As this is the season's penultimate episode, it should come as no surprise that this raises the stakes a fairly considerable degree. There's action, tense stand-offs, and even a major reveal or two.
Picking up where the last episode left off, we see Elektra is still intent on killing Stick. While the old man doesn't look like much, he's able to hold his own against the younger assassin fairly well. Still, Daredevil takes it upon himself to barge in and prevent Elektra from seeking her vengeance.
Stick later says that Matt thinks that her doing this would be a "point of no return" but I'm not sure how that's true. If Frank's line is anything to go by, she was long gone when she first started killing, but that's neither here nor there.
It seems like the two quasi-allies are about to come to blows when the Hand arrives to force an uneasy alliance. While this confrontation was likely shorter than the one at the hospital, this one felt more impressive. Both had sufficient buildup, but maybe the fact that the whole "team" was working together to fend off the swarm of ninjas gave it some extra kick...get it? Kick....they use martial arts....
In true "Hand" fashion, the villains take what they want and vanish. In this case, it's Stick. Elektra's happy to leave him, but Matt's insistence on rescue forces her to partake. More specifically, she wants to be the one to kill him. She's never going to get asked to join the Defenders with that attitude, but it does make for some nice character conflict.
You'd think that this would give the episode a "race against the clock" feel as both parties frantically try to track the elusive ninjas. Oddly, it isn't really touched on at all. Elektra shows up after Matt makes the rescue, but neither party seemed too concerned about it up to that point. Maybe she was just sitting back and letting Matt do all the leg work, tracking and clearing out defenses, but that isn't made clear.
It does give us some impressive fight sequences as Matt has to try to fight enemies that he can no longer track as they abandon their weapons. I'm a little torn on the catalyst for the turning of the tide. It never occurred to Matt that they need to breathe? Also, you'd think that controlling and silencing your heartbeat would be more difficult. With all that training, breath control seems like it would be part of the package. I'd think just grabbing a guy after he hit you would be the more likely way to gain the upper hand (ha) as they'd have to be within arm's reach, but whatever.
In any event, Elektra's arrival marks one of the aforementioned reveals. It turns out that Elektra is a black sky. This provides a more logical reason for Stick to mark her for death. It also means that the Hand swear their loyalty to her.
Now, this is supposed to tie in to her love of violence and/or possible chance of redemption. Put her two conflicting sides at odds and force her to choose once and for all. The thing is, couldn't she just turn the Hand into something slightly more benevolent? Command them to fill up that big hole in the ground, call off the war with the Chaste, and start using those ninja skills to take down the myriad of threats that plague the MCU Earth. There's a potential oncoming alien army, these guys could be useful on that front.
Either way, the reveal is a mixed bag. Despite knowing the twist, it was still executed well enough. The episode also had enough tension, what with so many characters arguing different viewpoints, but the fact that we still have no idea what a Black Sky is kind of robs the twist of any power. I know, the writers want to be mysterious, but it's hard to get invested in this when we don't know what the ramifications are.
You could argue that it's moot as Elektra seemingly chooses redemption and agrees to save Stick. It does seem like she's contemplating using the situation to kill him herself, but Stick manages to talk her out of it, by reminding her of why Matt went through the trouble in the first place. I'm not sure how true Stick's claim is. While Matt did want to keep Elektra from killing, he also made it clear that, despite their differences, he still harbors some loyalty to the old man. Maybe Stick was just saying whatever was necessary to keep himself alive, but I think that both motivations could have easily applied.
With all of this, you might think that the Punisher sub-plot was more or less wrapped up. Even Karen and Ellis discuss this, as it seems like all the relevant parties are dead. But the prior is convinced to keep investigating, if only to present a more complete picture of Frank when the paper writes their article about his life.
This brings Karen to Frank's old Marine buddy, the one who testified on his behalf. In another one of the episode's reveals, it turns out that he was running the drug ring. Considering the character is played by Clancy Brown, I had high hopes for the heel turn. His deep voice has often been used to great villainous effect, but honestly, I found the earlier scenes when he was still putting on a friendly face more compelling.
I think part of it is because he gets more taciturn after he pulls the gun. He gets a small moment, when he starts taunting Frank when the latter shows up,but alas, he is robbed of any sort of monologue that could put his baritone to good use.
It does give the episode's two plot lines a nice parallel. Just as Matt pleaded with Elektra to spare a life, so too does Karen make a similar plea to Frank. She makes a valiant effort, invoking both Frank's family and his own friendship with her to try and appeal to his better nature, but it's for naught. It seems like her pleas fell on deaf ears, but given what Frank did last episode, a quick gun shot to the head seems somewhat merciful. Granted, that doesn't give Karen much comfort, but it's something to ponder.
The cliffhanger ending was a bit lacking. I suppose the more important factor was Nobu surviving the fatal-under-any-other-circumstance fall, but his declaration that Daredevil must die seems both over-dramatic and redundant. Granted, they have yet to succeed, but it doesn't seem like the Hand was in any way intent on keeping Matt alive. That sort of line works better when it's a "now the gloves come off, we're not screwing around anymore" declaration. The gloves were already off, so it doesn't pack the sort of punch that you would hope for.
Still, I'm looking forward to the finale. As with most shows, one wonders how they're going to wrap this up in an hour. Of course, I'm guessing that the bigger plot will resume either in 'The Defenders' or in later seasons of the show, but it'll still be interesting to watch in any event.
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