Joy Meachum & Iron Fist thoughts

So while waiting for the Punisher I’ve had time to marathon the Marvel shows again before the new series dropped. And lets just say rewatching Iron Fist I got a better insight into who Joy Meachum is. It surprises me she isn’t as beloved in this fandom as some of the other ladies in the marvel tv universe. Then again Karen Page for the most part suffers from the same absurdity; guess that’s what happens when the actress plays the part so well. I mean Jessica Stroup is damn good as Joy and gorgeous as hell. She brings a lot of depth, intelligence, integrity and complexities to the character and commands the screen every time she’s on. Its not really shocking to me as her previous works in other shows have been outstanding. But I think for me Joy Meachum is by far my favorite of Stroup’s characters.

Joy is so unique because she can go either way; bad, good or somewhere in middle. Either way Jessica makes you feel for this person because underneath that tough, sophisticated business woman exterior is a tortured soul; damaged and broken which is ironic considering her name. I’ve come to realize of all the characters on Iron Fist, Joy is the only one who wears a mask [metaphorically]. In many ways she’s very much like Karen. All her life she’s put up walls, refused to get close to anyone and strictly kept her mind on the company and her family. She even wears her clothes like armor to protect herself. Unsurprising. Joy didn’t exactly have it easy or a normal upbringing. Her best friend and his parents supposedly died in a plane crash when she was 10. She lost her father to cancer at 13. And we know nothing about her mother. The only person Joy could count on was her older brother Ward; a man keeping secrets of his own.

Ward and Rand became Joy’s entire world for the past 15 years. She’d never formed any other relationships or interests outside of that. It kinda makes you wonder about what Joy fears. Her hardened closed off persona tells me she’s severely afraid of getting hurt again; of being loved or loving someone outside her blood.Though she loves her brother wholly and tries to help him and do right by her family; Joy deliberately forsakes herself from anything or anyone else and that’s what makes her such a tragic figure. I mean she spent years trying to live up to what she thought Ward was on top of trying to exceed her father’s expectations. she put so much effort into the company and for the most part made it better than what he father had done.

This was an ongoing trend for 15 years then BAM! Danny Rand comes back from the dead and throws her whole world out of wack. Just as Joy is content with the life she’d built for herself, someone from her past whom she loved and thought was deceased suddenly shows up. What’s her reaction to this? Terror and hesitation. If you really think about it Joy pushing Danny away no matter how much he screamed made sense. She’d already mourned him once and considering all the agony she’d gone through after the Rands’ and her father’s death these were just old wounds she wasn’t prepared to reopen. This woman literally thinks she’s seeing ghosts when he strolls up to her apartment. Nothing good had come into her life, why would it now? So Joy’s immediate response to Danny at every turn is to reject him.

But here’s the kicker, no matter how much she tries to drive him away in the beginning there’s still that twinge of hope in Joy, a part of her wants to believe him so badly. Even after she and Ward drug Danny and have him committed to a mental institution, Joy still finds herself searching for answers regarding his arrival; if he’s telling the truth and where he’s been for the past 15 years. First she goes through old photos to see if the kid she remembers resembles anything like the strange young man spouting things off about her life.Then Joy does the one secret thing only Danny [her friend] would know about, sending him a package of M&Ms to see if he dissects the brown ones like they use to do when they were kids. Sure enough he does and Joy knows without a doubt in her heart its Danny.

So what does she do afterward? Joy is torn between her loyalty to her family, the company and her feelings towards her childhood best friend. Sure she’s glad he’s alive but at this point Joy still feels she can’t afford any attachments. She doesn’t think there is any room left in her life to include Danny. And She’s convinced herself the girl he knew is long gone. So she resorts to push him away again this time at Ward’s behest by restricting Danny of his Rand name and rightful place at the company. This is the first time Danny glimpses the cold and cruel side of Joy which he doesn’t like at all. In fact her actions succeed in that he finally renounces any semblance of the bond or trust they once shared together; which ends up stirring him into Colleen’s direction.

