Let’s Talk about Daredevil Episode 1-9
So, it comes down to this. In the unlikeliest turn of events, Matt Murdock has saved Wilson Fisk’s life.
During the exchange, the daredevil deduced that Mrs. Wilson Fisk had Foggy Nelson killed, and there’s really not a Hallmark card for that.
Now, we deal with the repercussions of Fisk being in Murdock’s debt, while Vanessa Fisk desperately needs an exit strategy.
Let’s talk about Daredevil: Born Again episode 1-9, the gripping season finale.
Fractured Time
We begin at a moment in the not-too-distant past. Specifically, it was about a year ago at a time when Foggy was very much alive.
Vanessa Fisk appeared at a prison to speak with Benjamin Poindexter, the Bullseye.
Let’s just say that Dex isn’t doing too well in prison. He looks harrowed and defeated, so he’s willing to bargain.
Fisk offers him a loophole, the same one that previously aided her husband in his attempt to avoid prison.
In exchange for her assistance, Bullseye understands what Vanessa expects of him. He must kill someone.
Technically, Vanessa asks for two murders, one of a thief and the other of his attorney, who is Foggy. So, yeah. It’s not great.
This bit of fractured time explains why Dex is harboring a grudge against Vanessa, and he’s not crazy about the Kingpin either.
Still, Bullseye isn’t enjoying prison. He reluctantly agrees, knowing that if the deal goes south, he can exact revenge later.
Sure enough, the deal goes south. What we witnessed at the end of the last episode was Bullseye exacting revenge…slowly.
As I mentioned last week, it was a lazy plot device to have the world’s most efficient murderer slowly stare into a rifle.
Dude could have thrown a cufflink and killed any Fisk he chose. But where is the drama in that?
Dance with Who Brought You
Speaking of drama, let’s fast forward to the morning after, where Matt Murdock awakens from a bad dream.
Two people are sitting with him, but neither one is whose name he calls. Yes, he asks for Karen.
That’s like a physical blow to his current girlfriend, Heather. And let’s remember that she was already pretty angry with Matt.
From her perspective, he showed up late for the date on one of the biggest nights of her life.
Apparently, saving the Mayor of New York from an assassination attempt didn’t buy Matt a lot of leeway with his girlfriend.
All the magic of their exchange of “I Love Yous” the previous day has vanished.
Now, he’s the jerk who just called out for another woman. There are like a million Oprah episodes about that.
Even worse, Matt tries to tell Heather and the other person in his hospital room, Karen Page, about an intricate plot.
Matt has deduced what Vanessa Fisk did to his friend, Foggy. When he tries to tell the women, they’re not having it.
From their perspective, the dude is doped up and hallucinating. Also, he called for Karen, not Heather. So, he’s a jerk.
Meanwhile, Wilson Fisk finally makes his pitch to his wife, explaining the big con.
I’m gonna level with you that it feels all too timely. Fisk notes that she made millions moving product around Red Hook.
With his new powers as mayor, they can make billions. With a scam plan like that, he should run for President. Too soon?
Did You Know Fisk Is Corrupt?
After explaining his plan to Vanessa, Fisk speaks with various members of his staff.
Since someone just took a shot at him, the Kingpin isn’t in the best of moods.
He wants due process thrown out and his elite strike force disregarding every law to bring down all vigilantes.
Gallo, the police chief, and Sheila, his trusted advisor counsel him that this is a bad idea on basically every level.
Kingpin dismisses them and then speaks with Buck, who informs his boss that Murdock will live.
At this point, an ungrateful Fisk suggests that Murdock would do more for the mayor as a dead hero than a live vigilante.
Yup, Buck’s new assignment is to kill the man who just saved the mayor’s life.
Meanwhile, Fisk point-blank tells Sheila to send home everyone who isn’t fully onboard with his situational ethics.
Sheila reluctantly agrees, although she and Gallo exchange words about the dangerous plight they’re facing.
Buck arrives at the hospital, and he’s cleverly toting a stuffed animal right as the power goes out in the city. That was planned.
However, Murdock isn’t there. He has returned home, where he receives an unexpected visitor.
Frank Castle has made a promise that he will keep Murdock safe against all comers.
That’s terrible news for the ten dirty cops about to invade the building. I suspect they’re about to get Punished.
