Netflix is making Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, AND Jessica Jones shows!

[Deaths Jester]

Look! A rare Murs sighting!!!!

[Silver Shocker]

I should note most of this post I wrote last Thursday and saved as an unfinished draft, so keep that in mind if some of this seems detached from the current conversation:

BTW, not for nothing, you have to admit it's just your opinion that Luke Cage is "easily the weakest" series, when it did score better on RT than the other three.  I don't think that qualifies as "easily".

Yes, that's correct. *I* found it easily the weakest. I'm not saying everyone did. I probably should have added that it's my opinion, but I kinda took it for granted that it was a given. At this point I've kinda learned as a rule of thumb that a lot of things people say online about movies, comics, tv shows, ect, are strictly opinion, even when they say they're not. For whatever it's worth, I know other people (such as the group I was watched it with) who also thought it was the weakest.

Now, If I recall correctly, I never posted my thoughts on Cage (appropriate, since more than reviewer I followed who reviewed the other shows didn't review or even mention Cage) when it came out, but I can tell you why I think it was the weakest. I didn't care about the other characters other than Cage, whereas in DD and JJ I cared about everyone from the very first episode, it had the disadvantage of the audience already knowing Luke Cage from JJ and knowing he was good. The late-in-the-game twist with Diamondback was lame, cliche, and didn't even really seem to add much to the story. And lastly, the antagonists didn't steal the show the way D'nofrio's Kingpin, Tennant's Killgrave and Jon Berenthal's Punisher did. Cottonmouth was ok I guess, but to me he felt like a lesser Kingpin, and he wasn't in the show nearly as long as said prior villains.

And, I imagine I'm might get crap for this, but since discussion of the race angle was Iron Fist is inevitable, I'll just say it: in my opinion, contrary to what CBR will tell you, positive representation should not trump story, character and acting. Is Cage being a example of positive representation a positive? Sure, but I don't think it's enough to make it the best show. I think there's a good chance reviewers scored Cage more positive because of the positive representation. Remember, reviewers gave good reviews.  to Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, which featured the kind of low-brow comedy that 1) usually scores poorly with critics (and decent chunk of the audience, for that matter) and 2) is almost completely out of touch with the comedy styles of the original Ghostbusters

If you disagreed on my assessment of the show, if you liked the more than I did, awesome. You do you. I honestly wasn't trying to urine anyone off, or make it out like my opinion was fact (that's actually a pretty big pet peeve of mine). Not stressing that it was my opinion is on me.

That being said. I should point out, as has been pointed out in the past, that Rotten Tomatoes isn't the be-all-end-all for quality. What they do, as I understand it, is tally up a percentage of positive reviews. The number doesn't tell you how many of those reviews gave a 6/10, 10/10, whatever. I don't know about movie critics, but I know a number of prominent internet video game critics dislike using numbers to score a game because it "doesn't fully represent their thoughts on the game" (something I kinda disagree with myself) and that their audience should make a point to read the actual body of text.

In my opinion, reviews (both industry-level "professional reviews" and internet Youtube-esque reviews alike) are sometimes full of crap. I often enjoy action movies that get weak reviews. I've also heard that many "old guard" film critics aren't superhero fans  per-se, and like to say there's superhero fatigue and say there's too many superhero movies, that the genre's junk food, ect. As Finn Jones said, us fans are probably more likely to be forgiving to the show. Though admittedly, a lot of use haven't liked the recent DC films, so who knows.

It's the fact that Marvel's stuff has consistently got good reviews that makes this so surprising and noteworthy.

In all seriousness though, are people seriously being critical of Iron Fist because he's not Asian?  Why would anybody be mad at the show and not Roy Thomas who wrote it?  I mean "Danny Rand" isn't the most Asian of names I've heard of....
Am I missing something?

I said the same thing about Apocalypse being a blasphemous character when X-Men Apocalypse was coming out and I was told "it's the responsibility of the filmmaker to take that stuff out" [for the record, they did in the final film, as I pointed out at the time] I'm not really sure how I feel about such things in general, but I can say that if something was popular enough to endure in the comics, then translating it to the films and tv shows (something Marvel's films and DC's shows have, IMO, done a really great job doing) should be enough. This is why I disagree pretty strongly with the "All of Marvel's movie villains suck except Loki" criticism. The idea that the comic versions of say, Red Skull and Ultron worked great in the comics and cartoons but somehow weren't "good enough" for Hollywood action movies is kinda annoying to me.

