Netflix & Marvel’s Iron Fist Recap Episode 4; Eight Diagram Dragon Palm (Spoilers)

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We start with a nice quiet panning out shot from a sigil on a wall that gets violently interrupted by Danny landing on a metal overhang, muttering about getting himself somewhere before he falls the a rooftop below and windows up out cold. Cue opening credits.

Danny wakes up in the penthouse with Ward, who is of course entirely unapologetic for kicking Danny off the building. Harold comes out and tries to explain that it’s in Rand Industries’ best interests if Danny stay dead. But Danny is so overwhelmed he just hugs his uncle and is   happy when Harold says he’s home now.  Danny wants to know how Harold cheated death. Harold tells him how he was brought back from death by the Hand, presumably the same way they’re currently reviving Elektra. He explains the Hand offered him this reprieve from death but it put him in their debt. He wants Danny to help him get out from under his debt to the hand, playing on Danny’s sympathy. He wants Danny to embrace his destiny, but Danny can’t without getting his company back. Shockingly, Harold orders Ward to stop all litigation and accept Danny back without any hesitation whatsoever. Ward warns Danny to not be so trusting of Harold.

Daryl is showing the rest of Colleen’s class a video of her fight the other night and she’s unamused. She cops to being a hypocrite and calls it a one time mistake, but Darul posted it online hoping to encourage more people to sign up for her class. Colleen isn’t happy with that, but reluctantly deals with it and resumes teaching class.

Ward tells Joy about dropping all legal obstacles for Danny and as it turns out, Joy maybe isn’t so bad after all as Ward says he knows it was her who gave Jeri the bowl Danny made her as a kid with his fingerprint molded in that proved his identity. Danny arrives in an awkward suit and they hold a press conference announcing Danny’s return from the dead.Ward gives Danny a script to read from, and Danny is very nervous but he gives a passionate speech about his values and what matters to him. He also covers for Ward and Joy about the psych ward incident. Ward cuts off any further media inquiries. Joy brushes Danny off on discussing the Pier purchase, and Jeri introduces him to his father’s office.  Danny marvels that stickers he put on his dad’s desk are still there, and Jeri gives him the contracts to sign to make everything official

Danny sits in on a staff meeting. They’re discussing pricing strategies for a drug that cures a disease and Danny is mortfied  that they want to do a $50 markup on a $5 pill. He puts his foot down as the majority shareholder and insists they sell the cure at cost. The board are angry but Ward tells them to deal with it. Joy tells Danny her schedule is suddenly clear now.

Colleen is alone in the dojo, and cranks some hip hop while she practices on the striking dummy, clearly venting some anger about her situation. She’s so angry she breaks an arm off of the dummy, and slumps to the floor. Ward gets a congratulatory call from Harold while simultaneously scolding  him for the drug pricing snafu. Joy keeps Danny occupied so he can’t ruin anymore meetings. Ward wants to meet a reporter at his office. Joy explains she gave in and did the right thing with the bowl because he reminded her of all the people she’s lost and she doesn’t like who she’s become. Danny tells her he thinks Harold would’ve been proud of her.

Colleen shows up at the fights again. She tempts fate by demanding two on one and the promoter complies, locking her in the cage with two huge bruisers.She holds her own, and while it looks like they might win after they start working together, she has a lot of anger to work out, and beats them both to a bloody pulp, breaking one’s arm and beating the other unconscious.

Joy and Danny are going over the Pier deal. He tells her a story of a position in the monestary he was told his white outsider ass could never achieve, and how he never stopped to think about why he wanted it. He describes his life in the monestary in a 6×6 room with a dirty mat as a bed and the ridiculously difficult training. He gets a look of anger on his face as punching sounds are heard in the background, and Joy says it sounds like abuse. Joy goes to answer a knock at the door and scream. Danny finds a horde of goons trying to kidnap her and he wipes the floor with them. the alarm is triggered in his elevator when one of the goons shatters a handaxe on his iron fist. He overhears them talk in Mandarin and knows where they’re going.

Ward is telling the reporter how Danny screwed up the drug pricing hoping to mess with Danny. Colleen is on her dojo floor covered in blood and smiling, having made enough money to fix the dummy. Danny shows up with Joy and asks her if she knows wheeere the Golden Sands is, and Colleen points him to the Triads. The head of the Triads in New York is horrified that Danny handed all his men their asses. He tries to intimidate Danny into giving them back the pier property that Joy got, but as soon as Danny says the Hand forced his company to aquire it the Triad boss turns white as a sheet, apologizes for everything, asks Danny to extend apologies to joy, and gets the fuck out of dodge in terror, refusing to answer Danny’s questions about why the Hand want that property.

Harold is punching a workout bag when a mask is dropped at his feet. He sees ninjas and a mysaterious silouetted woman and knows the Hand wants to take him somewhere. Colleen is giving Joy punching lessons. Danny returns and tells them  the Triad will back off.  Danny pops Colleen’s dislocated finger back in and offers to pay her rent for 6 months. She thanks him and declines. Joy suggests they NOT tell Ward about the Triad goons, but she still wants the details. They leave Colleen’s.

Harold is unmasked and told that he has been a good servant getting them the pier. As a reward they let him see Joy through a window. He asks why she looks beat up, and asks for a favour. Cut to the Triad boss and his men at dinner as Hand ninjas show up. The goon who punched Joy offers himself and is killed as Harold watches. The next day Ward opens the newspaper to see Danny Rand being hailed as a corporate hero. Danny is doing Tai Chi when he gets a knock the door. No one is there when he answers but there is an ornate red chines bowl on the floor, which contains a note that tells him this is the answer he seeks, with a small slip of paper that has a stick figure dragon on it, that matches, minus the wings, of the dragon tattoo Danny turns to the camera and reveals to have on his chest. End of episode.

See you soon for episode 5!

Penny is a now divorced intersexed disabled lesbian in BC Canada. She's been watching wrestling and reading comics since she was a kid, and knows her stuff. She lives with her pets and passes her free time writing, drawing, doing paid photoshop work (including logos done for Pulse's Own Mike Gojira), and is a part-time Queer model.