It's been a while, but I figured it was about time we got back to this. The same is going to go for "Legends of Tomorrow" as I really do need to get back up to speed, but for now, we'll dive back into "Daredevil".
For a longer episode, the hook for this one is surprisingly simple. The mob has had enough of the Punisher's crap and decides to go on the offensive. One Irish mobster in particular, named Finn, is intent on getting money that Frank took from him back. Said mobster made for a great villain. He was legitimately menacing and the accent just worked for the situation.
It was nice to see the mob presented as a credible threat. Too often, they're just fodder for the admittedly badass protagonist and his anti-hero counterpart. Here, we see them get the drop on Frank and actually succeed in taking him captive. Not that he goes down easy, of course. It takes a dose of sedative, as well as a thorough tazing before Frank succumbs to unconsciousness.
While the torture Frank endures is no doubt brutal, he does seem to "no sell" the various hits. It isn't until Finn takes a power drill to his foot that Frank seems in any way affected. Of course, even that pales in comparison to the sight of seeing the dog get threatened. I am glad that the dog got out of it unharmed. Considering how brutal it was up to this point, I don't know if viewers could stomach seeing that done to an animal. Even having it done off screen would have been hard to sit through.
Frank does turn the tables in fairly impressive fashion, though it does ultimately fall to Daredevil to come bail him out. It was kind of cool to see the two working together against a common foe. Who knows? It might lay the groundwork for Frank to eventually join the Defenders. Now, it is true that Matt had to keep checking on Frank to make sure he didn't kill anyone, but it's a big step in the right direction considering every other encounter consisted of the two beating the crap out of each other. It makes sense for Matt to keep him in check, but it's a bit odd as Matt routinely chucks lead pipes and wrenches directly at people's faces with full force. You'd think that would run a high risk of being fatal, but fortune favors them as the mobsters seem to survive.
As great as the action is, the following scene in a graveyard, where Daredevil and Punisher have a friendly chat is probably the highlight of the episode. It showed the two start to connect and Frank gets to show his humanity in a way that he really hadn't had a chance to before. Bernthal does a great job with the scene too. I've praised his performance thus far and everyone says he's great, but this is probably one of the peaks that show just why he's getting as much credit as he is.
Karen has a subplot of her own where she uncovers details about Frank's back story. It's largely just something for her to do. I do wonder why she went through the trouble of breaking into Frank's house. She already had his name by that point, you'd think a simple google search could have brought up old newspaper articles about what happened to give her an idea of what his deal is. Granted, it may not be as dramatic or eat up as much time, but it seems like the more practical approach.
The episode also seems to take cues from Bale's Bruce Wayne. Matt's conversation with the priest suggests that Matt is looking for a time where he can hang up the mask. He also lets Officer Mahoney take the credit for Castle's arrest so that it will be easier for the law to step up and keep vigilantes from running wild and taking control of everything.
After this whole ordeal, I can't say that it doesn't make sense, but between the upcoming war that Stick spoke of and Thanos out there, I wouldn't mind seeing more costumed heroes popping up to bolster the forces for good.
I had read that unlike the first season's extended arc, this season is made up of mini-arcs. It's an interesting way to structure things and it is very comic book-esque. The episode ends with Frank in custody, but I'm guessing that he's not out of the picture just yet. The conflict seems more or less wrapped up though, thankfully, the episode ends with a teaser as to what's to come, with Elektra making her first appearance.
Again, it's a very Batman thing; though in this case it's 1966 Adam West Batman, where there's hardly a break after one matter is taken care of before something else pops up. It's one of those things that you just have to go along with, but it can come off as very strange.
I'm looking forward to this next arc. I was very intrigued by Stick's talk about an oncoming war, and I have a feeling that the next few episodes are going to take that ball and really start to run with it. I'm still fairly certain that this is going to be the central focus of "The Defenders", which makes it all the more interesting to me, so we'll see how that plays out.
It was good to get back into this. The hiatus meant that I had to play some mental catch up regarding what was happening, but the episode still manages to work fairly well. Even if you were watching this as a stand alone, I think you could get by just having a broad understanding of what's what. So, it was probably a good thing that this acted as my re-entry point. As a whole, it was a solid watch, which I've come to expect, but it still deserves credit.
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