I'd kind of forgotten where Ward was, but the episode's opening makes for a nice refresher as he is strapped down to a gurney, hallucinating.
He does try to bribe the nurse to let him go, but it doesn't work. I have to figure it's because his bribe was so small. I mean, come on, a year's salary. You're a Meachum, you should at least offer her a million; that would have improved his chances significantly. Instead, all he can do is thrash angrily. Is that such a good idea when you have an IV in your vein? I can't imagine that would end well.
In any event, this makes it rather easy for Bakuto to make Ward an offer. Under normal circumstances, Ward would be an idiot for considering this. Alas, he doesn't really have any options and his sister is in danger.
Of course, Bakuto alters the terms of the deal, but that's neither here nor there.
It does lead to some great stand off scenes. First, we have Ward trying to bring his sister out at gunpoint before the Hand arrive to make the situation worse.
Considering how boring the Meachums were at the start of the series, it really is impressive how engaging these scenes are. Ward's deteriorating mental state makes him far more interesting, and the fact that he's trying to protect his family gives him a level of sympathy that he rarely developed before. Joy, for her part, is happy to be spending time with her father again and doesn't seem too keen on turning him over to the Hand. Given what we know, it is the better option, but you understand why she would be reluctant and she does make a valiant effort to reunite the family peacefully.
The Hand's arrival makes for a hostage scenario. While Ward does cooperate, Bakuto still shoots Joy as a way to force Danny's hand.
Wasn't the whole point of the online robbery to draw Bakuto out so that Danny could take them out? It just seems weird that Bakuto did exactly what they wanted him to, but they were still caught with their pants down. They really should have done a better job preparing before embarking on this plan.
Things aren't faring much better on other fronts as Davos and Colleen are now at odds. The two almost come to blows on more than one occasion, though credit to Danny, he does his best to act as mediator.
It leads to a drastic shift in Davos' characterization. He's much angrier and antagonistic here than he was before. You can kind of understand why, but it still seems like a drastic shift. Had he shown up a few episodes earlier, they could have built up to this a bit more. It's true, we saw the bond he and Danny had, and the hint of resentment was there. It just needed more time to simmer before it hit a full boil.
They do put aside their differences long enough to confront the Hand in another hallway fight. You'd think that this would be tiresome, but I thought this one was well done. The room was well lit and there was a lot more room for people to maneuver. The fact that multiple heroes and villains were facing off in one big brawl also gave it something to separate it from its predecessors.
I would have loved to see a 3 on 1 fight as Colleen, Danny, and Davos take on Bakuto, but alas, we fall into the "honorable combat" trap, leaving Colleen to fight him solo. I guess it makes sense, as she has the closest connection to the guy, but it is weird to see Davos, who was insisting that Danny go after the Hand with more gusto, suddenly stop him and say that its her fight.
It's a solid fight, but ultimately Colleen ends up victorious, though this puts them in the prisoner's dilemma. It would have been nice to see that argument play out, though I can't fault Davos for taking the initiative and ending it....or did he?
Do the people of K'un L'un know about the Hand's resurrection deal? They seem shocked at first when Bakuto disappears, but then Danny notes that the Hand can do that. I'm not sure whether Davos should have known and altered his kill method accordingly or Danny should have just made sure the job was done once Davos made what was believed to be the killing blow. Either way, it wasn't their best moment.
We're treated to a third fight as Davos faces off against Danny for abandoning K'un L'un. It's a solid fight, though it's another illustration of how Davos' arc didn't have enough room to breathe. We needed to see Danny brush off Davos more than we did to justify his violent rage.
At the very least, it leaves Danny down an ally and we get an ominous warning about how Danny's choice is going to have grave consequences. With only one episode left, I have a feeling that's what the show's second season will cover.
All in all, this was a strong episode. It had a nice balance of character driven material and action sequences. It was engaging throughout and it leaves Danny and Colleen in an interesting dilemma as the credits start to roll. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all wraps up.
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