Harold Meachum lead quite the unique life — maybe not as unique as Danny "I fought a literal dragon in a magical cave" Rand, but Harold has been given a second and third chance at life. Spoilers for Iron Fist ahead. At the hand of the criminal organization that is almost too appropriately called the Hand, he has been using Rand Enterprises as a front for an international heroin ring in exchange for the apparent gift of immortality. That unfortunate catch is that if the Hand doesn't want to keep him alive, they don't have to. So after his most recent death at the end of Season 1 of Iron Fist, is Harold Meachum dead for good?
Harold Meachum's first resurrection came after a long battle with cancer. Once he came back to life, Harold began controlling his company through his son, Ward, who he had a toxic, controlling grasp over. After over a decade of this manipulation, Ward finally snapped and murdered his own father.
Despite being riddled with stab wounds and left in a murky swamp to bleed out, the power of the Hand still found Harold and he returned to life once more. Still, even though death has clearly never stopped Harold before, it appears that the third time may be the charm.
The biggest indication that Harold's third death might be the one that sticks is the state of his body. Previously, Harold recovered from cancer and a stabbing. Both events left most of his body intact, so that he could reasonably be brought back with a magical tune-up. After slipping up once, Ward realized that if he's going to finish the job of killing his own father, he's going to have to go the extra step and make sure that Harold never comes back. When Ward discusses killing his father, there is even a specific mention of removing his head from his body, so it seems that the state of his body does affect his ability to recover.
The last we see of Harold in the first season of Iron Fist, it seems that his entire body is being destroyed. A coffin that is implied to be holding his body is seen being set aflame, presumably to cremate him.
The Hand may have magic abilities, but it's doubtful that they're capable of putting someone back together after burning their body. Then again, people who underestimate The Hand have a tendency to end up in bad situations, so perhaps Harold could somehow still return to the world of the living. But would he still be Harold Meachum?
As Kyle noticed upon Harold's second return from the grave (R.I.P. Kyle, here's hoping you're having vanilla ice cream in Marvel heaven), every time Harold comes back to life, he leaves a little bit of himself behind. If the Hand decides that Harold Meachum is still a valuable asset to them and manages to un-flambé him, there may not be any of the real Harold left. His descent from cunning business figure to cold-hearted murderer shows that Harold's more magic than man at this point, and the Harold that Ward, Joy, and Danny grew up with is truly gone forever.
