'Iron Fist' recap: 'Bar the Big Boss' 

Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, Jessica Stroup

recap. What a journey it’s been. The show itself almost seems halfway aware of this and does its best to come full circle for me – either that or this episode just coincidentally begins with an echo of episode 2. Except this time it’s Ward, not Danny, who’s waking up strapped down to a bed in a mental hospital. And though Ward has a litany of clear mental health problems (from drug addiction to anxiety to unresolved daddy issues), some of his visions are just as real as Danny’s were – especially the one of Bakuto coming into the hospital room to offer him a Faustian bargain.

Elsewhere, Bakuto is being discussed by Danny, Colleen, and Davos. Colleen vocalizes how Bakuto’s betrayal has shaken her faith in what she thought the Hand stood for, only for Davos to break in with the “don’t believe anything she says.” As much as this looks like Danny’s best friend beefing with his girlfriend for the Iron Fist’s attention, Davos actually raises some fair points here. He accurately points out that Danny told a member of the Hand about him, and the fact he didn’t know she was Hand means she lied, both of which seem like fair complaints. His conclusion (that they should blow up Bakuto’s compound with everyone inside) is a little less reasonable, though when Colleen tries to defend her former students he acknowledges that it must’ve been those students he was “breaking to pieces” during their escape from Bakuto. That earns him a punch from Colleen, but hey, at least someone on this show acknowledges that their supposedly deadly enemy is just a punch of deceived college students.

Danny breaks up their scuffle by saying they’re acting like “animals,” but it would be more accurate to say Colleen and Davos are behaving like children. That’s what everyone on this show does all the time, from Danny obsessing over his long-dead parents to Ward freaking out about unfair treatment from his dad. I know the Marvel/Netflix shows are all character-forming bildungsroman stories, but it would still be nice if the characters acted like adults from time to time and didn’t base all their actions around petty grievances.

who sometimes acts like a reasonable adult, but she’s a little busy at the moment. In Harold’s penthouse, she discusses the possibility of a future family vacation with her father, only to be interrupted by Ward. Bakuto isn’t far behind either; he’s here to fulfill his bargain with Ward: Bakuto will kill Harold once and for all in exchange for Ward giving Danny, and control of Rand, over to the Hand.

After punching out Ward (poor guy, it’s just so easy to humiliate him), Bakuto proceeds to literally FaceTime Danny with his demands: Get to the penthouse in 30 minutes or lose the only family he has left. Bakuto even draws his cool sword to show how serious he is about cutting Harold’s head off (the only true way to vanquish Hand zombies). Oh yeah, and he shoots Joy.

Even at the edge of final death, Harold is still an asshole. With his “last words,” he calls Ward a failure and says he should’ve chosen Joy as his successor. Just when it looks like Bakuto is going to kill Harold, Danny arrives to give himself up, and the Hand leave with him.

1 Anne Frank Center demands apology from Tim Allen for \'deeply offensive\' comments

2 Dave Chappelle explains why \'Key & Peele\' hurts his feelings

3 \'The Defenders\': 7 burning questions after \'Iron Fist\'

4 \'Rogue One\' alternate ending revealed: A lifesaving escape

5 Seth Meyers reveals Hillary Clinton\'s Arya Stark-like revenge list