*Spoilers found within recap*
At the end of episode 7, Elektra (Elodie Yung) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox) were staring into an abyss in the middle of New York. What does it mean? Well apparently it is the work of a ninja clan that are taking over the city. Matt learns this from his trainer, Stick (Scott Glenn), who comes to the rescue to both him and Elektra at the beginning of episode 8. Despite his attempts, Elektra is wounded, and they rush her back to Matt’s apartment. Stick cares for her and tells Matt all about his role in taking out The Hand, including the small factor that Elektra is working for him. Both are intent in killing some bad guys, but Matt won’t have it, saying he’s going to fight the war his way.
Matt’s absence continues to annoy Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy (Elden Henson), as Frank’s (Jon Bernthal) trial continues. Even though Foggy brings in the best witnesses to help Frank get a lighter sentence, Castle completely goes against the work of his lawyers, and gets verbally violent in court, landing him in jail.
Karen goes looking for Matt and finds him tending to Elektra. Uh oh. I mean, this was going to happen eventually. Matt doesn’t seemed that phased, and continues his talk with Stick, telling him that Elektra will choose whether she’s on his side or Stick’s. Elektra chooses Matt, but when she slits the throat of an attacker right in front of Matt, it seems to be that she’s pretty much staying right where she started. Matt tells her that she needs to go, cause her ways just do not fly with him.
Meanwhile, we get to see inside the prison where Frank is, and it seems that he’s in demand by the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onfrio). Fisk wants The Punisher to take care of an inmate that is in control at the moment, and he tells Frank that he knows information about who kills Frank’s family. Frank takes the deal, and gets the details, but it’s more complicated than he thought. His family was caught in the line of fire due to a sting between the Irish Mob, the biker gang, the drug cartel, and a figure called the Blacksmith. Once Frank gets all the info, he stabs the inmate Fisk wanted offed. However, since he owns the guards, Fisk makes sure that Frank doesn’t get out of the cell block, and all the cells unlock, unleashing inmates that attack The Punisher. However (in an amazing, bloody sequence), Frank disposes of all of them, and Fisk realizes that the man he was trying to kill may be a valuable asset. Due to his extreme power, the Kingpin gets Frank some police riot gear and he’s allowed to go right back on the streets again.
Matt, in the meantime, learns more about The Hand, and discovers “The Farm,” an area where the clan drains blood from random victims. As Matt tries to get the prisoners out, he is attacked by a figure that he is familiar with-Nobu (Peter Shikonda), who Matt thought was dead. Apparently not! Anyway, Matt gets the prisoners to Claire (Rosario Dawson) who attempts to treat them, but it seems they are not mentally sound.
Information about the sting Frank learns about in prison makes its way to the papers, the media, and the like. This is all thanks to Karen, who continues to dig for info despite Foggy’s protests to stop. Matt, Karen, and Foggy report to the office of District Attorney Reyes (Michelle Hurd) who confesses that she set up the sting but did not clear the area, due to the fact that it would tip the gangs off. Sadly, Frank’s family and Frank himself were caught in the middle of it, and Reyes discloses this information. As Matt questions her, his super powered hearing takes over. Listening to a gun cock back, Matt says to get down to his partners, and Reyes is ripped to shreds by bullets. Foggy gets shot in the shoulder, but everyone else is fine.
Foggy is checked by the paramedics and driven to the hospital, but he will be fine. Even though Foggy pleads that he not, Matt goes to seek answers from Fisk about Frank. After threatening Fisk with keeping his woman out of his reach, Fisk lashes out at Murdock, both verbally and physically. Seems this is an uphill battle from a lawyer’s perspective, so I’m sure he’s going to have to put on the suit to make it work for him.
In the meantime, Karen goes to get information about Frank from her apartment, and she is accompanied by guards due to everything happening in Reyes office. As she is looking through her files, she hears a scuffle in the hallway, and she sees Frank. He swears he didn’t gun down Reyes, but before he can say anymore, bullets fly through the apartment, and Frank drags Karen to the ground in order to protect her. They exit the apartment once the chaos is over. Oh man. This is getting good.
One final note-Elektra finally earns her sais from a would be attacker hired by Stick. Whoa. That’s going to change their dynamic.
I’m at the point in this show now where I am more interested in anything else going on that doesn’t have to do with Daredevil. Hell, Matt is even more intriguing when he’s OUT of the costume. His talk with Fisk? Awesome. Whenever he’s with Foggy or Karen? I’m game. But when he’s dressed up to fight crime, I temporarily tap out.
Moving on, the whole Fisk/Frank angle is really captivating, and Frank’s return to the streets is exciting. That whole issue, especially with “Who killed Reyes?” is definitely keeping me engaged. I’m so ready for a Frank Castle Netflix show. Please make that happen ASAP.
Rating (when Matt isn’t in costume): 9/10
Rating (when Matt is in costume): 5/10
Daredevil Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix
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Logan J. Fowler is a senior writer and video game editor on Pop-Break.com. He contributes his thoughts every week for Trailer Tuesday and ABC’s The Goldbergs.” Logan’s “kid at heart” nature has led to his discussion about pop culture that many geeks love to talk about, including superheroes, Super Mario Bros., Pixar, and Muppets, among other things. In addition, one of his first pieces for the site, “Top Ten Comic Book Movies,” was picked as a “Freshly Pressed” piece by WordPress and remains one of the site’s most well-read articles. Many of Logan’s friends have said that he moonlights as Spider-Man but this is so not true. Wait, are those police sirens I’m hearing?! Gotta go! -thwipp-
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