Daredevil S02 E01 – Stay smart.

Previously: Matt got beat up a lot but he beat up slightly more people!
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Bang

Marines: City. We hear a news bulletin about record heat. People argue. A woman laughs. Gunshots ring out, and suddenly we are on the street as armed robbers make their escape, shooting a cop in the process. Another cop manages to catch one of the robbers, but the robber knocks the gun out of his hand. Things aren’t looking good for the cop, but someone off-screen grabs the robber. We stay with the cop as he hears the punchy-kicky SFX. He slowly makes his way to the alley, where the robber was pulled into, but by the time he looks in there, the robber is beat up, knocked out, and whoever did it is gone. 

IT’S DAREDEVIL!

Annie: And his fancy SUIT.

Mari: Obviously, we’re excited. 

The other robbers are now running through a restaurant, but in there, Daredevil picks off another one. At the end of that fight, all of the chefs in the kitchen get their kicks in, too. I feel that. 

Jessica: Yes! For once the guys in the background of the kitchen-chase scene get their due.

Mari: Back on the street, one of the robbers gets hit by a car while trying to cross the street. Robber 3 yells for the driver to get out of the car, but Daredevil is there. He slams Robber 3’s head against the windshield and tells the driver to call 9-1-1. 

A single robber remains. He runs past some kids hanging out on a stoop and grabs one of the girls, using her as a hostage.

Annie: Because of course bad guys always grab the little girl. That’s how you know they’re a Bad Guy.

Mari: He runs into a church. The girl screams as Robber Remains paranoiacally whips around his gun. Daredevil throws things at the lights. Robber Remains shoots blindly. And the last thing we see is Daredevil slowly approaching Robber Remains, apparently unbothered by the gun he’s pointing. 

Outside, the police arrive just as two gunshots ring out. They run inside and find the hostage crying, standing over the body of Robber Remains. We pan up and see Daredevil standing on the ledge of the roof, smiling. 

Jessica: Wait, so did he kill that guy? It looked like he did, but that was such a big talking point in the previous season that I’d be surprised he would do that just right off the bat. Maybe he was just knocked out? I don’t know.

Mari: JUSTICE AND WAX.

Daytime. Kids play in an open hydrant. Matt and Foggy walk together. Foggy complains about being sore after going out dancing and a one night stand. Foggy thinks the problem with his love life currently is that he doesn’t have a wingman. Matt never goes out with him anymore. The conversation is derailed, though, because Foggy notices that Matt is bleeding at the base of his skull. Just like that, Foggy’s banter dries up and his good mood is gone. 

Matt suggests not talking about it, but Foggy can’t help it. He hates this. Karen’s been asking questions about all the cuts, bruises and scrapes, so Foggy made up a drinking problem. Matt thinks that’s horrible, but Foggy thinks it’s better than the alternative. Namely, the truth, that Matt puts on a devil suit and beats people up.

Annie: I am not a fan of this. Karen is a badass. She deserves the truth. Don’t be those guys that decide what a woman gets to know because you think you’re ‘protecting’ her. I’m also not a fan of the ‘lol let’s say you’re an alcoholic’ plan. C’mon, show. You can do better.

Jessica: Agreed. There’s no reason for them not to tell her besides plot. It definitely feels sexist because Karen’s the only woman in the group. Also, we’ve already done the “superhero reveal” moment last season with Foggy. Must we go through it again?

Mari: I really, really hope not. It was bad enough with Foggy.

Foggy is worried about what would happen to him if something happened to Matt. In response, Matt tells him a story about a woman they couldn’t help as lawyers, who almost got murdered by her abusive husband, who Daredevil was able to save. If Matt takes a night off, people get hurt. Foggy doesn’t want to lose Matt, though. Matt says he won’t. Foggy wants a promise. Matt jokingly asks if he wants him to cross his heart. 

Nelson and Murdoch. There are a lot of clients crowding their small and very hot office. In a weird bit of exposition, Karen announces before God and everyone, what each client is there for (a fight with a neighbor, a bar fight and rejected work authorization). She then pulls Foggy and Mat into their meeting room to explain that their business is broke. There is no money. Matt plays it down and says everything will be fiiiine and calls in their first (probably non-paying) client.

