Let’s Talk about Daredevil Episode 1-5

I’m just gonna say it.

All the other episodes of Daredevil: Born Again were absolute crap compared to the one we’re about to discuss.

The latest episode, “With Interest,” is one of the greatest MCU stories to date, and it even promises a future team-up.

So, let’s talk about Daredevil: Born Again episode 1-5, the one with the bank job.

A Self-Contained Story

We’re hanging out at the bank on Daredevil this week, and I mean that’s ALL we’re doing.

The show previously set up this self-contained story by casually dropping in a line about how the law firm needs capital.

So, Matt Murdoch schedules a meeting with the local bank manager. But there’s a problem.

This person has told their underling that they’ll arrive several hours late, thereby missing the meeting with Murdoch.

The assistant manager takes the meeting instead, and it’s a familiar face!

Yusuf Khan, father to our beloved Kamala, speaks with Murdoch and very kindly informs the Daredevil that he’s not getting a loan.

If the story stopped there, it’d be a funny, clever introduction of two greater New York City superheroes via one’s parent.

Obviously, the story doesn’t stop there, though. It’s Saint Patrick’s Day, and an Irish crew decides to pull a bank job.

They use the blocked streets and fractured police force as an opportunity to rob a bank. It’s clever.

Alas, they make one fatal error in that they should have known a blind superhero would save the day.

No, really. That’s where we’re going with this plot. Khan and Murdoch bond a bit, with the banker offering some butterscotch candy.

Oddly, this behavior proves important later…but I’m getting ahead of myself. First, we have the robbery attempt.

Luca’s Thugs

The “previously on” segment gives away the identity of the thug running this heist. It’s Luca, whom we previously saw.

Luca’s the one who tried to take territory from another member of the Five Families before Vanessa Fisk intervened.

Apparently, there’s something Luca wants at this bank, and he’s willing to lose a bunch of thugs to jail to get it.

Luca has a plan, and it involves a lot of piece sacrifices on the board.

Also, one of the bank hostages is in on the crime, which is a clever conceit when done well…and this one is.

Basically, Murdoch leaves the bank, walks down the street, and informs his partner that the meeting didn’t go well.

Meanwhile, the criminals invade the bank, take about 25 hostages, and threaten everyone, including Yusuf Khan.

Matt’s super-hearing plays a big role in this episode, starting with his overhearing the crime in progress.

Like a hero, Murdoch returns, emphasizing his blindness to confuse the terrorists.

The bank robbers naively buy into the fact that they’re unlucky punks picking on a blind victim.

Even career criminals don’t feel good about that, although they definitely bully Murdoch throughout the episode.

On the bright side, they treat him like an equal, which seems moderately evolved of them.

Anyway, we gradually learned that Khan is the only one on duty who can open the bank vault.

Well, that’s a lie, but we’ll get to the specifics in a second.

What’s the Mission?

First, I should mention that the “vault” doesn’t hold money.

This place solely guards safe deposit boxes, meaning that one of them is hiding something valuable.

With the Five Families involved, you could let your mind wander about the specifics. I did during the episode.

In fact, I created a huge fantasy in my head about something that could bring down Wilson Fisk entirely.

Such ideas are a red herring here, as the object proves to be an incredibly shiny, gaudy, yellow diamond.

So, this heist isn’t about power but rather simply money…and presumably a LOT of it.

Obviously, the thugs want that diamond and expect Khan to give it to them. There’s a problem, though.

It turns out that Kamala’s father cannot open the vault. Only the bank manager can do that.

Yusuf takes one of the primary robbers to the basement vault wherein the thug realizes the truth.

This dude is about to shoot Mr. Khan right as Daredevil intervenes.

Murdoch guilts a mercenary into taking him on a bathroom break.

Then, the Daredevil stealthily wrecks this dude in a stairwell, all while playing 123 Quiet Mouse to avoid raising suspicion.

Once Murdoch eliminates the first thief, his hearing leads him to the vault, where he takes out Khan’s would-be killer.

You can imagine how much this mystifies Khan, who thought he’d turned down a loan for a blind lawyer.

Now, the banker realizes that Murdoch is hiding a bunch of special skills that make him the wrong guy to take hostage.

A Thwarted Attempt

You’ve got the Daredevil hiding in plain sight in a group of unknowing robbers.

How would you expect the whole thing to play out? Exactly.

Murdoch emerges unscathed from this encounter, as do all the other hostages he saves.

To reach that point, Murdoch first reveals his skills as a master safecracker. That’s a real thing that happens.

Once Daredevil disables the criminal at the vault, he realizes that the guy’s boss, the person in charge of the op, won’t be happy.

So, Murdoch decides to give this man, Devlin, what he wants by robbing the vault himself.

Meanwhile, a hostage negotiator on the outside, Agent Kim, talks her way into Devlin’s heart by telling him jokes.

I’m not going to detail much of the Kim storyline for the sake of brevity, but the actress is exceptional. It’s a great character, too.

I sincerely hope we see Agent Kim again, and she’ll probably be remembered as one of the heroes of this failed robbery.

But the real hero is Murdoch, who opens an ultra-secure vault. Then, he carries the diamond upstairs.

At this point, Murdoch informs the hostages that they need to make a call and hands over the diamond.

Daredevil can hear the cops about to overrun the bank. So, he knows help is coming soon.

Murdoch’s top priority is saving all the hostages from harm, which he does.

Once the cops throw smoke bombs, they invade the building. As a blind man, Murdoch is apparently impervious to smoke inhalation.

Anyway, he overhears Devlin, now dressed as a police officer, handing the diamond to a female hostage.

Devlin tears her to get the diamond to Luca. That’s how we know Luca is responsible and probably a growing threat to Kingpin.

Resolution

For his part, Murdoch disables another thug during the smoky confusion and takes their mask.

Then, Daredevil puts on the robber’s mask and proceeds to wreck Devlin, currently disguised as a police officer, in broad daylight.

Murdoch even gives the villain a compound fracture in his leg. Daredevil isn’t messing around with the violence this season.

As near as I can tell, Murdoch takes Devlin hostage as the dude’s lights go out.

Meanwhile, the female hostage in possession of the diamond realizes she’s been had.

Murdoch has switched the diamond for the butterscotch hard candy Yusuf had previously offered him.

Later, the lawyer returns to the bank to meet with Yusuf, who gently chides him that the bank won’t reconsider the loan.

Murdoch expected that, and the implication is that he no longer needs the money since he possesses this yellow diamond.

Well, that’s a swerve, too, as Yusuf realizes after Murdoch leaves that the yellow diamond is sitting in his bowl of hard candy.

Matt Murdoch is just that heroic! And he proved it in any number of ways during the episode.

Murdoch silently crushed some thieves, hacked an impenetrable vault, saved 25 hostages, and returned stolen jewelry.

What did YOU accomplish during your last trip to the bank?!

Seriously, this was the best bank heist story I’ve seen since Inside Man. It was a masterful 45 minutes of television.

PS: Yusuf invites Matt to meet his wife and daughter. So, that Daredevil/Ms. Marvel team-up seems likely one day soon…

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