*Spoilers Ahead*
Wilson Fisk has kept his appearances light for the first couple episodes of this show and yet his shadow has loomed over everything that has been happening to Matt and his allies. Finally, Fisk has shown up in the flesh and we get to understand just who this man is.
The smartest thing this episode does is spending the majority of the time examining the softer side of Wilson Fisk. The first few episodes have already demonstrated his power and what he is capable of, so it’s fun for our first significant time spent with the would-be Kingpin to revolve around his loneliness.
We get to see Fisk awkwardly attempt to ask the art gallery worker from last episode out on a date, which he only successfully accomplishes because she can clearly see he is different than the numerous people who have attempted to woo her by buying paintings. “A woman that can be bought…isn’t worth having,” he says and from that moment on he has her attention. Their date offers us a chance to learn more about Kingpin and we find that he is a man who has been shaped by the traumatic childhood he had in Hell’s Kitchen. It sets him up as simply the other side of the coin with Daredevil and I expect that idea to come into play more and more as we move along this season.
Speaking of our hero, his story is a bit more straightforward this week as he is hunted by the Russians, who he beats up in the opening, specifically the two leaders, brothers Vladimir and Anatoly. The duo have been having trouble running their operation due to Daredevil’s attacks and could end up being completely taken over by Fisk. They attempt to get a name of the person behind the mask and kidnap Claire, the nurse who patched Matt up a few episodes back. Thankfully, Daredevil shows up to take out the creeps in another in a long line of great fight scenes. This time using the shadows to his advantage as he takes down the men one by one.
The real thrust of this story comes at the end when Matt expresses his guilt at being responsible for Claire’s kidnapping and beating. Claire doesn’t blame Matt for what happens though. She knows what he’s doing can only help the city and she plans on continuing to side with him.
Elsewhere, Ben Urich attempts to dissuade Karen from continuing to find out what is going on with Union Allied. It isn’t clear at first why exactly he doesn’t want her doing this but towards the end of the episode he finally explains himself. All of Ben’s big stories have ruined the lives of the people who broke them to him. He doesn’t want to see that happen to another person. However, Karen won’t let up and, begrudgingly, Ben decides to help her. I’m enjoying the growing dynamic between Ben and Karen and I really can’t wait to see them working together.
By the end of the episode, the two main plots have converged in an interesting way when Anatoly, who convinces his brother to accept a deal with Fisk because they need his help against Daredevil, barges in on Fisk and Vanessa’s date. The night is ruined and Fisk decides to take his anger out by delivering a brutal beatdown to the Russian before beheading him with a car door. The scene starts out as another action scene but quickly devolves into horror as Fisk repeatedly slams the door across the neck of the prone man until we hear the sickening squish of the head disconnecting from the body. This runs the risk of being overly gory but this is all in service of creating a perfect contrast between Wilson Fisk, the art connoisseur and Wilson Fisk, the ruthless crimelord.
It’s only a matter of time before Daredevil runs into the Kingpin. I have a feeling that when he does we’ll be seeing just how vicious Fisk can be.
Bits ‘n Pieces
- Rosario Dawson and Charlie Cox have amazing chemistry together and it really helps sell the relationship between Matt and Claire.
- Foggy doesn’t get much to do this episode but I enjoyed how impressed he was with Karen buying the firm a fax machine.
- “Tell Mr. Potter I’ll need a new suit.”
If you’d like to give me feedback or just chat about Daredevil you can email me at theSuperAlbino@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter @JesseSwanson