Ironheart Episode 4-6, "Bad Magic", "Karma's a Glitch", & "The Past is the Past" (SPOILERS)

[Lily Adler]

Following the events of the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), MIT student Riri Williams returns home to Chicago where she becomes entangled with the enigmatic Parker Robbins / The Hood, discovering secrets that pit technology against magic and setting her on a path of danger and adventure.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Eric Voss from New Rockstars at the reveal of the character played by Sacha Baron Cohen:

 

[Spider-Fan]

Liked this show. Not sure I love the ending cause it feels like it undermines Riri's arc to me and like she doesn't learn anything in the end, but otherwise this show was actually pretty good. Obviously I want to see what the future has in store for Senor Borat and where we may see him next.

 

[Dr. Evil]

They kept Hood alive

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

This officially joins the ranks of my favorite MCU projects.

The only thing I wish is that we got more Cree Summer doing witchy stuff because she's a national treasure and a legend, but this was fun.

Mephisto was VERY creepy. They have to continue this somehow.

 

[Lily Adler]

This officially joins the ranks of my favorite MCU projects.

The only thing I wish is that we got more Cree Summer doing witchy stuff because she's a national treasure and a legend, but this was fun.

Mephisto was VERY creepy. They have to continue this somehow.

Cree Summer. She's either the token black chick in 90's comedies or cartoons or she plays a homewrecker like in Living Single.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Cree Summer. She's either the token black chick in 90's comedies or cartoons or she plays a homewrecker like in Living Single.

Cree Summer aka Freddie from A Different World aka Susie Carmichael from Rugrats was the token black chick?

What 90s comedies were you watching?

 

[Lily Adler]

Cree Summer aka Freddie from A Different World aka Susie Carmichael from Rugrats was the token black chick?

What 90s comedies were you watching?

View attachment 140289

The white ones.

 

[Lily Adler]

Actually I haven't watched A Different World since Nick at Nite aired it.

 

[inomilan]

Last episodes were also okay but good ending. Though, I'm not yet sure how I feel about the ending.

 

[Sithborg]

I was half expecting Parker's head to catch fire....

I will probably go into further detailed review after sleep, but Sacha Baron Cohen is good no doubt, but he needs to up his game like the real master.

 

[Link]

Ironheart is ultimately much more enjoyable than what the internet would make it out to be, but it's also a mixed bag. Riri isn't the most likable protagonist, this season almost came across as a villain origin story. She's self-serving and kind of narcissistic, and she seems ready to do just about anything to further her goals. The show is low on any actual superheroics, her tech is generally used just for crime and sometimes to keep her loved ones safe. One of the key moments of the season is her leaving someone to die because they're an obstacle. That's villain ****, but it's all perfectly tied together with the ending. Obviously many of her choices are representative of systematic issues. She's as much a genius as Tony Stark was, but she doesn't have the kind of budget and means available as he did, and that's a key factor that sets her on this desperate anti-hero path, but then again, that's true for many villainous characters. Riri is complicated, and I'm really interested to see where her story leads her next.

The show has a bit of a villain problem. Anthony Ramos is miscast, in my opinion. I've liked him in many things, but here he's just spread thin with this character that's supposed to be menacing at times and sometimes pathetic, and it doesn't really lead anywhere, particularly with the limp post-credit scene. Unless there's a season 2, this is probably going to be another example of Marvel hinting at something that might never come to fruition. Ramos doesn't sell the character, but perhaps that's partially by design to make Sacha Baron Cohen's magnificent Mephisto even more effective. That doesn't change the fact that we're stuck with The Hood for five episodes. I wish they had even styled Ramos better, that damn haircut would suck all charisma out of anyone. Alden Ehrenreich's semi-villainous turn didn't really work for me either. I don't know if it's dodgy casting or a writing issue, but I can't help but feel that these two could've been handled so much better.

Natalie and the show's exploration of AI is my favorite part of Ironheart. It's interesting that when Riri is making a deal with the devil, it doesn't seem to occur to her that she could ask for the actual human being's resurrection instead of the AI tool that's based on her recollection of her late best friend. Chatbots are a hot topic right now, even more so than when the show was written and shot, and I couldn't stop thinking about the stories of lonely and depressed people using these AI tools for companionship and comfort and it usually ending badly. I found the scenes of N.A.T.A.L.I.E. researching and imitating clips of the real Natalie quite chilling. She's almost presented as one of those "I saved my consciousness to an algorithm" sci-fi scenarios, but the show points out that she lacks any kind of inner world of the sort and is instead based on how Riri remembers Natalie. It's all very interesting, but ultimately it's for the better that the show brings the real Natalie back instead. Lyric Ross is excellent in the role, and she brings a lot of likability and fun to the show, especially compared to the more self-serious Riri.

