'Iron Fist' episode 9: 'The Mistress of All Agonies'

Where the last episode had Gao backing away in fear from an approaching Danny Rand, this episode shows that, despite being tied up, she is still a formidable force with which to contend.  It almost make you wonder if she was playing a part before in order to give them a false sense of confidence.  Considering how she's back to her old self (she doesn't even flinch when Danny bluffs and makes to punch her in the face, only to stop a few centimeters away,) one could certainly argue that that is the case.

Now, the "captive villain taunts the heroes and screws with their heads" plot hook may not be the most original, but it is well done here.  It is helped by the fact that Gao is really good at it.  This sort of thing is her bread and butter, so it should come as no surprise to see that watching her taunt and undermine the resolve of the heroes was quite a bit of fun to watch.

As to the development that Colleen was poisoned back in China, I'm ambivalent.  It does give that plot line a racing clock to increase the tension, but one can't help but question the timing.  Shouldn't the poison have kicked in before that?  They flew all the way from China back to New York.  That's not a short trip.  Also, shouldn't someone have noticed that she got hurt from a Hand weapon, which Claire pointed out was tipped with poison?

In any event, it does allow for Bakuto to make a return appearance.  This shines some light on his relationship with Colleen, the fact that she calls him "sensei" pretty succinctly explains that.  It also makes for some interesting developments near the end of the episode.

Danny apparently has healing powers.  I don't know if that's the case in the comics.  It might be, I honestly wouldn't know.  It's handy in any event.  As to Danny not knowing until Bakuto fist-splained it to him; it seems that, like Luke Skywalker before him, Danny abandoned his training early.

While the newly established white mage power saves Colleen, it also knocks Danny unconscious, allowing Bakuto and Colleen to make off with both Danny and Gao.  It makes for a great episode cliffhanger as it raises all sorts of questions about what is going on and what just happened.

Even the Meachums had some interesting plot developments on their end.  As I kind of predicted, Harold did make a return.  I figured that the Hand would perform the ritual a second time, but it turns out that the first one grants unlimited lives, barring certain circumstances like with Nobu's final death.
The result might not be what you'd expect.  Rather than express a desire for revenge or flesh, the newly revived Harold is kind of loopy.  It makes for some nice humorous moments, but again, not really the sort of turn you would expect in a show like this.  It also makes you wonder if Elektra came out with the same temperament.  It kind of undercuts the ending to Daredevil's second season if that is the case.

Even when Harold does take a darker and more serious turn, it comes off as silly.  Killing his assistant for wanting vanilla ice cream shows the unstable short tempered side, but it comes off more ridiculous than menacing.  It isn't helped by the fact that he bludgeoned the guy with an ice cream scooper.  His reaction afterward only makes the whole thing goofier, which is no easy feat.

To his credit, he does plant drugs in Ward's car as punishment when Ward tries to walk away from it all.  This ends up with the latter in the same hospital where Danny ended up back at the beginning of the series.  It was a nice call back and it was both ironic and karmic that Ward end up in a very similar situation to his old childhood friend.  At least Ward was savvy enough to keep his mouth shut, lest he make his own situation worse.

We also see Joy discover her father's still alive.  I can't help but think that her reaction was a bit underwhelming.  She does eventually break down in tears, but she was surprisingly unfazed by seeing her dead dad up and walking again.

At face value, the scene would be heartwarming as father and daughter are reunited.  As depicted, it's quite tender.  However, this episode establishes some more rules about how the Hand's resurrections work which give it an unsettling undertone.  Much like the strigoi, the revived people target the people they love first.  Repeated resurrections also cause more and more mental degradations, so there are downsides to getting killed again and again and again.

I'm not sure what to make of that silent stalker guy.  IGN and TvTropes say his name is Davos, but as someone unfamiliar with the comic, that means nothing to me. As it stands, we have a guy who says nothing, makes tin foil throwing stars for no reason, and lurks around.  'Breaking Bad' tried something similar with Tuco's cousins and it fell flat there too.  I guess the fact that we don't know what side he's on is supposed to add some mystery, but there are only a handful of episodes left.  It seems like it would be better to focus on your already established characters, but that's just me.

All in all, this episode had some flaws, but it was still a decent redemption from the last episode's misstep.  The plot moved along, characters were developed, and it seems like the stakes were raised.  Hopefully the momentum can continue as we reach the season's final four episodes.

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