Ironheart has gotten an insufferable amount of criticism for the worst reasons. With audiences review-bombing the show before it even released, it was almost destined to be a flop, no matter what the quality was. What’s made it even worse is that the show is sadly one of the MCU’s weaker outings, in my opinion. The trolls may say that the show is bad for other reasons, but the horrific decision-making by the characters and the lackluster storyline are the reasons why, I feel, it doesn’t live up to previous Marvel television series. It may not be a true dumpster fire like other Marvel outings, but it falls much shorter than it should. From the mistreatment of characters to an ambiguous ending that likely won’t continue on afterward, Ironheart is a sad ending to Phase 5 of the MCU.
Riri Williams is Too Flawed of a Character
Dominique Thorne is compelling as Riri Williams, adding a Gen-Z charm that blends well with the rest of the cast, but the writing for her character makes it difficult to latch onto her. Williams is constantly making the worst decisions she can, which makes for a difficult viewing experience. The show attempts to justify this by giving her trauma she can’t look past, but her decision-making is so baffling that it is impossible to get past. The show’s ending also attempts to explain what her flawed decision-making means for the MCU, but by the time it got there, it was too little, too late.
Riri Williams is also incredibly selfish. Characters like her mother, Ronnie, and friend Xavier attempt to bring Riri back from being a shut-down, technology-obsessed engineer, but she views them as obstacles in her path rather than sources of love. Seeing these kind-hearted characters treated this poorly made it hard for me to care about anything that happened in the show. In most cases, having a flawed character makes the show infinitely more interesting, but Ironheart does it to a fault.
Riri is not the only character who makes bad decisions. The Hood, played by Anthony Ramos, is also a character who is extremely hard to root for. His heists involved getting rich CEOs to sign a contract that allows him a portion of their business earnings – a baffling choice that makes no sense whatsoever. His reasoning for being a villain is also idiotic, with a thrown-together backstory in the final episode that added very little to his character. Even though villains aren’t supposed to be characters you root for, the showrunners’ attempts at sympathy made the Hood a lackluster antagonist.
The Marvel TV Show Structure Has Never Worked
The structure of every MCU television show makes it clear they have no clue how to do TV. Other than some outliers like WandaVision and Loki, the low episode count does not fulfill what it means to be a television show. Most of the MCU shows feel like extended movies, with tons of filler and a rushed finale: Ironheart is one of them. The episodes feel like they are repeating the same themes without any progression; once the finale hits, it tries to rush into a variety of different story beats, whether it’s setting up what’s to come in the future or swiftly laying out the main takeaway of the show. Even though Ironheart ends on a wildly unexpected moment, it didn’t feel fulfilling at all.
The way the show handled Ezekiel Stane, played by Alden Ehrenreich, was extremely disappointing. What started as an interesting depiction of legacy quickly turned into a shameless CGI villain that added nothing to the overall narrative. The way they ended his character arc was poor as well, with his character turning from a redemptive genius to a petty, revenge-driven villain. Despite Ehrenreich delivering a strong and sometimes comical performance, the direction they took the character was very disheartening.
Despite many issues with the show, there are a couple of positive aspects to acknowledge. The directing in many episodes is surprisingly impressive; the show plays around with letters that are presented on the screen to emphasize a moment. From a “Gary’s” sign turning into “Ry’s” when Riri is working there, or the word “ouch” spelled out on a White Castle sign after Riri falls on it, there are a lot of fun tidbits included by the filmmakers that enhance the viewing experience.
Ironheart may not be the “woke garbage” that online trolls will tell you it is; however, its screenplay and overall execution made for a frustrating six episodes. Although the ending sets up an interesting future for the MCU, the journey there was hard for me to get through. Props to Marvel Studios for doing something different with how they portray their characters, but this was a misfire.
All episodes of Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+.
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