- "The frog in the well never understands the sea."
- ―Madame Gao
The Mistress of All Agonies is the ninth episode of the first season of the television series Iron Fist.
Synopsis[]
Madame Gao plays mind games. Ward's old habits catch up with him, and Danny discovers that he still has much to learn about being the Iron Fist.
Plot[]
At the lake, Harold Meachum emerges alive, catching his breath. He takes out the knife that is stuck in his stomach and crawls his way out of the water. Harold walks through the street and bathes in the sprinkler that kids are playing with. He proceeds through the park and approaches a hot dog cart. He sticks his hand in the boiling water then quickly backs away in pain. He then throws up on the ground and walks away.
Meanwhile, at Chikara Dojo, Danny Rand interrogates the tied up Madame Gao. Getting angry, he goes to punch her, but stops himself when Colleen Wing tells him they need her. Joy Meachum calls Ward Meachum to ask him what's wrong, but sees Rand. She explains how they have been ousted by Rand. Joy blames Rand, who immediately apologizes. Claire Temple talks to Gao, who talks to her about she always finds herself around powerful people, Daredevil and Luke Cage. She then threatens Temple's mother. Wing gets Temple out of the room to cool off. Wing sits against a box while Gao keeps talking, trying to get Wing angry. Wing walks out holding her stomach and calls for Temple.
Rand sneaks into the Rand Enterprises scientific wing, but is found by Sandi Ann who lets him go despite her job being at stake. Harold continues to walk the streets and eventually walks into Rand Enterprises Building. A man who is walking by accidentally bumps into him. The two exchange a look as they move on. Harold makes his way into Ward's office to find that someone else has moved their stuff in. He then goes to Joy's and finds the same. Harold calls his assistant Kyle. His assistant explains that they got voted out of the company. The man on the street approaches a food truck and quickly knocks the owner out. He then takes out a magazine with Rand's face on the cover.
Ward enters Harold Meachum's Penthouse where he finds his father alive. Harold, holding a knife, explains that the Hand gave him the ability to resurrect himself. Harold approaches Ward and drops the knife, he then apologizes to Ward while crying. Meanwhile, Rand walks into the Dojo and finds a visibly ill Wing laying in bed. He takes the serum that he got from Ann and injects it into Gao. The truth serum makes Gao explain what happened to his family. Gao explains how Harold made a deal with the Hand, but Wendell Rand resisted. She then passes out before she could finish the story. Wing walks into the room and slumps over in pain. She reveals that her arm is poisoned. Gao reveals that she was awake the whole time and she cannot be interrogated. Wing has Rand call Bakuto. Meanwhile, the mysterious man practices his ninja star throwing outside of Rand Enterprises.
Ward asks to leave this life, he is done with this family. Harold explains that he was only trying to toughen him up, nevertheless, he lets Ward walk out. Before Ward leaves, Harold mentions how he will bring Joy into it. Ward pleads him not to and he believes the Hand will kill her. At the Dojo, Wing is getting more pale and the poison stream is reaching the rest of her body. Gao mocks them calling them children for thinking she will live. The lights suddenly turn off and a gas bomb is thrown through the window. The ceiling collapses and another bomb is thrown. Rand summons his Chi and takes out the men. Temple realizes the men aren't ninja's, but military.
Ward meets with Hai-Qing Yang, who talks about how the men who get resurrected keep coming back from death and then go crazy. He tells Ward that the only solution is to run. Ward walks out and uses the Steel Serpent heroin again. He walks out of the building to find police officers who arrest him for using heroin. At the penthouse, Harold finds Kyle and tells him to stay and have ice cream with him. Kyle asks if there is any vanilla flavor. Harold gets mad because he thinks Kyle couldn't be appreciative. He loses his temper and takes the ice cream scooper. He then beats Kyle on the head repeatedly until he is dead. Harold realizes what he has done and mourns Kyle.
At Birch Psychiatric Hospital, Ward meets with Paul Edmonds. Ward explains that Harold had drugs planted in his car which makes Edmonds think he has gone crazy since Harold has been dead for 13 years. Meanwhile, Joy walks into the lower floor of the penthouse and finds that the elevator opened up. Unbeknownst to her, Harold opened it manually from the penthouse. She makes her way up and sees Harold. Astonished, she walks over to him and they hug while she cries.
Wing lies on the ground, Rand tells Gao that if Wing dies, he will kill her. Bakuto knocks on the door and Rand lets him in. Bakuto tells Rand to heal Wing which confuses him. Bakuto explains to Rand that he can heal Wing using his chi. He shows Rand how to do it, which saves Wing. Rand passes out from the exerted energy, so Bakuto takes Wing, Rand, and Gao away to his facility while Temple stays behind. The mystery man watches from a far.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Finn Jones as Danny Rand/Iron Fist
- Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing
- Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum
- Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum
- Ramon Rodriguez as Bakuto
- Sacha Dhawan as Davos
- Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
- David Wenham as Harold Meachum
Guest Stars:
- Wai Ching Ho as Madame Gao
- Alex Wyse as Kyle
- Murray Bartlett as Paul Edmonds
- Henry Yuk as Hai-Qing Yang
- Shirine Babb as Sandi Ann
- Tama Filianga as Officer Herrera
- Paula Cajiao as Officer Randone
- Suni Reyes as Mother
- H. Foley as Hot Dog Vendor
- Yinka Adeboyeku as Food Truck Vendor
- Robert Dill as Hand Soldier (uncredited)
- Ming Qiu as Chinese Guard (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- China (mentioned)
- Japan (mentioned)
- Cave of the Dragon (mentioned)
Events[]
- Siege of the Chikara Dojo
- Infiltration into the Anzhou Laboratory (mentioned)
- Air Crash in the Himalayas (mentioned)
- Trial of Shou-Lao (mentioned)
Items[]
Creatures[]
Vehicles[]
To be added
Organizations[]
- Rand Enterprises
- Hand
- Order of the Crane Mother
- New York City Police Department
- Yangsi Gonshi
- Forbes
- Stark Industries (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Wendell Rand
- Heather Rand
- Daredevil
- Luke Cage
- Soledad Temple
- Kenji Ozawa
- Frank Robbins
- Harold Meachum's Wife
Music[]
Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
---|---|---|
Gao DIY | Trevor Morris |
|
Bad Tea | Trevor Morris |
|
Time Is Up, Danny | Trevor Morris |
|
Trivia[]
- After Joy Meachum encounters with Danny Rand in the beginning of the episode, you can hear someone in the background yelling "I'm walking here". It's a reference to a famous movie quote from the film Midnight Cowboy.
References[]
External Links[]
- The Mistress of All Agonies on IMDb
- The Mistress of All Agonies on Disney+
- The Mistress of All Agonies on Marvel Database