The one thing Castle wants to know is why Murdock took a bullet for his mortal enemy, Fisk. The Daredevil cannot explain.
But the real answer is that it’s what heroes do. Daredevil: Born Again has repeatedly reinforced that Matt Murdock is a hero.
Home Invasion
Now is when we fight. It’s Daredevil and the Punisher against a bunch of faceless thugs in a pitch-black environment.
You do the math. Notably, Matt doesn’t want Castle to kill anybody. In a huge, shocking twist, the Punisher ignores him.
You can always tell when a scene gets ultra-violent because the closed captioning inevitably uses the word “squelching.”
This is a multi-squelching fight. And one of the dirty cops turns out to be the one who killed Hector Ayala. He even admits it.
The Daredevil debates killing him before having flashbacks about throwing Dex off the building.
While Murdock decides not to choose violence, Frank feels differently.
As the two debate morality, a grenade clicks. The two dive out of the building as Daredevil’s toys save them.
A car awaits them on the street below, and the driver is Karen. Hey, Matt was looking for you earlier! Ask his girlfriend about it.
Anyway, Matt calls shotgun, and the trio heads to Punisher’s lair.
Inevitably, Matt and Frank fight about the ethics of the situation, with the Punisher cordially inviting them both to get out.
Karen ain’t buying it. She tells Frank that she knows he cares. Almost guiltily, he points out a hard truth.
Karen called the Punisher and asked for help in protecting Matt. Frank did it without hesitation.
He’s a friend to both. It’s just impossible for him to say the words.
Safer Streets
The mayor’s political strategy has a catchy name, Safer Streets, and it’s up to Buck and Daniel to drum up support.
They approach various council members and immediately lead with blackmail. This story feels ripped from the current headlines.
As for the so-called Safer Streets, the dirty cops are blatantly shooting looters.
Then, they place masks on the victims, making them look like vigilantes. I don’t think the police are the good guys here.
Meanwhile, Karen and Matt are searching through their old files to figure out what got Foggy killed.
Long story short, Red Hook is a free port exempt from the jurisdiction of the city. Mayor Fisk’s plan comes into focus, eh?
His new development would be completely above the law, legally creating a city-state where they could launder money at will. Billions, indeed.
As for Frank, well, there’s squelching again. He’s apparently gonna do his own research about the dirty cops wearing his logo.
Let’s just say the conversation doesn’t go well for the now super-mega-dead cops.
Still, the sheer number of them causes Frank to take a beating and get captured.
Speaking of beatings, the chief of police learns that his driver has called in sick.
A former protégé of his is driving. And he has a Punisher tattoo. Two interrogations ensue.
One involves the Punisher, as he comes face to face with his admirers, the dirty cops now wearing his symbol on their chests.
They invite the Punisher to join them on the task force. You can imagine how that goes.
Simultaneously, Gallo unwillingly meets with Kingpin, who proceeds to squish his melon in front of 20+ dirty cops.
They’ve chosen poorly. These streets definitely don’t feel safer.
The Big Setup
Daredevil wants to attack the entire task force, but Karen talks him out of it.
The duo decides to take back the city instead. To do that, Murdock says they’ll need an army.
Speaking of which, Fisk has one, yet he’s still recruiting. He invites Heather to become the Commissioner of Mental Health.
She accepts, thereby cementing the fact that she’s on Team Villain. For a therapist, she sure misses the obvious about Fisk.
Speaking of which, he speaks to the city, confirming that all vigilante activity is now illegal in New York.
Fisk lies and states that Gallo resigned rather than confessing to a rather brutal murder, even by Daredevil standards.
Then, the mayor declares martial law. Immediately afterward, the Daredevil appears at his favorite bar in Hell’s Kitchen.
Importantly, Matt Murdock has dressed in his crime-fighting costume. He’s ignoring the mayor’s anti-vigilante law.
Daredevil: Born Again ends its season with a line drawn in the sand and evil afoot.
A final shot of the Kingpin shows that he has kidnapped many of the city’s elite, including Jack Duquesne.
The Punisher is there as well, reinforcing that the Kingpin’s strategy involves bringing the wealthy as well as vigilantes to heel.
What happens next? Stay tuned until season two. As for now, an absolutely incredible first season has ended. It was tremendous.
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