Shea Couleé is a welcome addition to the show, particularly since Disney is actively neutering this kind of representation. They're probably the most likable part of The Hood's gang. Overall the gang wasn't developed enough, and I would've rather seen them cultivating a closer relationship with Riri instead of immediately trying to murder her when instructed to do so. Another favorite of mine was Cree Summer as Madeline Stanton. She was shown a little bit in episode 1, and I immediately knew this would be one of my favorite characters, and thank goodness she was brought back later with a bit more to do and cool magical powers to boot.

Ironheart comes with a cool (and seemingly expensive) soundtrack, a good cast of supporting characters, and a nice mixture of science and magic that I'd love to see developed further. It made me think of an Epica lyric, "Science, spirituality. Will have to meet along the way. And we need new drifts, another view. Expand our grip on the cryptic soul." I'd happily watch a season 2, especially if we get more of that. We could also sneak in some Agatha cameos, peut-être?

Overall, I'd give the show a healthy 3/5. This turned into an essay, but Ironheart ended up fascinating me more than most of these D+ shows do, and that's really cool.

 

[DeadStroke]

This officially joins the ranks of my favorite MCU projects.

The only thing I wish is that we got more Cree Summer doing witchy stuff because she's a national treasure and a legend, but this was fun.

Mephisto was VERY creepy. They have to continue this somehow.

A couple of thoughts.

They really should have had Angela Barnes (4-6) direct every episode in the show.

I know hate/negativity factored into their decision, but they really could have dropped these last 3 episodes weekly. Maybe even just the last two.

I think if they had any clue this would be a positively rated show critically they would have done something different. The hiding it made it worse. Although I guess in some ways it actually made the show much better because my expectations were really low.

 

[CB Fan]

I liked this. I really hope for season 2 especially with that ending, which I’m torn on.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Cree Summer aka Freddie from A Different World aka Susie Carmichael from Rugrats was the token black chick?

What 90s comedies were you watching?

View attachment 140289

Also the voice of Cleo in Clifford the Big Red Dog.

But I knew her from A Different World.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

I enjoyed this much more than I thought i would. Had some good call backs to past MCU moments and set up new ones for the future.

 

[sdgrandia86]

Ironheart is ultimately much more enjoyable than what the internet would make it out to be, but it's also a mixed bag. Riri isn't the most likable protagonist, this season almost came across as a villain origin story. She's self-serving and kind of narcissistic, and she seems ready to do just about anything to further her goals. The show is low on any actual superheroics, her tech is generally used just for crime and sometimes to keep her loved ones safe. One of the key moments of the season is her leaving someone to die because they're an obstacle. That's villain ****, but it's all perfectly tied together with the ending. Obviously many of her choices are representative of systematic issues. She's as much a genius as Tony Stark was, but she doesn't have the kind of budget and means available as he did, and that's a key factor that sets her on this desperate anti-hero path, but then again, that's true for many villainous characters. Riri is complicated, and I'm really interested to see where her story leads her next.

The show has a bit of a villain problem. Anthony Ramos is miscast, in my opinion. I've liked him in many things, but here he's just spread thin with this character that's supposed to be menacing at times and sometimes pathetic, and it doesn't really lead anywhere, particularly with the limp post-credit scene. Unless there's a season 2, this is probably going to be another example of Marvel hinting at something that might never come to fruition. Ramos doesn't sell the character, but perhaps that's partially by design to make Sacha Baron Cohen's magnificent Mephisto even more effective. That doesn't change the fact that we're stuck with The Hood for five episodes. I wish they had even styled Ramos better, that damn haircut would suck all charisma out of anyone. Alden Ehrenreich's semi-villainous turn didn't really work for me either. I don't know if it's dodgy casting or a writing issue, but I can't help but feel that these two could've been handled so much better.

