GOOD
The show has a lot going for it. This is a team up of three critically acclaimed shows, and one less acclaimed but still okay. One fear people had actually was that "The Immortal Iron Fist" would bring down the joy of seeing all our characters together. Well, I'm here to tell you: IT WORKS. In three episodes, THEY MADE IRON FIST A GOOD CHARACTER. He has direction, motivation, he's less childish, he's fun, his character has an arc instead of whatever was going on with him on the rooftop in the last episode of his show with the dragon vision? What was that? Anyway, he's good in this, and his chemistry with Mike Coulter's Luke Cage is amazing.
In fact, EVERYONES chemistry is amazing! Jessica and Daredevil, Jessica and Luke, Luke and Danny, Danny and Jessica, Luke and Daredevil, everyone bounces off eachother great and it's as good, if not better than we've all spent years imagining.
Now, the villains. Sigourney Weaver's character is complex, nuanced, and despite her evil: Sympathetic. Her relationship with Elektra was great, and except for one misstep, I was satisfied. I will get into that misstep later, but first, Elektra is also compelling in this, first as a Frankenstein like weapon, and then as a character who has been told what to do and believe by everyone and wants to break free.
It was incredibly satisfiying to see the Hand plot line come to fruition, especially considering that it has actually bogged down several other shows due to leaving too many questions unanswered. I can tell you know, must questions are answered! Also, the Hand are a threatening presence in a way we haven't seen much before. They are actual characters with faces, and intriguing motives instead of canon fodder ninjas.
The shows strength is its characters. You connect to and feel for them, and when they fall you fall as well. They're immensely human and flawed characters, and that's what makes them heroes. This is what makes scenes like the final fight between Elektra and Matt so emotional. These are people we care about. We want them to survive, we want them to win.
Now, before we go further into the bad, I want to applaud this show for doing what iron fist didn't, and giving us a dragon!( it's a skeleton, but still)
THE BAD
This shows one misstep with Weaver's character I mentioned above is a bit complicated. Spoiler alert: she dies. But the thing is, with some character, a sudden surprise death works. (Spoilers) Stick for example, also dies. His death works. It's sudden, but it's s character you dislike(not because he's badly acted, but because he's amazingly acted as a jackass) and want to die. His death also impacts the characters. Meanwhile, Weaver is built up as fearing death. She is also shown as being served and feared by everyone. With this setup, a poignant and poetically ironic death seems like the best course of action. NOPE! Stabbed in the back 2 episodes before the finale! It didn't work with Cottonmouth, it doesn't work here! Surprise villain bait and switch deaths rarely ever work! Why do they keep happening?
Also, I said most Hand mysteries are solved, but... are we ever told what exactly a "Black Sky" is? NO! Do we get a definition? NO! It's never explained. We just know Elektra is one and that's all we get. It's not set up, because this is the finale, it's just the writers not knowing what to do.
The plot is also a bit formulaic, but once you add the extra accessories and the great character, you forget about all that. The fight scenes are also well done and well shot with a few wxceptions(cough first five minutes episode one cough)
In conclusion. It's a great show with a few flaws and you should watch it!
8.5/10 stars!