Probably. Aside from most people not knowing who the heck Roy Thomas even is, (shame that,) Iron Fist the TV show isn't Iron Fist the comic, so while it should more or less stay true to its source material to a certain extent, it can also and perhaps is even expected to make some changes for both a new medium and a new decade. What was even then only somewhat acceptable in 1974 isn't so acceptable in 2017, and because of that, they aren't going to let a case of Mighty Whitey fly. It doesn't matter to them whether or not Danny Rand was originally white or who was responsible for making him white, or even that his name isn't Asian.

Yeah, the common audience isn't too concerned with how the comics did it. As for the "not acceptable in 2017" part, I do think it's worthy of some discussion, but some people take that kind of thing too far. I remember IGN being more negative towards the new Tarzan movie because he was played by a white guy, which I found unreasonable, and then in a review of a seemingly innocuous low-budget Pierce Brosnan vehicle that barely anyone's heard of, throwing in a dig at the main character and his family being white as if that's automatically a negative.

On the topic of the name, they could have changed it. That's happened before. The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon made Ned Leeds Ned Lee. And yes, some people complained about the various changes that show did (not strictly changing the races of characters either).

That doesn't really make things better. 'Well, the first six episodes were crap, but if I'm somehow still sticking with it by this point, then maybe the second half is marginally better by comparison.' The point being that as good as the second half may or may not be, you still shouldn't have to wade through six episodes of sludge to get there.

Yes, that's a good point, but I can't 100% agree with it in general. If the characters and story and action really is rotten, then yes. But I've seen that effect work out in the past quite a few times. The Walking Dead tv show is the best example IMO. I hated S5 and the first half of season 6 but everything since then (I'm up to S7ep3) is a lot better.

Now onto my current thoughts: I'm up to the last 3 episodes, so I'm avoiding everything under the spoiler tags, but the show's ok. It's not as good as DD or JJ, it's about roughly on par with LK, which I was expecting. The character I've enjoyed the most is Coleen Wing, which I was expecing since she was the only part of the show I was looking forward to, since I've enjoyed the character in the few comics I've read that featured her and the actress was a pretty good fit. I would have looked forward to Hoon Lee but 1. I forgot he was in the show until he started showing up and 2. He's not in it nearly enough for it to really matter. All I'll say for now is I was ok with the up until the last few episodes where the plot started getting pretty convoluted so now I'm not so sure.

[HarryTrotter]

But, unfortunately, this series suffers from the same issues as DD and Luke Cage; everyone's so expressive about how their feeling at every possible second. Are they all drunken teenagers? Or, the characters are busy psycho-analyzing whatever character they're currently interacting with; creating lazy attempts at being insightful. Honestly, there was so much unnecessary melodramatics that I'm certain Netflix hired the producers, writers, and directors of All my Children to handle the Marvel titles. I've never rolled my eyes so much. As they say on the other side of the Atlantic: rubbish.

That sums up a lot of my problems with Netflix-verse as well.
There is also the tendency to tell everything rather then show.And the fact they are slow as glaciers.Remember how Daredevil spent 5 episodes lying on the couch?

[murs47]

Look! A rare Murs sighting!!!!

Look out for my next post mid-2018!

That sums up a lot of my problems with Netflix-verse as well.
There is also the tendency to tell everything rather then show. And the fact they are slow as glaciers. Remember how Daredevil spent 5 episodes lying on the couch?

I suspect the conclusion to the Defenders will be the Hand being talked to death. Thanks Netflix!

[Shogunn2517]

So there's this...

Apparently by some metrics, Iron Fist is Marvel's second most popular series.

Take it for what it's worth.

http://screenrant.com/iron-fist-marvel-netflix-ratings-viewership/

[GhostMachine]

Funny thing about that is - and I've yet to watch the show; the trailer didn't look too hot - is that most reactions I've seen to the show online are that its the drizzling you-know-whats and either needs to be cancelled or get new showrunners.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

So there's this...

Apparently by some metrics, Iron Fist is Marvel's second most popular series.

Take it for what it's worth.

http://screenrant.com/iron-fist-marvel-netflix-ratings-viewership/

Considering that this is the first Marvel Netflix season EVER to have lower ratings than the previous one, that's actually a bad sign.  It's basically just coasting by on the brands recognition, not on any interest people have on that particular series.