Natalie and the show's exploration of AI is my favorite part of Ironheart. It's interesting that when Riri is making a deal with the devil, it doesn't seem to occur to her that she could ask for the actual human being's resurrection instead of the AI tool that's based on her recollection of her late best friend. Chatbots are a hot topic right now, even more so than when the show was written and shot, and I couldn't stop thinking about the stories of lonely and depressed people using these AI tools for companionship and comfort and it usually ending badly. I found the scenes of N.A.T.A.L.I.E. researching and imitating clips of the real Natalie quite chilling. She's almost presented as one of those "I saved my consciousness to an algorithm" sci-fi scenarios, but the show points out that she lacks any kind of inner world of the sort and is instead based on how Riri remembers Natalie. It's all very interesting, but ultimately it's for the better that the show brings the real Natalie back instead. Lyric Ross is excellent in the role, and she brings a lot of likability and fun to the show, especially compared to the more self-serious Riri.

Shea Couleé is a welcome addition to the show, particularly since Disney is actively neutering this kind of representation. They're probably the most likable part of The Hood's gang. Overall the gang wasn't developed enough, and I would've rather seen them cultivating a closer relationship with Riri instead of immediately trying to murder her when instructed to do so. Another favorite of mine was Cree Summer as Madeline Stanton. She was shown a little bit in episode 1, and I immediately knew this would be one of my favorite characters, and thank goodness she was brought back later with a bit more to do and cool magical powers to boot.

Ironheart comes with a cool (and seemingly expensive) soundtrack, a good cast of supporting characters, and a nice mixture of science and magic that I'd love to see developed further. It made me think of an Epica lyric, "Science, spirituality. Will have to meet along the way. And we need new drifts, another view. Expand our grip on the cryptic soul." I'd happily watch a season 2, especially if we get more of that. We could also sneak in some Agatha cameos, peut-être?

Overall, I'd give the show a healthy 3/5. This turned into an essay, but Ironheart ended up fascinating me more than most of these D+ shows do, and that's really cool.

Came here for Iron Heart, stayed for Epica. I was getting Holographic Principle vibes from the show in terms of using musical aesthetic.

I was having a hard time getting into the show initially, not that it wasnt bad but I was not invested but I really enjoyed it in the end.

I felt the mix of tech & magic & supernatural elements of the show was unique & it worked. I enjoyed the antagonists & felt Mephisto had a strong, menacing & charming presence.

Did anyone else noticed his true form in the reflection?

 

[DeadStroke]

From Reddit

Denzel Washington is going to be a part of Black Panther 3. I strongly believe that Washington will be playing a villain named Achebe. Achebe’s boss is Mephisto. Easy way to bring back Ironheart.

 

[Spider-Fan]

From Reddit

Is this just a fan taking a guess or a scooper?

 

[Sithborg]

It reads as a fan speculation.

I do wonder how much the Zeke stuff was planned to be followed up in Armor Wars.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

This show was a mixed bag overall but I did enjoy the last three episodes for the most part. Id put it above stuff like Agatha and Secret Invasion and even Echo to a degree mostly because unlike those this actually had a pretty strong ending IMO.

I feel like the weak to questionable writing is what held it back the most but man I was expecting that ending with Riri making the deal with Mephisto and now I'm interested in seeing if any kind of real consequences come from it for her character going forward.

I doubt the Avengers movies will acknowledge any of this but I'm glad two of my favorite characters in the show survived and it will be interesting to see what they do with Parker and Zeke going forward as well.

I just hope to see these actors utilized under stronger writers and directors.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Mephisto I think will make appearances in movies. Especially with Ghost Rider and Midnight Suns stuff coming. So I think Riri will be back of nothing else through there

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I'm definitely expecting Sacha Baron Cohen to return as Mephisto and hopefully it's a movie because I really liked his performance.

Also, while she hasn't been confirmed yet I'm also expecting Dominique Thorne to show up in those Avengers movies.

I'd be surprised if we didn't see her interact with some variant or variants of RDJ asTony Stark which would be a BIG missed opportunity IMO.

 

[Weather Witch]

Not sure how I feel about the ending yet, but overall I liked this a lot more than I expected. Didn't expect this show to fit into the magic side of the MCU as neatly as it does.

I liked how Riri went down a darker path, but the Mephisto deal does feel a bit odd to me. Guess I expected the usual "I learned from this and now the grieving can start" type of thing. If we're not heading down that road, I'm quite curious where we're going.

Between Daredevil, Agatha, and Thunderbolts, the MCU has been doing better recently. Cap 4 wasn't great, but if they can make up for it with FF, we're really heading in a good direction again.

 

[Zyraquis]

I feel the last episode is rather strong, it shows how manipulative a devil master can be to exploit our deepest weaknesses. And the performance is great. I just want to see his agenda. Why Parker? Why Riri?

Overall, despite a slow start, it ended up in my upper tier of Marvel TV shows.