Recap: Riri Starts Her New Job in Second Episode of Marvel's "Ironheart"

Marvel’s Ironheart may have gotten off to a bit of a rushed start in its debut episode, it brought Riri Willams back into the spotlight in the MCU, so that’s a win. Now, with things ramping up in the second episode, Riri is in for a brand new and probably ill-advised adventure.

This second episode opens with Riri waking up to find her new Natalie AI staring at her. She immediately begins scrambling to erase the hologram of her deceased best friend, while the AI objects. Natalie explains that her name is actually an acronym standing for Neuro Autonomous Technical Assistant and Laboratory Intelligence Entity, a name reminiscent of Jarvis.

Riri and Natalie argue over her existence and Riri explains that she was trying to recreate the Wakandan AI known as Griot. The conversation is interrupted when Riri gets a text from Parker, or the Hood, telling her to come to a team meeting. Riri’s mother, Ronnie, also calls for her and Riri orders Natalie to be quiet while she answers the door. She assures her mother she’s okay and closes the door in her face. She then heads out to her meeting and orders Natalie to stay in her room and do nothing until she gets back.

On her way out, Riri finds Xavier taking juice from their fridge. She drops a Sister, Sister reference on him before he invites her out to see a show that night. She agrees and there is clearly the start of a romantic relationship brewing.

Riri gets to her meeting with Parker and his crew. He introduces everyone in the crew one by one, starting with Slug,  whom we learn is a hacker from Madripoor. Roz and Jeri, previously known as the Blood Siblings, were world class athletes and fighters. Clown is the team’s pyrotechnics specialist. John, Parker’s cousin, is billed as “HR, recruiter, getaway driver," and through a joke from Clown, a guy who “plays with knives." Parker announces that Riri is replacing Stuart as the team’s mechanic and tech specialist.

John breaks down the job, explaining that they are robbing Sheila Zarate, a billionaire who is funding the creation of a new tunnel highway system underneath Chicago. Slug tells Riri she will be uploading a virus by plugging in a flash drive in true Independence Day fashion. After the breakdown, Riri asks about getting paid, which draws some laughs from the team before Parker refocuses them.

Riri works on her suit back at home but realizes she needs parts that she can’t get easily. Natalie interrupts her and explains she found a list of black market shoppers nearby who might have the parts she needs. Riri says she’s going after a man named Joe McGillicuddy, which prompts excitement from Natalie. The AI spins off into a thought about she and Riri singing in her dad’s car but Riri interrupts her, wondering how she could possibly have that memory. Riri pulls back from the conversation though and informs Natalie she won’t be coming with her, tethering her to her laptop instead. Natalie points out that Riri can’t carry her suit all the way, which prompts her to go back to her friend Landon to rent his wagon.

Riri gets to Joe’s house and sees he is being walked all over by his neighbor. Joe drops some groceries and Riri offers to help him. There’s some friendly conversation before Riri reveals the real reason she’s there and shows him her suit. In Joe’s house, he tries to convince Riri she has the wrong guy before eventually caving and admitting he has what she needs after she threatens to call the FBI on him. He tells her they need to go to his bunker where he keeps all of his tech.

In Joe’s car, Riri starts to receive text messages from Natalie, who has now figured out how to text. Riri hears Joe crying and questions him. He tells her his coworker blackmails him twice a day and she tells him to demand respect. There’s a bit of a friendship coming together here, which becomes more evident when Joe puts on an Alanis Morissette song and Riri starts to sing along.

Back home, Natalie plays back what Riri said about the AI being a hologram of her dead best friend. The AI finds photos of the real Natalie and decides to break free to help Riri. Eventually, she finds a way out and accidentally makes her way to a projector being used by Riri’s mother. After a moment of panic, Natalie explains everything and Ronnie immediately calms down.

Joe and Riri continue their singalong before they arrive at his bunker. Upon seeing his collection of illegal tech, Riri questions Joe on his true intentions. He explains he was just always interested in technology because of his father and that he wants to use it to help people. He redirects the question at Riri, implying she must be trying to help people with her suit. Riri shrugs the comment off though, saying she only built the suit because she could.

Back home, Ronnie and Natalie talk. Ronnie is surprisingly accepting of the fact that she is talking to a projection of her daughter’s long deceased best friend. But, then again, everyone in the MCU has lived through a lot of crazy things at this point.

