As Danny deals with the consequences of Colleen’s involvement with The Hand, the audience gets treated to flashbacks to the aftermath of him becoming the Iron Fist. He and Davos also get patched up from their fight with Bakuto’s students courtesy of Claire, the interactions providing us with connections to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially “Luke Cage,” in “Lead Horse Back to Stable.”
Spoiler warning: There will be spoilers for the Marvel Cinematic Universe if you aren’t yet caught up!
Comic book references
After Danny becomes the Iron Fist, we see a bit of the aftermath in this episode with Danny and Davos outside of the cave that houses the dragon.
Davos says he’ll be Danny’s second, and proclaims them both the “protectors of K'un-Lun.” As has been mentioned in previous Easter eggs, Davos wanted to become the Iron Fist. Their conversation here, with Davos telling Danny that it’s not what any of them thought would happen, seems to affirm that comic book link as well.
This episode also sees Davos calling Lei Kung “father,” affirming the comic book connection between the two there as well. We also get a better look at the robes the guys wear in K'un-Lun, which have the same color scheme as the traditional comic book costume the Iron Fist wears
Joy dismisses Bakuto being the one to funnel money out of Rand accounts since it’s happening through other Rand Enterprises accounts.
South America may have been chosen though since that’s where Bakuto operates out of in the comics, so it makes sense that it would be him stealing from the company.
Marvel Cinematic Universe Easter eggs
The area of the MCU we get the most connections to in “Lead Horse Back to Stable” is “Luke Cage,” which makes sense considering the two were best friends in the comics and went into business together.
The shirt Claire passes over to Danny after stapling his injury looks like one that was worn by Luke Cage once upon a time. Unbreakable skin doesn’t mean unbreakable clothing and we know plenty of his clothing ended up riddled with bullet holes.
There’s also a can of Cafe Bustelo coffee in Claire’s kitchen. In addition to being a staple coffee in Latin American households, Claire’s coffee of choice in her mother’s kitchen happens to be the same brand that made the swear jar in Pop’s Barber Shop in “Luke Cage.” The label is turned slightly away from the camera during the scene where Claire prepares coffee, so it’s possible that the producers didn’t actually have clearance to use it in the show this time around.
As Colleen and Claire argue on the front step, there’s a banner on the building across the street that reads “New Harlem Renaissance.” You might remember this as the program corrupt politician Mariah Dillard was trying to implement in “Luke Cage” to clean up the streets.
As Bakuto and Colleen’s former students take her into custody, intent on this being her final moments, he tells her she’ll still be able to give to The Hand. The area where they take her is full of cages and chains and medical equipment. It looks just like the area where people’s blood was taken and they were sacrificed so that Elektra could be reborn as Black Sky in “Daredevil” season two.
There’s also a shout out to an actual New York establishment that made an appearance in “Spider-man 2,” long before Spidey was part of the MCU.
Joe’s, according to Claire, has the best slice in New York. It’s also where Peter Parker worked. Even Claire’s meal choices bring Marvel heroes together.
Up next
The Meachums find themselves in the middle of Bakuto and Danny’s fight in “Bar the Big Boss.” Colleen also decides she’s on the wrong side, but it’s going to be very difficult for Danny and Davos to trust her.