J: I’m sorry Matt, but “we’ll figure it out” is not a good business plan.

Mari: Official #SnarkLadyAdvice.

Night time. A very strong burly man watches as a car drives by and into a nearby alley. In the alley, the driver gets out and opens the door for his passenger. They walk into a garage where another lackey is holding a very angry dog. Lackey apologizes to Mr. Nesbitt, who tells the Lackey to mind the dog. The Lackey yells at the dog, asking him where all that fight was 10 minutes ago. He chains the dog up and we see that he’s bloody. So, dog fights I’m assuming, a good way to telegraph VERY BAD PEOPLE.  (A: It’s page one of the Bad People handbook, right after always kidnapping little girls.)

Mr. Nesbitt goes into the building and there are a lot of sweaty white men in there. Nesbitt says it smells like dog shit, and no one laughs much, but they do grab him a drink. Nesbitt speechifies about how this is a night for celebration and discussing the future of their family. It is also a moment for sober reflection. He takes it back to 200 years ago when their people were just poor dirt farmers. There was a time when the Irish owned Hell’s Kitchen, but they got complacent and lost their edge, allowing Wilson Fisk to steal what was rightfully theirs. 

The burly man on the street is still on watch. He thinks he hears footsteps, but no one is there. 

Back inside, Nesbitt is still speechifying, saying that some people even stooped so low as to work for Fisk. I think he’s going to call someone out, but he keeps on that the Devil took Fisk out, providing them with a singular opportunity. The Russians are dead, the Chinese ran, the Yakuza are silent. This is their time. And if anyone crosses them, they’ll spill their blood and make everyone pay and make Hell’s Kitchen theirs again. Nesbitt lifts a wine bottle, I think to smash it in celebration, and just as he does, bullets pour into the room and KILL HIM. 

I was NOT expecting that but also, you made me listen to that whole speech for a character to DIE? Rude. (A: Yep. I was expecting a Nesbitt as the big bad for this season… then lol nope. He died.) Everyone takes cover or starts shooting back out the window. Seems like the wrong move, though because a lot of them die. Like all of them die but only one person hides. It’s the driver who brought Mr. Nesbitt. After the gunfire stops, he crawls back out. The camera pans so we can see everyone dead and Mr. Nesbitt dead and his cellphone rings. His ringtone is an Irish jig. (J: Yeah, and there’s also corned beef and potatoes on the table. I don’t think you needed to go that far, show.)

Bar. Karen, Matt and Foggy are playing pool and having banter. Foggy excuses himself to go to the bathroom, and Matt talks about how much Foggy loves it here. Karen thinks it’s the alcohol, but Matt says it’s the company. If it were up to Foggy, they would be doing this forever. Karen looks a little hurt by that statement. What if it were up to Matt? 

Anyhow, it’s Matt’s pool turn and that classic trope of Sexy Pool Playing shows up a little as Karen sidles up to Matt and clearly has feelings.

Matt sinks the 8 ball just as Foggy returns. Now it’s Karen’s turn to excuse herself to go buy another round. Foggy calls Matt out on the sexy pool playing. Matt is like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  she wanted to teach me. He then proceeds to be very good at pool. 

Suddenly, Matt super hears that someone near the bar has an elevated heart rate. He asks Foggy if he knows who the guy is. Foggy doesn’t. Matt can hear that he’s got something in his coat (?), and Foggy deduces that a coat in the heat means he’s got a gun. Matt can hear him tapping the trigger. 

Matt casually heads over to the bar and tells the man, who is the Escaped Driver, that this is a good bar with good people. There are other places he could drink. Driver says it isn’t like that. He’s here for business with Nelson and Murdoch. “You must be the blind one.” 

