Much like he did in the second episode, Danny finds himself waking up in an unfamiliar institution. Credit where it's due, though, this compound is much more hospitable than the insane asylum. This compound is where Colleen grew up and where she was mentored by Bakuto. Not only do they offer Danny food and shelter, but Bakuto even shows Danny a way to recharge his chi. I thought time usually handled that, though I suppose this speeds up the process.
The episode really plays up the cult-like element of this particular institution. The way Bakuto carries himself is very much like your typical charismatic cult leader. His talk about finding lost souls and giving them a sense of purpose and family really seals the deal. Even Danny makes the comparison and, oddly, Bakuto doesn't really make any sort of counter-argument.
The modus operandi is actually very much akin to how the Foot clan were presented in the first "Ninja Turtles" movie. I suppose it's fitting, given who this organization actually is. You kind of figured it was the case, but Madame Gao revealing that this is a stronghold for the Hand still makes for a solid reveal. Of course, Wai Ching Ho's screen presence may have helped contribute to that.
She's only in one scene, but man, Gao just owns every minute of it. I know I've brought this up before, but she's such a great villain, I love it.
I'm not sure how to feel about Colleen's assertion that Gao is just a rogue agent leading a splinter group. An organization called "the hand" having multiple factions does make sense. On the other hand (pun not intended, honestly) it seems like the Hand has enough organizations working against it that fighting among itself seems like a waste of resources. Of course, this could just be the line of BS that they sell to the students so that they don't come off as nefarious, so it could be entirely moot.
At the very least, it seems like Bakuto is making some sort of play for power. He does imprison Gao and meets with Harold to say that he will be working with him in Gao's stead.
Of course, none of this matters to Danny. Colleen does try to plead with him to no avail. You'd think that this would mark some sort of heel turn, but even with Colleen's affiliation, you can tell that she is sincere. She genuinely believes that the organization is doing good. Considering the front that is put up and the way they took her in, you can understand why she'd give them the benefit of the doubt. The fact that she decides to help Danny and Davos (now revealed to be an old friend from K'un L'un) escape in the end shows that, no, the whole thing wasn't an elaborate set up to lure him in.
The episode does provide some great fight set pieces. Alas, they often fall into the trap of being dimly lit. The parts we see are good, and it never goes completely pitch black, but it would still be nice to have a fight in a fully illuminated area for a change.
Danny and Bakuto face off in a fairly even one on one fight. Considering how Bakuto has had to explain Danny's own abilities to him, I expected Danny to lose. He held his own fairly well, though, so good on him.
He and Davos are also able to fend off an army of Hand members both in another hallway fight and again outside the gates. Even when Danny discovers that he can't access his chi anymore, the two still manage to dominate the fight. I'd say it undercuts the menace of the organization, but this does seem to be an academy of sorts, so having them easily defeat a group of students makes it more justifiable.
Speaking of Danny not having his power anymore, it does raise some questions. Bakuto says that Danny's anger and confusion are blocking his chi, but he's gotten mad before and had no problem. Honestly, I figured that the form that Bakuto taught him to recharge was in actuality a chi blocker. I think that would have been the better way to go. It seems like a stronger rationale and it would have added a nice bit of underhanded tactics to Bakuto's resume. Also, remember when Danny said that getting hurt helped him find his focus? Yeah, that never came up either.
Either way, the episode ends with Davos trying to convince Danny to return to K'un L'un, both to get his mojo back and to once again take up his place as guardian of K'un L'un. While Davos does raise some fair points, he is oddly dismissive of the fact that the Hand are in New York. Danny's purpose is to fight the Hand, the Hand are here; thus his place is here, right? It's weird.
I have to admit, though, it'll be nice to finally see K'un L'un. We've only gotten glimpses, a bona fide visit will allow us to get a much better idea of where Danny came from.
Oh, right, stuff happened with the Meachums too. It does take up a good chunk of the episode, but it was mixed. There were some meaningful bits between the now reunited father and daughter, but there was also a lot that fell flat.
As far as overall plot development, Harold seems to have his own plans in dealing with the Hand, but he also helps secure his children's place at Rand by killing one of the board members.
To her credit, Joy suspects foul play, but when she asks if Harold had the man killed, he can honestly say no...because he did it himself. In most works, the semantic loophole abuse goes the other way around, so that was a clever little subversion.
Harold also seems to finally be stepping into the "villain" role. His short fuse was on display again with Joy, but he also seemed to enjoy taunting the board member before he put a bullet in the man's brain. Viewers finally got to see what they've been hoping to see since they saw David Wenham's name in the opening credits, as he does come off as quite menacing. It's just a shame that there are only a handful of episodes left to see it.
All in all, this episode was a mixed bag. There was some decent character development, the action was solid, and the plot does advance on many fronts. Still, it did feel like it dragged at points and some of the dialogue did get really clunky.
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