In the bunker, Riri works on the suit while she asks Joe about the ethics of creating an AI by using brain scanning technology. Joe says the AI would be efficient but it would only be ethical if the creator was ethical. There is then a weird moment where Joe doesn’t want to touch any of his own tech, but Riri convinces him to. When he asks where her arc reactor is, she explains her suit is solar and wind powered. Riri receives a text from Clown and she fires up her newly functional suit and flies off, leaving Joe in his bunker.

The crew begins their heist of the new tunnel system and we see that Zarate herself is in a car making a test run through the highway. John, Roz and Jeri make their way into a control room and immediately begin taking out security guards. Clown makes an entrance for Riri to get into the tunnels, where she can upload the virus. Everything is going according to the plan until Natalie startles Riri on her HUD and makes her drop the flash drive.

Natalie finds another way for Riri to shut down the system and she goes after one of the platforms moving through the tunnels. In the control room, Slug lets the team know Riri lost the drive and they can’t get a hold of her. John mentions that Parker “can’t hold his breath all night." In the comics, the Hood has the ability to be invisible as long as he holds his breath.

Riri magnetizes to a platform speeding through the tunnel and gets to work on dislodging the car, which would shut down the system and allow Slug to get in. She reconnects her comms to the team and explains her new plan, overcoming some objection from John. After an Addams Family reference and a close call, Slug is able to shut down the system.

Zarate’s car comes to a halt and Parker appears inside with an exhale. He explains that his team just hijacked her system and hands her a contract that would put everyone on the team on her company’s payroll and make him an anonymous part owner. John hears that she signed the contract and the team makes their way out.

Riri emerges back out on the street and begins to celebrate with Natalie. They’re interrupted though when a security guard points his gun at them. Natalie freezes and begins to glitch, leaving Riri exposed with her helmet open. After a tense moment, a shot is fired from behind Riri. We see the bullet move in slow motion, glancing off of Riri’s suit before hitting the guard in the shoulder. Riri turns to find Parker, who tells her not to worry about the guard.

In the crew’s hangout, Riri asks Clown some questions about Parker. Clown tells her she’s heard a few things about the Hood, including that he wrestled it off of a demon. Of course, that is pretty much how he got his mystical cloak in the comics. Clown also says she saw that he has scales all over his body, but they’re interrupted by John, who tells Riri sometimes it’s best to keep her questions to herself. Later, Parker gives a speech to the team and it’s clear Riri is growing more and more skeptical of him.

Riri steps outside and calls her suit. As it lands in front of her, Natalie appears and apologizes for her glitch, explaining that it was triggered by the gun. She then changes the conversation to Parker. Natalie tells Riri she sensed “some crazy energy" coming from him and that she couldn’t analyze it. Riri shrugs it off initially but admits she’s skeptical of him too. However, she says she’s willing to work with him until she finishes the job and she needs Natalie to have her back. Riri gets a text from Xavier reminding her about the show and she orders Natalie to stay hidden.

Riri meets Xavier at a concert and the two have a brief debate of Star Wars vs. Star Trek. She brings up the mixtape he gave her and Xavier says he wishes he could talk to his sister now. Riri just smiles, knowing she could grant his wish but also that it wouldn’t be real.

In his hideout, Parker appears to be in pain as we hear whispers coming from his cloak. John walks in to see the dark veins on his back extending farther than before. Parker tells John not to worry about him and it’s the price he has to pay “after what he did to me." It’s unclear just who Parker is talking about here, but I imagine we’ll get some answers soon enough.

Riri gets home to find Ronnie waiting for her. Ronnie tells her she knows about Natalie and raves about her work. Fighting back tears, she asks if she can make one of Gary, her deceased husband. Riri says she can’t and that she doesn’t even know what Natalie is.

We then see Joe throwing out some trash in the form of “Live, Laugh, Love" signs he had hanging in his house. He steps in his neighbor’s dog’s droppings and gets frustrated. Finally seeming ready to stand up for himself, he walks over to his neighbor’s house and cuts a bunch of her flowers as Alanis Morissette plays us to the end of the episode.

This show hit its stride in this second episode. Pacing evened out and the characters were given time to breathe, which is ironic given how long Parker held his breath. And now with Riri seeing what the Hood can do and growing increasingly skeptical of him, we seem close to having a line drawn between this show’s hero and its villain.

The first three episodes of Marvel’s Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+.