It's still redeemable though, ratings wise.  Maybe they'll decide to do a Hulk and just pair the character up with another one for maximum effect.  Maybe have the two form a business or something.

[crimsonquill]

There was rumors and grapevine bits of news that the writers and showrunners were constantly debating on the direction of Iron Fist. It has become very apparent that each director took their episodes towards the concept they had in mind but left it feeling like a broken up puzzle then a complete vision. There wasn't really a core "we need to make this character the Kung Fu of our Netflix universe as that lone warrior returning home to a world who moved on and enemies could be everywhere" running plot line through every episode and felt reluctant to embrace his origin or the mystical aspects of the Dragon Of The Iron Fist or even what mastering Chi could do to Danny or anyone else who wanted to follow his techniques. I could almost say this show was Season Zero to a Heroes For Hire series just passing on their story problems to The Defenders because The Hand was their prime focus anyway. I was very thrilled when I heard Wu-Tang Clan become involved with the show (mostly the music) but very disappointed that their influence and love for old school kung fu movies didn't flow into the series overall (Hell, Rza got to direct an episode and it was the Drunken Guard episode). I even expected to hear a version of "Kung-Fu Fighting" somewhere just to bring in some old school cheesy music as a theme song since Luke Cage took advantage of the Harlem music scene which energized it during slower moments.

- CQ

[BentonGrey]

We're on episode three, and we're enjoying it, but the show definitely needs to pick up the pace.  It's too slow.

Like I've said before, this show basically writes itself.  All you have to do is 'Kung Fu in New York.'  How hard is that?  I'd love to see them embrace the aesthetic and themes of classic kung fu movies and the classic show.  That would make this something special.  Perhaps season 2 will pull that off if this season doesn't manage it.

Murs, I'm obviously only a little ways into this one, but I feel like you're way too hard on the other shows.  It sounds like you're describing every show on the CW, and while there can be a bit too much angst on the Netflix shows, it doesn't come close to comparing to the DRAMA of those.  I found DD and, to a lesser extent, LC, to be pretty grounded as far as such things go.

[detourne_me]

I'm honestly having a hard time finishing the series... the Meachum plotline is just so odd... also theres a new Season of Grace and Frankie on Netflix and my wife and I enjoy that show quite a bit...and Mass Effect Andromeda has been occupying the rest of my free time! Oh and Wrestlemania is coming up this weekend.... maybe Iron Fist can wait.

[Shogunn2517]

I'm honestly having a hard time finishing the series... the Meachum plotline is just so odd... also theres a new Season of Grace and Frankie on Netflix and my wife and I enjoy that show quite a bit...and Mass Effect Andromeda has been occupying the rest of my free time! Oh and Wrestlemania is coming up this weekend.... maybe Iron Fist can wait.

It comes through.  I'd finish it.  Think you'd appreciate it.

[BentonGrey]

I have to say, the Meachums are proving to be much more interesting characters than I anticipated. 

[Starman]

Iron Fist was awful.

As even Finn Jones admitted, he only had a few weeks to work out and train in martial arts before shooting began. That is how rushed this production was. That is why the writing was a hot mess and the dialogue was frequently ridiculous.

The only things remotely enjoyable about Iron Fist was some great acting from the guy who played Davos and some serious charisma from the woman who played Colleen Wing.

It's also worth pointing out that for all the arguing over whether Danny should be white or Asian, the show deliberately kept quiet on the casting of Davos until the last minute. Why? Because comic book Davos is a huge, buff Asian guy and Netflix Davos is a tiny Indian guy ... who is really, really good in the role.

[Shogunn2517]

Hey, everyone how about some Punisher pics!

http://www.gettyimages.ca/photos/jon-bernthal?excludenudity=true&family=editorial&phrase=jon%20bernthal&sort=best#license

They actually ARE filming! (Yay #spadeshappy)

Does this mean, the Defenders is in the can?  Still filming?  Will the Punisher show up in the Defenders?

[HarryTrotter]

They could be filming at the same time?
On the release,Netflix said next year- after Defenders.Marvel said this year.So probably this year.

