Iron Fist season 2, episode 8 recap: ‘Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance’

The eighth episode of Iron Fist feels like filler until the big finale but it’s so captivating that it’s hard to care.

“Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance” is biding time until Danny faces off against Davos in the final battle. However, Iron Fist presents a great example of how to keep viewers interested even if the storyline isn’t moving forward. This is easily one of my favorite episodes of the season, in large part because the entire cast is at the top of their game for the entire hour.

Colleen training Danny is interspersed with Davos and his new army of teenagers. Both Davos and Colleen require discipline from their students but it’s clear BB and his friends are mainly acting out of fear. It falls in line with both sides, Davos has always believed fear, violence, and perfection are the way to command respect with the fist. Whereas Danny’s and Colleen’s compassion has made them heroes who the community trusts.

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The first test to see how his training is coming along is a distress call to the tip hotline. At the apartment, Davos is targeting is Mrs. Yang, her bodyguard, and their accountant. They manage to get the three to safety, and Danny is able to control his emotions despite his obvious desire to run back after his brother. It’s a step in the right direction, and it shows how he’s progressed past the staging of running in head first without a plan.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the Triad factions. The Tigers and Hatchets have finally gained peace through a united front against Davos. However, they plan to attack him, something both Colleen and Danny know won’t work. They’re tired of seeing their men picked off so they want to take action. Sadly, Mrs. Yang has only become more hardened over time as well and she refuses to hear Colleen and Danny out.

Meanwhile, Walker has a new mission keeping her occupied on Iron Fist. After watching the video Mary left her, she has flashbacks to her time in Sokovia. Previously in this season Iron Fist showed her bloodied and stuck in a cage. The military finds her free, surrounded by bodies, and covered in blood but claiming she didn’t kill those men. However, Mary thanks Walker for being able to get them out. This revelation sends her running to a psychologist hoping that he can explain why she’s missing time. Is there another alter?

When he doesn’t help, she waits at Joy’s apartment. The only problem is, Joy is currently sleuthing at Davos. She’s getting in deep and is barely able to trick him into maintaining his trust in her. At the same time, Joy is trying to keep BB alive as he debates trying to escape. Eventually, she calls Ward to take over her energy project in New Jersey and recruits BB to help her find the bowl.

Ward runs into Walker at Joy’s apartment and the two strike up an uneasy alliance. He’ll get her redacted DOJ files in exchange for Walker’s help with killing Davos. Even though Joy didn’t say anything, Ward is sure that she’s in trouble.

Which she definitely is because Davos is becoming corrupt with his power. He doesn’t view himself as a killer but as the only one who is able to bring justice to the corrupt. When Joy convinces him to rebrand himself, Davos decides to take his pupils out on a mission of mercy. He has Rhyno apologize to the restaurant owner from the first episode before Davos offers free protection. When the man requests to stay out of it, Davos murders him in cold blood. Naturally, Rhyno isn’t onboard with killing innocent people and tries to leave before getting his throat slit by one of his “friends”. The other kids look terrified, and it’s doubtful there will be any other defectors soon.

Colleen is pushing Danny hard throughout this episode of Iron Fist. She takes him to her old fighting cage where the two spar relentlessly. Pushing all of his buttons, Colleen is able to take an early lead. However, he quickly catches up by keeping his emotions in check and reminding himself why he needs to fight in the first place. Winning is what terrifies Danny though, and he quickly retreats from the cage to catch his breath.

She follows to apologize for pushing him too hard but Danny said it made him realize something. He isn’t fighting to stop Davos, he’s fighting to get the power back. Iron Fist circles back to the season two premiere where we saw Danny getting enjoyment from lighting up during a training session. He can feel himself get corrupted by his power and doesn’t feel like he’s the right person to wield the fist. Instead, he believes Colleen should be the one to take the power when they perform the ceremony.

At this point, it makes sense in Iron Fist to see her take over. The difference between Colleen and the two brothers is that she doesn’t want to fight. However, I hope the power of the fist won’t become the hot potato of the Netflix/Marvel Universe. It would be a little silly to see someone new try to perform the ceremony every ceremony to steal the fist from whoever wields it.

What did you think of “Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance”? Tell us in the comments below!