Let’s Talk about Daredevil Episode 1-6

Last time, Matt Murdock went to the bank, and everything went wrong.

For the second time this season, someone placed a gun on Murdock’s forehead…and quickly regretted it.

This week, Murdock once again encounters someone decidedly unfriendly, a serial killer named Muse.

Still, Wilson Fisk’s story may prove even more interesting, as he encounters a familiar face in the MCU.

Let’s talk about Daredevil: Born Again episode 1-6, the one with all the parallelism.

Flip Sides of the Same Coin

The conceit of this week’s episode is that Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk are eerily similar.

Both individuals realized that their blood feud wasn’t doing either of them any good. So, they’ve each tried to make a change.

Murdock has focused on his law career, becoming more successful and wealthier. And Fisk is now the Mayor.

The problem is that fate seems to want less of Murdock and Fisk but more of Daredevil and Kingpin.

We witness this oddity throughout the story, as the two men’s fates appear entwined.

The reason why is that they’re both chasing clues to the same mystery. There’s a serial killer on the subway.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The first thing to know is that we’ll witness several quick cuts throughout the episode.

Fisk and Murdock engage in conversations that lead them down the path to unpleasant conversations.

Actually, Fisk’s day starts that way as Luca has made an appointment with the Mayor.

Let’s just say that Kingpin doesn’t want to hear from this power player among the Five Families.

Luca seemingly wants to irritate Fisk, which ultimately leads to Kingpin telling Luca to give Victor $1.8 million by the week’s end.

Once Luca declines, Fisk raises the total to $2.8 million, with the extra million going to the Mayor’s campaign.

Meanwhile, Heather discusses her plans for her next book, which will focus on people’s obsession with vigilantes.

She hopes to mine Matt’s contacts list to speak with either The Punisher or Daredevil.

Heather has no idea that she’s already doing the latter as she speaks.

Both conversations end awkwardly, with Fisk and Murdock appearing bemused. They’re so much alike.

Bloody Art and Politics

A sanitation worker gets five minutes with the mayor. As a Fisk supporter, the man rambles a bit.

Then, the worker reveals that the graffiti appearing around town is impossible to clean because it’s…made of human blood.

Later, a grim Fisk notes to the chief of police that the sanitation department learned about a serial killer before the cops did.

Oops. For his part, Murdock meets with the White Tiger’s niece, who believes her uncle was working on a case.

The lawyer doesn’t want her to get involved, which ironically leads to her storming out and…getting involved. Whoops.

Oh, well. It could be worse. Two women out clubbing notice someone they think is Muse and inexplicably approach him.

Yeah, they’re art now. And super-mega-dead. Muse never draws the living.

Well, that’s not true. Muse occasionally draws Fisk, who is very much alive but Muse wishes otherwise.

The mayor awkwardly spends an evening trying to convince wealthy New Yorkers to invest in his campaign.

One of them points out that Fisk’s port project will benefit him more than anyone else, accusing him of being dirty.

While this person is obnoxious, she’s not the cruelest. No, that honor belongs to…Jack Duquesne.

Yes, The Swordsman from Hawkeye appears, with my beloved actor Tony Dalton chewing the scenery.

Duquesne vaguely threatens Fisk, who quickly recognizes it. So, Luca isn’t the only person pressing their luck this week.

Matt’s parallelism involves an awkward conversation with Cherry, who informs him about the serial killer of at least 60 victims.

Confrontations

Fisk comes up with a plan to discover Muse, and it’s…an ill-considered one.

The Kingpin puts together a task force of all the dirtiest cops in New York, including the one Murdock almost killed.

One of them details the events wherein he knew that a guilty man sold oxy to a kid. So, he beat a confession out of the guy.

Oddly, Fisk, a recidivist, loves to hear that the cop is so committed to “justice.” That’s his guy.

The Kingpin’s plan involves dirty cops doing whatever it takes to bring law and order to the city. He’s trending toward darkness.

Then, we see the White Tiger’s niece investigating abandoned train tracks at night. I question her decision-making.

Sure enough, Muse captures her and starts to steal her blood.

Fortunately for her, Murdock is on the way out, while Daredevil is ready to make his big comeback.

The attorney decides to investigate after learning that the teen girl is missing. Daredevil is about to meet Muse.

Simultaneously, Fisk settles on the perfect way to end a bad day. He tosses an axe to his wife’s lover whom he has imprisoned.

The kidnapping victim isn’t quite sure what to do at first, but the man ultimately takes a few swings at his captor.

None of them lands as Fisk easily disables his prisoner and proceeds to pummel the dude mercilessly.

As was the case in the second episode, I thought for sure that we’d seen a murder. However, the victim is breathing at the end.

Muse vs. Daredevil I

For his part, Murdock has discovered the location of Muse…and just in time.

The dude has stuck a needle into Angela Del Toro and is bleeding her dry, just like his previous 60-100 victims. (The math varies.)

Thankfully, Muse hears a noise outside. At first, he thinks it’s nothing, but then Daredevil appears and beats him senseless.

Despite Muse’s many conquests, he’s no match physically for the Daredevil. And yes, it’s that character.

Murdock has suited up for the first time since Foggy Nelson’s death.

While the lawyer was praying early in the episode, he’s now in more of a “Kill ‘em all, let God sort ‘em out” mood.

Murdock ultimately hangs Muse and is killing him before he notices that Angela’s heart has stopped beating.

So, the Daredevil stops his assault long enough to bring Angela back to life.

In the background, Muse escapes. We’ll see the character again, but they’ll need a plan to have any hope of beating Daredevil.

This fight was a total mismatch, as was Fisk’s against his wife’s lover.

Really, the only equally gifted combatants for Daredevil and Kingpin are each other. And that’s coming one day soon.

At this point, both individuals have dropped the pretense that they’ve changed.

Both of them are still screaming for vengeance after all this time.

The episode ends with Angela awakening from her near-fatal miscalculation and calling out to Daredevil.

We may have a new White Tiger by the end of the season.

For now, all we have are a frightened teen and two violent men, though.

This was a brutal, savage episode filled with the perfect level of tension and drama.

 

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