TV Review: Marvel’s Iron Fist: Episode 5: Under Leaf Pluck Lotus (Netflix)

There are snakes in the grass that are carrying out strange activities within the company of Rand Enterprises.

Synthetic Heroin is being smuggled into the city and all traces back to Rand’s company. Who is responsible for these terrible deeds? What will Danny do to stop it? And can he truly do this alone?

This episode is just as strong as the third episode in terms of winding the gears and ramping up the plot narrative and pacing. With all of the blackmailing, and corruption happening inside and out of the company. Viewers get to see how it affects Joy and Ward, who are trying to remain professional, which is another great layer of character because we see that they aren’t what they portray themselves to be (in a good way). Most of all we see how this greatly affects Danny who is still trying to get a handle on things with the company while investigating into the mysterious forces that have been manipulating the events within this series. There is something at the docks, and what Danny finds will surprise him and the viewers. There is some nice chemistry between Jones and Jessica Henwick as Danny and Colleen Wing, especially in this episode. There are some interesting hints into how these characters interact and may foreshadow something down the road.   If you’ve been watching the other Marvel/Netflix shows of prior, then you’ll recognize a familiar face that makes their way into this series.  Nonetheless, this episode was a strong episode that really pulls the viewer back into the series, and unravels a lot of things that will be further fleshed out in the later episodes. This is a cornerstone episode much episode three. The pacing of this episode was great thanks to Christine Chambers writing, she really keeps things moving along and keeps all of the plot elements tight, making each scene further exploit what was brought up within the episode and answers questions effortlessly. Uta Briesewitz directing was good, although there is one shot in a fight scene that felt a bit off, it recovers with the rest of the scene making it enjoyable and improves on the elevator fight from the episode 4 which is great. This episode was a good episode and helps to further the plot with the right amount of pacing and chemistry to boot, making it a solid one.