We cut to all of them now seated at a table as Driver tells them about the shootout. Karen asks what his involvement in the organization is. Driver admits that he does some shady things, but he skirts the surface. Nothing like the guys he works for, and he certainly had nothing to do with the massacre. Matt is listening intently and can tell he’s telling the truth. Foggy asks what exactly Driver wants from them. He wants witness protection. He wants to get out of Hell’s Kitchen before whoever attacked his family come back for him. Nelson and Murdoch have a reputation as a good, reputable firm and he doesn’t want to walk into the DA’s office without representation. Matt says that they represent good people and Driver, who says his name is Grotto, says he just wants a second chance. He begs. Matt nods yes. Foggy tells him to lie low. Matt asks if he has somewhere to stay and just then he falls off of his stool. Karen is the first one up. She opens his coat and finds that he’s bleeding.

J: So Matt heard the trigger tapping but didn’t smell the blood. Whoops.

Mari: Too much sexy pool.

Massacre site. A cop I think is new is looking at everything like “wooooow, Hell’s Kitchen sux.” He’s less concerned about the many dead people and more about the processing time it will take. Someone is even missing a hand, clean sawed off. Outside, a cop we’ve met is keeping people away from the crime scene. Foggy and Matt come to talk to their non-friend Brett, who is not excited to see them. Foggy keeps him talking while Matt super-listens. He hears New Cop examining Nesbitt’s body. Nesbitt was wearing body armor, but whatever gun was used had bullets that still blasted clear through. 

Back outside, Foggy asks, hypothetically, what would happen if they had a client who could shed light on the investigation. Brett says he’d hypothetically arrest his ass for withholding the client. Foggy says they can’t help each other then. Matt finally pipes up and asks why an Irish mobster would wear body armor to a private meeting in over 100 degree heat. Brett tells a passing cop to let everyone inside know to keep it down or else someone will get written up. Brett considers them again and says they can help each other, but with a total clamp down on any of this getting to the press. (J: Can we take a moment for Ben here? RIP Ben.)

Brett takes them away from the crowd and tells them this isn’t the first crime that matches this MO. The downtown office thinks there are some new players in Hell’s Kitchen, some kind of paramilitary organization. It’s driving the DA nuts though because they don’t know who they are or what they want. All I can think of is The Initiative from Buffy so…

Jessica: So, start looking for Frankensteins.

Mari: Brett finishes their chat by recommending that they turn over their witness and walk away because Hell’s Kitchen is about to explode. Meanwhile, Matt overhears a morgue worker asking where he’s meant to put these dead bodies. They haven’t seen anything this bad since what happened to the Dogs of Hell. Matt shares with Foggy what he heard about the Dogs of Hell. Foggy asks what the heck they are stepping into here. Matt doesn’t know, but he thinks he can rattle a few cages.

Matt’s never worn a bra. (J: Ha! Too real, though.)

Anyway, Foggy reminds him he’s not bulletproof, but Matt is determined to keep Matt-ing. Foggy calls him an asshole, but also offers to help. 

Hospital. Grotto wakes up and is surprised to find Karen by his bedside. He starts trying to get out of there, but Karen fights him. He needs to not aggravate his muscle-deep lacerations. Grotto is not up for sitting in a hospital bed with a target on his ass. Karen calls him Steve and tells him to listen. His name is now Steve Schaefer, and she’s his wife. He got into a bar fight defending her honor. Grotto says it’s a good story, but she needs to go home now. She doesn’t have the balls for what’s coming. Karen looks at him like a woman who has killed a mobster already and tells him to get back in bed. She’s the best chance he’s got. 

Jessica: You’ve got the badass glare down, Karen. I just hope you can stay smart!

Mari: Turk is showing off some guns in his trunk. The guys he’s showing them to want semis because that’s what The Initiative has. Turk insults the one guy’s aim, just in time for him to be hit in the face by one of Daredevil’s batons. Turk recognizes it right away and gives a hilarious “aw, shit.” Daredevil makes quick work of all of Turk’s potential clients. Turk climbs in his car, but not fast enough. Daredevil breaks the window and pulls him out. Daredevil tells Turk about the massacred Irish and the firepower that did it. Turk says he knows nothing about it because apparently he likes being hurt? Daredevil hurts him until he shares what he knows: it has something to do with Fisk and specifically the power void his absence creates. Turk’s heard even the cartel is getting involved, bringing up heavy munitions from Juarez, being kept in a warehouse in the meatpacking district.

