Ironheart – Bad Magic review S1 E4
Bad Magic did something we don’t see much of with shows with a teenaged hero. Riri had to face the music for her decisions. There wasn’t much action here, but this might have been the best episode so far as saw a rarity — a hero struggling with their actions and spiraling as a result.
Ironheart has been getting dunked on by ill-wishers hoping that by sabotaging the review scores it will magically disappear. The reasons for the moronic hate are the same song and dance of race, gender and other ways to show diversity. A common complaint of shows with a woman lead is that she’s written as a Mary Sue wholly incapable of ever making a mistake. And if she did, it’s probably some dude’s fault.
Bad Magic proves Riri Williams is not a superhero on scholarship. She’s having to work for her success beyond “she’s a super genius” and when she fails, she has to sit and marinate in them as well, which was the case for most of Bad Magic.
While NATALIE correctly points out that John would have let her die if the roles were reversed, Riri is struggling with the notion that she actually let him get killed. That wasn’t an on-brand superhero action and if she’s aspiring to be a hero, it’s good that her choice is causing such remorse.
That’s not all it’s causing as Parker can’t get the vision out of his head about Riri letting John die. As the gang reminisces over John while having some pizza — a classic repast staple — Riri is clearly on edge. She doesn’t know that Parker knows what she did, but her Ironheart sense (patent pending) is definitely triggered. When she asks if he has anything for her with the next heist, Parker says “Yeah, I got plans for you” in that ominous tone that suggests some bad things or at least some bad magic is coming her way. Run Riri Run!
Bad Magic shows that beyond being an intellectual genius, Riri is no dummy. She’s rightfully paranoid that Parker is going to come for her and is working feverishly to figure out a way to neutralize his cloak’s powers. NATALIE asks the obvious audience question — why not call Shuri up for help — but Riri goes into how her own shady actions would likely lead to Shuri not offering assistance. Sometimes it’s just that simple to explain why a character won’t seek help.
At least not from Shuri. Her pal, Joe aka Ezekiel Stane? Totally different. Unfortunately, Riri is too late as Joe’s house is surrounded by yellow police tape. That device Riri left at the Heirlum plant got traced by to Joe, outing him as Ezekiel Stane. The real kick is the newscasters laying in on poor Zeke saying that he is a disgrace to the family name and poor Obediah must be rolling around in his grave.
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Understandably, Joe/Zeke isn’t thrilled to see Riri when she visits him in prison especially after her lead off joke. Joe’s only caveat for helping her was to not let it get back to him, which she did, and which led to him being imprisoned.
Parker catches the news and slyly asks Riri if she knows him. Not that he needs her recommendation as Parker visits Zeke in prison with a job offer. Hope Riri has updated her resume.
Riri isn’t just sitting back though as she gives her mother and Xavier a tracking/safety device that triggers a protective field in the alert of trouble. Too bad she overcompensated so when gunshots erupt over the TV, the device activates. This would have also been an interesting subplot beyond The Hood as an overprotective Riri tries to stop anyone else she cares about from getting gunned down.
Ronnie keeps trying to get Riri to open up and brings her to her BFF Madeline’s natural healing and scents store. It’s a bit of a front as Madeline and her daughter, Zelma (Regan Aliyah), are actual trained witches. Madeline got her training at Kamar-Taj, the same spot as Doctor Strange. She left before completing her training once she got pregnant with Zelma, who has largely trained on her own.
While Madeline is more reserved with the use of her powers, Zelma has no such qualms and freely uses them — after transporting the four to another realm. Madeline shuts Zelma down as they start analyzing The Hood’s cloak. She tells Riri that the cloak is bad magic and is dangerous. She needs to get far, far away from it as this is the kind of bad magic that’s bad for Riri and everyone close to her. Sound advice.
Riri is crashing out and flees a concerned Ronnie in her suit in broad daylight. There goes any chance for a secret identity. She’s panicked and can’t breathe in the suit so NATALIE gets Xavier, hoping the sight of her crush will help Riri calm down. It does the opposite effect as Xavier is disgusted that Riri made a hologram AI of his dead sister. Not quite the response that Ronnie had.
As things continue flaming out for Riri, Parker’s gang springs Zeke from prison and work on some new technical specs for him. Looks like Ezekiel Stane is ready for an upgrade of his own. But will Riri be ready for him or The Hood?
Bad Magic made for a solid episode as the season reaches its conclusion with a number of potentially fun outcomes.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Photo Credit: Disney
Enjoyed Bad Magic? Check out the inspiration with the Ironheart: Riri Williams trade now available on Amazon.
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