Episode Review: Ironheart Episode 4 - "Bad Magic"

Welcome back to the blog readers. In case you have been living under a rock over the last month or so, I have not been overly impressed so far with Ironheart (2025). But there are some positives: Dominique Thorne is killing it as Riri, Anthony Ramos is killing it as the Hood, and last episode was a surprisingly good one. The question remains: will they be able to keep that momentum going? We will find out in this episode, titled "Bad Magic," written by Amir Sulaiman, and directed by Angela Barnes.

NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.

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I had been waiting for that spark that would light the fires underneath this show and transform it from something that just existed to something that would stick in the back of my mind. I could sense last episode was building up to what I was looking for, and this episode is exactly that. It was nothing mind-bogglingly incredible like Daredevil: Born Again's (2025-) fourth episode or the second episode of The Last of Us's (2023-) second season, but this was the best episode of the show so far. Dominique Thorne gives her best performance yet and we are finally moving along with the story.

To think that three years ago when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) came out, I had no idea who Dominique Thorne was. That time has passed and while her performance in the film as Riri Williams was pretty forgettable, her performance in this show has been miles above that. And this episode is the most definitive proof of that so far. She will not win any Emmys for her role in this show, but her layered, complex, and honestly brutal performance in this fourth episode will truly stick with me. Just in the dynamics she is able to tap into with the various characters is enough to make me really feel for this character.

And now I want to talk about the story of this episode, because it is one that will further affect the entire television and film aspects of the MCU. We start with a brief flashback regarding Parker and John when they are first starting up as robbers, and they elect to steal from this mansion. The two split up after affirming their aspirations and Parker finds a safe in the main office of the mansion. He opens it and is promptly met by a security guard that John fatally shoots. Cutting back to the present day, Parker is lamenting the death of his cousin as his gang shares what they will miss about John. He fades in and out while listening to them and ends by telling them he will miss his loyalty and that he died for it. He tells them to be on the lookout for their next job as Riri is beginning to panic. She believes that Parker is aware she was responsible for John's death and she is afraid "Joe McGillicuddy" will be found by police for his involvement with Riri.

Turns out, her fears were true because she cannot beat the police to his house. His alleged involvement in the Heirlum heist and his real name of Ezekiel Stane have been outed to the public, and Zeke is taken to prison. Before this, she was expressing her fears to N.A.T.A.L.I.E. about Parker and his plans for her, while trying to analyze his hood to no avail. Not even the AI can calm her down. She visits Zeke in prison and he turns on her, calling her a selfish child that is a liar and a manipulator. Riri then visits the Hood's gang and learns from Parker that a new tech specialist will be coming in to "pick up the slack." He also reveals he knows Zeke is Riri's friend. He also congratulates her on getting someone else framed for their crimes and this really unnerves her.

She begins to get extremely paranoid, putting cameras up around their apartment and giving her mother and Xavier special watches without explaining their purpose. She asks Xavier if she is a good person, and he answers by telling her that good and bad cannot describe her, that it depends on who she is talking to, and that he sees her as a smart person. Her paranoia (and N.A.T.A.L.I.E.) cannot get her to sleep so she eventually sleeps in her suit. When she hears gunshots on her mother's television, she bursts out of her bedroom and her mother's watch activates, leading to a shield surrounding her. Ronnie is furious and demands an explanation from her daughter, and Riri confesses she needs her mother's help.

The next day, they visit Ronnie's friend Madeline Stanton's shop where Riri meets her daughter Zelma, who instantly recognizes the fabric in Parker's hood and transports the four to a different realm. We learn that Madeline studied at Kamar-Taj and left when Zelma was born. Madeline reveals the cloak originates from the darkest dimension possible, so she advises Riri to destroy it without telling her who made it. Madeline and Zelma throw Riri and Ronnie out of the store, and Ronnie confronts her daughter. They begin to argue because Riri is not letting her mother in and it is frustrating her. She leaves in her suit in disgust at her mother. Meanwhile, Parker visits Zeke in prison and extends an offer to join him and embrace who he really is as Ezekiel or rot in prison as Joe. Parker tells a confused Zeke he has until lights out to make his decision.

Riri has been flying in her suit but has begun having another panic attack. She orders N.A.T.A.L.I.E. to let her out of the suit and it drops her off at a scrapyard. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. flies off with the suit, claiming to know what will calm Riri down. It then flies to Xavier's apartment and urges him to get in the suit. He complies and is flown to the scrapyard, where he is successfully able to calm her down. He does not know why she had his armor take him to her, and N.A.T.A.L.I.E. reveals itself to him. Horrified and disgusted, he blasts Riri by claiming she had no right to use his deceased sister. She tries to counter by saying she did not mean to create the AI based on Natalie, but Xavier tells her she can delete it and throws the "watch" she made him back at her as he leaves. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. flies away in shame, leaving Riri alone in the scrapyard. Meanwhile, night has fallen and Zeke has decided to join Parker's group, and they help him escape prison. Slug comments that they like Zeke and they begin creating a design that he built. Parker tells the crew that Riri is responsible for John's death as Zeke undergoes a biological implant that makes him look like Parker.

Ironheart is starting to get real good now, with a star-making performance from Dominique Thorne and the makings of a collision for the ages. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.