Ironheart “Take Me Home” Review

Season 1 Episode 1 – MIT student Riri Williams builds an advanced armor suit inspired by Tony Stark. While dealing with challenges as a young black woman in tech, she confronts a tech-based threat and must decide if she’s ready to become Ironheart.

Usually, I structure my reviews into what I liked and disliked. It helps break things down clearly and gives people an easy way to understand my ratings. But for the first time in a long time, I couldn’t stick to that format. Not because the episode was bad, but because I didn’t feel strongly enough in either direction to justify that approach.

This episode of Ironheart wasn’t terrible. It just wasn’t anything special. It was… okay. That’s the best way I can describe it. I normally jot down my likes and dislikes while watching, then flesh them out for the final piece. This time, I had two likes and one dislike, hardly enough for a compelling breakdown.

The episode starts off strong with Riri Williams being expelled from MIT. She exits in style, taking the suit she built using money earned from doing other students’ assignments. She’s told not to take what doesn’t belong to her, so, of course, she does exactly that. It was a bold and entertaining moment, but sadly, it ended up being the highlight of the episode.

We’re introduced to Parker Robbins, aka The Hood, fairly early on. Right now, he doesn’t feel convincing as a villain. His crew isn’t much better; their robbery scene lacked tension or believability, and I didn’t feel invested in any of it. I know there are more episodes to come, and maybe they’ll build him and his crew up properly, especially with rumors of Dormammu being tied to Parker’s powers. The cloak-over-the-doll moment in his safe definitely gave off some Doctor Strange vibes, which could be promising if explored well.

Much of the episode focuses on Riri struggling with her suit, her finances, and, repeatedly, how she’s not Tony Stark. She and others mention Tony’s wealth and resources several times, which starts to feel forced after a while. The show seems desperate to make a point that she’s different from him, but ironically, it can’t stop bringing him up. If the whole idea is that Ironheart stands on her own, the writing needs to reflect that confidence.

The financial struggle angle is understandable to a point, but it also raises a bigger question. After everything Riri did in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, including helping Shuri and essentially saving Wakanda, it’s strange that she’s left to fend for herself. Wakanda has provided resources to others, like Sam Wilson, for far less. So why isn’t Shuri helping her? It feels like a major oversight, or worse, like the shows and movies aren’t aligned properly.

I will say the episode’s pacing and structure were decent. There’s just enough intrigue to keep me interested in what comes next. But the show needs to deliver on that promise soon.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad episode; it laid some groundwork, but it needs serious building from here. I trust Ryan Coogler, so I’m optimistic, but the bar has been set at a pretty average level in the opening episode.

One standout is Dominique Thorne, who absolutely nails Riri once again. Just like in Wakanda Forever, she brings a no-nonsense energy and a clear sense of purpose to the role. She’s the heartbeat of this show, and she deserves credit for carrying the episode as well as she did.

I haven’t watched episodes 2 and 3 yet; those reviews will come separately. Who knows, I might end up eating my words, and I’m always happy to admit when I’m wrong. But for now, Ironheart is off to a modest, if slightly wobbly, start.

Rating 6.8/10