With everything going on with the Frank Castle and Hand plot lines, the show has done a pretty good job of making you not miss Fisk too much. Great a villain as he was, and as great as D'onofrio did, the current season kept you invested enough that his absence wasn't really felt.
That being said, it was great to see him in action again. In fact, his parts of the episode provide most of the highlights. D'onofrio still owns the role and the episode gives him a lot of great material, as he manages to manipulate situations to his advantage despite his limited resources.
In his endeavors to rise to power, Fisk enlists Castle in disposing of a rival felon who essentially runs the joint. Not surprisingly, Castle's not too keen on this arrangement. It takes a while, but Fisk does manage to sway him. Frankly, I'm surprised that Castle bought Fisk's line about Dutton's involvement in the death of Frank's family so easily. Fisk doesn't really provide any proof; he just says that he knows. I was expecting it to be revealed that Dutton had no idea what Frank was talking about when the two confronted each other, but it does turn out to be somewhat true and it leads to the revelation that the operation was a sting operation set up by the authorities. This especially comes into play with Karen, as she is determined to find the truth, even though the case is apparently closed.
Both Castle and Fisk have a great dynamic. The prior clearly doesn't like the latter, but Fisk (in true Lex Luthor-esque fashion) is able to get him to go along by offering Frank what he wants, while openly acknowledging that he himself has benefits to reap from it. It's always fun to watch characters like that work, and it works especially well here.
This plot also gives us some solid action beats as Frank gets a hallway fight of his own after Fisk double crosses him and releases a group of inmates to topple Castle. Frank probably should have seen that coming, but oh well. The slow motion wasn't really working for me, but there were enough highlights and acts of jaw dropping viciousness to make up for it.
On top of that, we get a solid fight between Castle and Fisk. I was expecting this to end in a curb-stomp, where Frank's training would demolish Fisk's brute force approach to fighting, but it's fairly even for the most part. In fact, Fisk actually ends up with the upper hand. Of course, Fisk held his own against Daredevil, so it isn't as jarring as one might think.
Speaking of Daredevil, he has things to do too. First off, he sends Elektra away because he's skeptical about her desire to be good. It seems a bit abrupt, I have to figure that, growing up the way she did, that change wouldn't be immediate, but Matt seems to think that it's like a light switch. He says that they corrupt each other, but it seems like he's a positive influence for her. At least, she gets some good snark in, lampooning Matt's suggestion to use more conventional methods to fight the ancient group of ninjas who are digging a big hole in the ground.
Besides, he needs all the help he can get. Considering he hasn't fared too well against their agents thus far, his claim that he can take them on alone seems ill thought out. In fact, he gets his butt kicked again in the closing moments of the episode. It makes sense, though, given that this fighter is one that Matt had faced (and to whom he lost badly) before.
He does manage to discover the location of their strong hold. We learn that not only are the Hand digging a deep hole, but they seem to be harvesting blood. When I saw the people in cages, I figured that they were more "Black Skies", but that isn't made clear. It does make you wonder what they're planning. Between blood and big hole, it seems to suggest something more mystical (and quasi-Satanic?) than what we've seen previously. At the very least, it does give you an indicator of how depraved this group really is.
Whether Frank's escape is a good or a bad thing is still up for debate. Given that he and Daredevil frequently come to blows, it could be seen as another problem that he has to deal with. On the other hand, having another crime fighter in action could be beneficial. I'm hoping that Castle is brought in to help with the Hand, but I'll admit that's a slim possibility. It seems like it's way out of his element, or something that would come about in 'The Defenders', but again, we'll see.
This was a solid episode. The prison plot was definitely the strongest element, but both of the other ongoing story lines progressed in decent fashion. I think metaphorical MVP title goes to Fisk here, but that's OK. After such a long absence, it was good to showcase why he's such a formidable and fascinating character. We're down to the final four episodes and I remain excited to see how things play out.
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