I’ve got some kinda bad news, folks. Despite everyone hoping that the change in leadership over on the Iron Fist front, it’s not looking like the second season will be bringing a whole lot of improvements our way — at least that’s what early reviews are almost universally telling us.

I won’t leave you hanging with some bloated preamble, but I think it’s worth mentioning that these reviews are based on the first six episodes of the new season. So let’s go ahead and jump right into it with a few key quotes from early reviews.

The first review comes from Forbes, who highlighted how weak Danny Rand was written in that first season. While this season is an improvement, there are a lot of missed opportunities in terms of the class difference:

“It’s just impossible to buy into his struggles as a human. The fact he chooses to live amongst the middle class doesn’t change the fact he isn’t one. Which serves as yet another missed opportunity for character development that would have actually created a far more fascinating portrayal of the hero.”

“Overall, there are notable things worth pointing out about season two of Iron Fist. It’s much better paced and way easier to watch. But coming back from what was a truly lack-luster first season was going to take far more than a few kung-fu classes. It was going to take a complete overhaul of the series and it’s hard to say if that was ever going to be possible.”

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ComicBook.com also had some problems with the show. They point to the lack of K’un Lun. That’s right. Despite the fact that we’ll be seeing more of it, it still amounts to little more of a tease. While Alice Eve’s Typhoid Mary is noted as a standout villain, the outlet is less impressed with the rest of the villains the season has to offer:

“The first six episodes do set up an arc with Davos and Joy Meachum that could pay off in a big way during the back half arc – but to call that buildup a “slow burn” would be an understatement. Joy and Davos aren’t exactly compelling villains on their own (in fact, their mutual turn towards villainy seems forced), and their chemistry as co-conspirators is strange at best, awkward at worst. Luckily, Typhoid Mary comes in to balance things out, and help set up the larger villain arc for an exciting finale. Regardless, it’s still bad sign that a show built on marital arts action fantasy struggles to find worthy foes for the heroes.”

Gamespot calls the new season “watchable,” but doesn’t exactly sing its praises:

“It falls short in some areas, while excelling in others. You’ll like some characters, and despise some others. The story can meander at times, while occasionally grabbing your attention in a narrative kung fu grip. Many of Iron Fist Season 1’s problems are still present in Season 2, not least of them Finn Jones’ Danny Rand being pretty much insufferable. But in many other crucial ways, Iron Fist Season 2 is a massive improvement. It’s now pretty much on par with the other Netflix/Marvel universe shows in terms of quality–for whatever that’s worth.”

Uproxx is on the same page as everyone else, saying:

“The good news is, the second season of Iron Fist is a massive improvement over the first 13 episodes that Marvel and Netflix gifted (or cursed) audiences with ahead of 2017’s crossover mini-series, The Defenders. The bad news is, simply saying that ‘the second season of Iron Fist is a massive improvement’ is nowhere near the same thing as saying ‘Iron Fist season two is a good show.’ Because that would be a lie, and lying is bad.”

“That’s not to say that the creative team behind Iron Fist’s second season wasn’t aware of the many, many complaints critics had about its predecessor. In fact, one of the most obvious improvements new showrunner Raven Metzner (Heroes Reborn, Falling Skies) made is to the fight sequences. Not only is it clearly evident that more time and planning were put into the fight choreography, but the cinematography team did the same for how they shot each action scene.”

So if you were hoping that this season of TV would be a grand return to form for Marvel Netflix shows, it looks like you’ll have to wait for Daredevil Season 3.

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SOURCE: ComicBook.com, Forbes, Gamespot, Uproxx