Daredevil S1E9 “Speak of the Devil”

*Spoilers Ahead*

Ninjas are the original cool criminals, so naturally, I was immediately in love with this episode when it opened with a red-clad ninja taking on Daredevil. The scene is out of context and the episode eventually works it’s way to where that opening scene is but the scene might just be my favorite opening yet on this show.

The actual beginning of this story comes from Matt and his meeting with Father Lantom. Their discussion on the devil is more than a little blunt but it works in reinforcing Matt’s religion. His Catholicism helps explain his moral standing and why killing is something he is so adamantly against even when he fears it might be the only option.

Matt’s not the only one struggling in the aftermath of Fisk’s press conference. Karen, Ben, and Foggy are all struggling to get any info they can on the man and despite his new status as a public figure, Fisk is still dealing with problems within his network, particularly Nobu, who wishes to claim a particular section of Hell’s Kitchen for his organization. The section in question is the apartment building that Mrs. Cardenas and her fellow neighbors were almost forced out of. She comes to Nelson and Murdock asking for their assistance when her and the others are being offered large sums of money to move out. She is determined to stay in her home but that ultimately leads to her death.

The group find out at the morgue that she has been stabbed and this sends Matt into a rage. He knows what needs to be done and he’s going to hunt down Fisk. Of course, this is all part of Fisk’s plan, toying with Matt’s emotions to get him into a trap. This leads to the attack from the ninja, who turns out to be Nobu himself. The fight between Nobu and Matt is brutal, with Matt taking some heavy damage, and the addition of weapons really makes this fight scene stand out.

Nobu is eventually downed when he gets set on fire and Fisk makes his way out. He was hoping that the two would kill each other but he’s fine with having to finish Matt himself. Earlier in the episode the two finally meet at Vanessa’s art gallery but it’s as Wilson Fisk, philanthropist and Matt Murdock, attorney. When they meet here it’s as Daredevil and Kingpin. Fisk admits to using the death of Mrs. Cardenas to lure Daredevil out and Matt, despite his injuries, attacks him. The scene serves to escalate the threat of Kingpin, he’s a man of brute force who easily squashes the injured vigilante. Matt still has fight in him though, Murdocks always do, and he manages to escape.

Elsewhere, Foggy has drunkenly stumbled to Matt’s door and hears Matt stumble into his apartment. Fearing the worst, Foggy manages to break in and finds the vigilante. The ending is the perfect kind of cliffhanger as Foggy lifts up the mask and finds his friend.

Daredevil is heating up as it begins to head towards the end of it’s first season and this episode promises a finish that is sure to be memorable.

Bits ‘n Pieces

  • It was heavily implied in “Stick” that Nobu worked for The Hand, the evil clan of ninjas who are frequent enemies of Daredevil, this episode pretty much confirmed it.
  • Ben Urich mentions a couple stories coming out about Wilson Fisk’s father “abandoning” him and his mother at a young age. That’s an interesting spin given what we saw last week.
  • I enjoyed the little beat of seeing that Matt hides his costume under a box of his dad’s old stuff.
  • “I could say I’m Captain America, doesn’t put wings on my head.”
  • “There’s something very intimate in experiencing art through someone else’s eyes. That’s a good line, by the way. You should use it.”

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