[Shogunn2517]

Yeah, Wikipedia's saying this year.  And I heard something a while back that said Defenders was getting a Summer release and Punisher a fall/winter release.  If that were the case, I'd imagine we'd have more release dates than we do now.

And yeah, I suppose they could be filming at the same time(didn't mean to suggest they weren't).  Although I do question whether Marvel is putting on two separate productions at the same time of the same property.

[HarryTrotter]

I would guess Punisher wont show up in The Defenders,in which case having a separate schedule makes sense.But Im not really sure how things work there.
And I think fall/winter release(after Defenders) will probably be the case here.

[Shogunn2517]

Well, there you have it.  Defenders has wrapped.  The Punisher is filming and... Jessica Jones starts filming tomorrow, apparently.

http://www.onlocationvacations.com/2017/04/02/monday-april-3-filming-locations-scandal-ncis-l-chicago-fire-captive-state-divorce-jessica-jones/

[Shogunn2517]

http://tvweb.com/defenders-netflix-series-teaser-trailer-premiere-date/

Premiere date... and a bit of a teaser.

[BentonGrey]

Color me interested.

Also, I feel like Starman is being far too hard on Iron Fist.  It isn't great like Daredevil, or even very good like Luke Cage, but it's a solid enough show.  We're at episode 9 or so, so we're pretty far into it.  There are plenty of weaknesses, but there are also plenty of strengths.  In particular, I'm really impressed by the Meachums' arcs and performances.  It is, unfortunately, a sign of the weakness of parts of Danny's story that they often steal the scene from him, but it's also a sign of their strength as characters and the interest generated by their stories.  In general, the show is certainly below the standard of the other two I've seen, but it's still above most of what's on actual TV. 

[BentonGrey]

Okay, so we've finished it, and here are my thoughts-

Non-spoilery overview: It's entertaining but wildly uneven in just about every way: pacing, tone, quality, and themes.  Nonetheless, it's still pretty fun to watch, and there are enough intriguing mysteries and interesting characters to keep the audience interested even when the story of the Iron Fist himself isn't electrifying.  Unfortunately, that is a problem, as Danny Rand is probably one of the weaker elements.  The guy playing him is serviceable, probably about on par with the fellow playing Luke Cage, but the latter wasn't called upon to do as many challenging things in his performance, so the seams show more for this actor. 

Lady Grey and I both thought that the character himself goes from likeable in the beginning to rather unlikable by the end of the season.  That seems somewhat intentional, but perhaps rather short-sighted for your main character.  In general, it seemed as if they were a little uncertain about what exactly they wanted to do with the Iron Fist, much like Danny himself.  On the plus side, the supporting cast is actually quite good, and the Meachums' stories, despite mostly just being drama with no real action to speak of, are often the strongest points of the episodes.  The action was decent, though not breathtaking in the way that Daredevil often was.  The threats seemed more credible than in Luke Cage, where they really had a hard time challenging the character.  One thing that the reviews were definitely right about is that this show is often guilty of one breaking one of the most important storytelling commandments, 'show, don't tell.'  When we should get a flashback or an interpolated episode, we instead get two characters just sitting and talking.  I have to think that this was at least partially due to budget concerns, but nonetheless, it was a problem.  That is, of course, indicative of the pacing problems, as the show tends to dawdle when it should move briskly and rush when it should stroll.

In general, I'm glad we watched it, and I enjoyed how it expanded the Marvel TV world, though I wish it had done more worldbuilding.  It's better than many shows on regular TV, but not as good as the other Marvel shows I've seen.  I'd probably give it a B- or C+, or in my Minutemen scoring system, 3 Minutemen out of five.

Spoilery Thoughts (In no particular order):

Spoiler

Ward's arc was by far one of my favorite parts of the show.  His descent into near madness, his struggles with the bonko issues he had from the psychological abuse of his father, and his dawning realization of the fact that he was in danger of losing his soul was all great, and the actor did a fantastic job with the part.  I wish we could have gotten a bit more time with him at the end of the show to see where he had ended up.

In the same fashion, Harold's increasing viciousness and instability was really well handled, and there was palpable menace every time he was on the screen after he came back.  That being said, his demise was rather unsatisfying, as he shouldn't really have been that much of a threat to Danny.

The episode in China was rather disappointing and felt like they were trying to serve champagne on a beer budget.  The capture of Gao was quite a letdown and for several episodes we kept thinking, 'she must have a plan; she must have arranged this for some reason!'  The fight with the druken boxer was lots of fun, though!