Unfortunately for Joy she can’t keep up the act any longer. Seeing Danny alive has already messed her up, but now its severing anything decent left inside her. Joy doesn’t like this as her conscience ends up getting the better of her. So on the day the Meachums meet with Danny and his lawyer to discuss a settlement, Joy goes behind Ward’s back and gives Danny the only evidence of his identity. A fingerprint under an old pottery key-holder, she’d been using, that he made for her. Ward of course figures it out right away, knowing his sister still holds a soft spot for Danny. It couldn’t be more obvious. Joy’s been living in his family’s old apartment, surrounded by photos of them as children. She keeps extra photos of them in a box at her desk; along with packages of M&Ms. Everything that reminds her of Danny is there in plain sight. Without realizing it Joy has been harboring her own personal Danny Rand shrine. She is either absolutely in denial or completely unaware of what she feels. But they’re there hidden deep.

Its funny because in all of Danny and Joy’s scenes together, the armor seems to crack. He somehow manages bring out Joy’s vulnerable side that she feels comfortable enough to confide in him. Danny is just so full of light and kindness that it cuts through the darkness Joy finds herself shrouded in most times. She tells him about her father’s death, what she went through since his family’s plane crash; things she hardly discusses with anyone. Not even Ward as close as they are which tells you something about the kind of friendship Joy had with Danny growing up. Now enter Danny trying to adjust as 51% shareholder of the company. He’s not very good at it but can you blame the guy? He was raise by monks for 15 years in a mythical place. At this Joy takes the opportunity to help him a little, maybe even get to know him again. For the most part they start bonding, Joy even smiles and laughs again in his presence. Gahh I can’t get enough of Jessica Stroup and Finn Jones’s beautiful chemistry; they’ve created this fascinating connection between the two characters. I live for that. Anyway they are however interrupted when a gang of assassins tries to kidnap Joy thus further straining any ties she has with Danny.

Now we get into the big stuff involving Ward and their father. In the midst of the Meachums being ousted by the board at Rand [something altogether painful for both siblings], Joy suddenly stumbles on her brother’s giant bomb that Harold had been resurrected and that he’d been forced to keep it a secret from her. Which means Joy had been living under a decades old lie. Danny of course found out earlier and only agrees to keep it from Joy to protect her from the Hand. This burdens Danny as he doesn’t enjoy being dishonest with her anymore than Ward. Joy is so conflicted, confused and shocked about her father she doesn’t know how to handle this situation. And strangely she’s more angry with Danny about the lie than at Ward, who kept her in the dark for years. Yet despite Ward’s continuous warnings that Harold is dangerous, Joy can’t let him go. Because like with Danny, Joy’s hope has been rekindled. And why would she regard Ward at this point after the lies and chasing him down for his drug habits? Joy sees her father alive in front of her. She wants that relationship again because she misses it. She needs it.

As much as Joy wants to be happy her father’s alive she can’t be. Something prevents those feelings. And Joy starts noticing Harold’s dark, more sinister behavior. It scares her. He gets physically violent and short-tempered easily. And he tries to screw over Danny’s right to the company which Joy whole-heartedly objects to. Then there’s Harold’s dealings with the Hand which put Joy smack dab in harms way. By the end of Iron Fist’s first season Joy’s more damaged than ever. But its not the bullet wound that has her in agony its the betrayal of all people she loves. Her brother. Her father. Danny. All of them let her down in ways she can’t discern. And because of that she’s officially closed the door on everyone. On the verge of making irrational decisions based on emotion; something she doesn’t do being as logical minded as she is. Its landed Joy in the cross-hairs of Davos’s feud with Danny and no doubt he will do whatever means necessary to take advantage of her fragile state.

I found that Davos/Joy cliffhanger interesting because it was unexpected. You’d think he would’ve tried manipulating Colleen or Ward but no he went right for Joy. Why? What purpose does this serve him? What is he standing to gain? I mean if Joy isn’t that important to Danny why not seek out someone who is? The Answer is because Davos wants to hurt Danny and what better way to do that than use someone else he cares about to do it. Just think of the chaos Davos could create pushing Joy’s buttons as she plunges further into darkness and pain. And believe me I expect a world of pain ahead for Joy in season 2. But will she accept his offer? Her feelings for Danny are already conflicted enough to hate him or at least try to. We’ve yet to know Joy’s head space at that point nor how she even met Davos. One thing is certain though she’s hurting badly. Its gonna take more than hugs on Ward and Danny’s part to bring Joy around.

Also why the hell was Madam Goa there? What’s she planning? Too bad the Defenders writers didn’t think to give us a tease on that.

All and all I’m pretty excited for what S2 brings. Anyway these are just my Joy Meachum thoughts for the day.