Annie: Why is it always in a warehouse in the meatpacking district? Must be in the Bad Guy 101 book.

J: Why doesn’t anyone ever do anything in the bookpacking district? Can we go there for once?

Mari: Alas.

Daredevil lets go of Turk and grabs his keys from the ignition. Turk is like, “you busted my hand and broke my car. PLEASE just let me go.” He’s out on parole and doesn’t want to go back to jail. Daredevil smiles at him and then chucks the car keys into the water. Turk gets sassy and tells DD to be that way. They both know he’ll back out of jail by the end of the month. Daredevil punches him IN THE FACE and says that he’ll see him then. 

Dogs of Hell bar. Foggy walks up in his pink-toned shirt, and I’m WORRIED. The bouncer tells him it’s members only, but Foggy says he’s meeting Smitty. He gets pat down and ushered inside. Once Foggy is inside, the other bounces closes the door with a crowbar. (J: Um.) First Bouncer pushes Foggy inside through the very rough crowd. In the back room, First Bouncer announces to those even rougher guys that Foggy was asking for Smitty. Foggy tries to explain how he knows Smitty and who he is, but he doesn’t get a good reception. The guy in charge orders his men to take him into the alley and show him what they think about lawyers. 

Butcher’s. A meat locker I hate on sight. (A: I feel like this is a very good feeling to have about this place.) Daredevil walks in and finds open and empty weapons trunks. He walks deeper into the meat locker and the more actual meat we see the more nervous I am. Strung up among the pork are men, disembowled and hung from their heads. (A: Ew and no thank you.) Daredevil finds one that is still alive and tries to help him. 

Alley. Hell Dog 1 has got a knife out as Foggy is still going on about Smitty. HD1 says Smitty is dead. Foggy apologizes and name drops some other guys he’s helped, including someone named Pope. HD1 believes his story and tells Foggy to get out while he can. Foggy won’t, though. He still needs answers or else a lot of people could end up hurt. HD1 admires his courage,

  

Foggy says wouldn’t be here doing this if it weren’t important. HD1 tells him that Smitty died while on a run, transporting a big score. They were hit by an army and cut to pieces. They have no idea who did it, but when they find out, Foggy is going to want to be very far away from the action. HD1 says Foggy didn’t hear any of this from him and now it’s really time to go. (J: Whew! Foggy that was too close.)

Daredevil lowers the injured man to the ground. He wants to go for help, but the man tells him not to leave. Daredevil asks who did this and the injured man clarifies that it isn’t a they. It’s a him. One man. 

Hospital. A man, played by Jon Bernthal, strides purposefully along. A guard tries to stop him and is shot for his trouble. Grotto and Karen hear the commotion. She looks outside and sees Jon Bernthal, so she grabs Grotto and they run. Jon Bernthal shoots at them, and his gun is blasting out chunks of wall. Karen pulls the fire alarm as they keep running. They make it outside and to Karen’s car, though that doesn’t stop Jon Bernthal from shooting at them. He’s got Grotto in the crosshairs of his gun, but Daredevil shows up and kicks it away. They fight and it seems like Daredevil is besting him, but then Jon Bernthal gets DD on his back and lands a very painful punch. Jon Bernthal runs away. (J: This whole fight scene was amazing, though a bit too dark to see super well. Still, this episode’s choreography has been ON POINT.)

Daredevil follows and they beat each other up some more. Daredevil gets him down on the ground, but Jon Bernthal has another gun in his boot. He pulls it out and points it at Daredevil. “Bang,” he says and shoots. And earns himself a title star.

The news is all bad for Matt, who falls off the roof.

Annie: He needs a Batman-style utility belt, preferably one with an emergency parachute.

Mari: Another season, another Matt getting critically injured! When they started the episode with all the gang stuff, I was feeling like maybe this would be a little repetitive but they threw me for a little bit of a loop with Jon Bernthal. I’m not sure why I wasn’t expecting him to show up, but as soon as he did, every spoiler-y promotional poster I’d seen came flashing back to me. I’m hype. 

 

Next time on Daredevil: Our gang tries to protect their new client from a new vigilante in S02 E02 – Dogs to a Gunfight.