would have been more engaging and had more momentum than this did.
For an opener, this episode had problems, but I don't think it's enough to write off the show just yet. It has a strong lead and it does a great job setting him up. The lighter tone also made for a fun watch. Alas, there are definitely kinks that need to be worked out. Hopefully the next episode can begin that process.
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