The footage of the old Iron Fist in action was super cool, and it made me wish we got to see more of that kind of thing in the series.

Bakuto was intriguing and had a wonderfully subtle evil air about him.  He seemed like Satan, sweetly seductive but dangerous, and not just physically, but spiritually as well.  It's a shame he didn't really amount to much.  The show couldn't decide who it wanted its villain to be.  We never really found out exactly what Bakuto was doing, and that is a pretty big oversight.  What's more, he shows up and is mysterious for all of about five seconds before Danny unmasks him as the bad guy. 

Speaking of Bakuto, this show REALLY can't make up its mind about killing.  While I'm 100% onboard with heroes following a no-kill code, it really doesn't make sense for Danny to be so conflicted so quickly.  He has been trained to kill for 15 years.  Methinks that should probably be a bit more effective.  Claire's 'voice of reason' role throughout was great, and her reactions to the other characters' willingness to kill was a fun element that didn't quite pay off because they couldn't figure out where they wanted to go.

Davos was pretty great, and his confrontation with Danny was good, but I have to say, the show rather tends to make you sympathize with him rather than its star.  He's right, Danny totally screwed things up in the hidden city, and there isn't really much of a reason for him to be in New York.  He too probably should have had more space to grow.  I'm sure we'll see him again, though.

The ending was weak.  It felt rushed and clumsy.  The fight in the office was underwhelming, though Danny's 'quake-punch' was neat.  The fight on the roof felt silly after all the amazing things the Iron Fist had done.  The idea that one guy with a gun could give him major problems is a hard sell, and there is a point where he knocks the gun out of Harold's hands, has him completely at his mercy....and just runs away.  Yeesh.  The reveal of Klun Llun being missing was pretty effective, though, if a bit predictable. 

Joy's arc throughout was really good, and you really felt for her right before the finale, as she's alienated both from a brother she can't trust a father who isn't what she thought.  Yet, her sudden willingness to blame Danny at the very end is completely out of left field.  Her conflict with her father existed BECAUSE she was grateful to Danny.  That's a small thing, but it is a major discordant note.

[detourne_me]

I agree with BG quite a bit, and I finally got around to finishing the series last night on a bus ride home. Uneven is probably the most apt word to describe the show. the characters flipflopped so many times, the acting, writing, tone, and plot points all seemed so wishy-washy.

If I were to redo the series, id probably keep a number of the same items, just restructure the show to make more sense. This show shouldve been more like Kill Bill than Arrow. (Heck, even the first two seasons of Arrow pulled a better Kill Bill styled vengeance plot).

[Starman]

In general, the show is certainly below the standard of the other two I've seen, but it's still above most of what's on actual TV.

You must be watching some rubbish if you think a show you gave a C+ to is "above" most other shows on TV.

I blame Marvel for rushing "Iron Fist" out and Scott Buck, as showrunner, for the dire writing. Good grief, that poor character development and bad dialogue. Not allowing Finn Jones the training to sell Danny Rand as the greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the MCU was almost the least of this show's problems.

Unfortunately, Marvel also tapped Scott Buck as the showrunner for "The Inhumans" ... no doubt because he managed to complete "Iron Fist" on such a tight time-schedule, despite its dire quality.

[HarryTrotter]

Bit late,but nobody post it,so the CC trailers.Marvel stuff begins around 22 min mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FspUmC2lhOA
Inhumans manage to look ridiculous despite sharing a video with Netflix Deathnote.(Oh and Krypton is happening after all)
Stan Lee narrates the Defenders trailer.Thats a new one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X5PG6kPCVI
Second part.Defenders tries for an Avengers feel.(Black Lightning sorta feels like a CW version of Luke Cage,btw.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq3_GXJvBSw
And the Thor trailer.

[Red Fisser]

Hey anyone started the defenders yet?
I ve binge-watched my way to the 6th episode and so far its good-
it actually kinda brings to mind of some d&d sessions when everyones so focused on trying their best on rp/adapting to personal characters goals that ends up creating extra party complications to the campaign/common goals
Which can be good as a chance of character development /party bonding(if it doesnt crush it)

[Tomato]

I was able to squeeze episode one into my lunch break, will probably binge the rest after work tonight/tomorrow morning. Mildly spoilery thoughts:

Spoiler

I found it amusing that while we were cutting back and forth between Matt, Jessica, and Luke, establishing what's happened with them all since the end of their respective seasons... every time we cut back to Danny after his first scene, it's just another shot of him in his plane.

Anyway, I got an email about the series having 8 episodes, and I didn't take the time to look during lunch (I was rushing to get a whole episode done, and I'm back at work now) is it 8 or 13? I could believe the former, but previous seasons have been 13 episodes. I'm honestly ok with either, but it'll affect how much I get done.

[Shogunn2517]

It's 8 and I'm a good 5 through.  Some thoughts so far....

Spoiler

Gotta be honest, the first few episodes or so was a lot of build up.  It was well done, but it was it was pretty much the "Epilogue" and wrap for each of the fours first seasons.  Jessica dealing with being a "hero", Luke's return to Harlem, Matt retiring Daredevil and Danny chasing down leads from the Hand.  It wasn't until Luke followed a Harlem kid he's trying to save and Danny getting a lead of a Hand hideout that the two meet in a pretty fun fight and their "getting to know each other" talk was pretty fun too.  Matt and Jessica's meeting was a little lazy IMO.  But by time all of them find their clues to the Midland Circle offices, it was PURE fun and a good watch.  By the 4 episode they were at the restaurant and each of them seem to be in their element. 

So far, I like the filming style and seemingly each time they switch scenes and focus on a different one, the camera has a color filter for each(Red-Matt, Blue-Jessica, Yellow-Luke, Green-Danny) and so far it seems each have been given enough shine and haven't been overshadowed by another.  Danny seems to be the focal point of the show.  Jessica's following a case.  Matt is focused on trying to wake Elektra up.  I suppose the weakest storyline so far is Luke's but where I left off it might be picking up a bit.

But again it's pretty exciting to see each of these characters blend together.  I wondered how Jessica and Luke would fair against ninjas and trained fighters when they're use to using strength.  But I have hope.  Half way through and it seems they're just getting started though.

But I'm about to finish this second half.  It's not bad, but I'm definitely hopeful of it getting better.

[HarryTrotter]

Sigourney Weaver as Ras Al Ghul.Interesting casting choice.

[stumpy]

Sigourney Weaver as Ras Al Ghul.Interesting casting choice.

LOL. Especially for Marvel!  ;-)

Finished it last night. Generally, it was fun to watch. Parts were a little slow, as they were clearly trying to provide a little bit of introduction for viewers who didn't watch all of the prequel shows. But, there was usually enough plot advancement with each episode that it didn't feel like they were dragging it out to fill eight episodes.

A bit too much of the "I have to sideline my obviously useful allies and take care of this alone" silliness, which, for all I know, is part of some writers' cheat sheet for these shows. That and the following oft-repeated dialog need to go away:

  ALLY or AUTHORITY FIGURE: Please explain why you are covered in blood next to one or more dead bodies.
  HERO: You wouldn't believe me if I told you. <proceeds to explain nothing>

Umm... Hello? You live in a world where mythical beings, super-powered humans, sorcerers, aliens, and so on do battle at a scale that no one could really have missed. Please don't tell me that no one could possibly believe that there's a nefarious group hoping to use dark magic in New York City.

But, that sort of thing was largely used as a plot crutch, which I can mostly forgive. I did generally think that the characters were well written, except that Danny is way too much of a wiener.

Also, I was quite glad that the show answered the major question that might have been left as a cliffhanger at the end.

Spoiler

It would be sort of a joke to pretend that "Is Daredevil actually dead?" is a real question. I was happy to see them skip that and tease us with the "He's alive, so how did he survive?" story that will have to be addressed in the next season of Defenders or Daredevil

[BentonGrey]

We just finished episode 3.  We're enjoying it, but it so far hasn't entirely wowed me.  I'm willing to be impressed.

I do have to say this, though.:

Spoiler

Why the HECK did Danny just stroll into the Hand's office and announce that he was coming after them legally rather than, you know, actually doing it?  I cannot think of a single explanation other than "he's intensely stupid."  This does not help the fact that we already sort of don't like him.  In fact, Lady Grey actively hates him and says at least once an episode "Colleen should be the Iron Fist!  She should be the superhero!"  Only my comic purist leanings keep me from agreeing with her.