A former lover arrives in Hell's Kitchen and turns Murdock's world upside down. Karen digs for the truth about the Punisher.
Daredevil's second season has been fairly consistent throughout its first four episodes. And yet, it has just been so grim and dark without a whole lot of originality to it. The Punisher storyline is important to the season but it was also deeply rooted in some very familiar tropes that kept it from being all that exciting. It was basically just the latest instance where a superhero show derived tension over whether or not the hero would kill in order to make a difference in their city. It's a familiar story being told in a familiar and formulaic way. And yet, the show did a very smart thing in arresting Frank Castle in the previous episode. His influence is still felt in "Kinbaku." But the show is also able to take a few minutes to breathe and actually liven up its characters so that they aren't so grim and serious all the time. It's a change of pace that likely won't last long but is still very infectious throughout this hour.That largely comes from the introduction of Elodie Yung as Elektra Natchios. She made her presence known at the end of the previous episode. And now, the show fully goes into detail about the complicated history between Matt and Elektra. It's a fantastic story throughout the episode. Through Matt's actions, it's easy to tell that he does not want her back in his life - especially now that he's seeing Karen. But Elektra is able to just show up unexpectedly and get Matt to do whatever she wants him to do. That has always been a part of their relationship. Flashbacks show what the two of them were like as a couple ten years ago when they first met. At first, Matt is simply a law school student trying to sneak into a faculty party. Elektra appears as nothing more than a bored rich girl who likes to walk on the dangerous side of life. It's fun watching as the two size each other up and peel back the layers of their identities. That quality is present throughout all of their scenes together.
Elektra is quickly able to learn that Matt isn't as blind as he claims to be. She learns the truth simply by trying to kick him in his father's old boxing gym. That's the first indication that his relationship with Elektra is different than anything else. It took Foggy years to learn that Matt isn't blind while Karen is still operating under that assumption. Matt is able to openly live as his true self with Elektra. That's a bond that is very exciting and welcome too. It's great when he can just casually walk around with her and not having to pretend to be a blind man. But there's an underlying darkness to these scenes as well. They are electric and passionate together but there's danger to this bond as well. That comes out when Elektra sneaks them into the mansion of the man who killed Matt's father so that he can get his revenge. She presents him with an opportunity to kill basically as foreplay. She grows excited by every punch Matt throws. This relationship has allowed her to live openly as her true self as well. They were more honest with each other than they have with any other person. And yet, Matt does not want to kill this man. That's what ultimately destroys this relationship. Elektra is drawn to the darkness inside of Matt. A darkness that he does not want to embrace. In essence, she is attracted to Daredevil and forces him to embrace that side more than ever before.
That plays in wonderful contrast to the flourishing bond between Matt and Karen. That relationship still has a number of issues. Neither one of them is being fully honest with each other. Both have secrets that they are keeping - which doesn't make this a relationship worth investing in at this point in time. Matt can see and has been protecting the city as Daredevil while Karen killed a man and is continuing to pursue the truth behind the Punisher's family that Reyes is trying to hide. And yet, all of that is largely able to go away as the two enjoy their first official date. It's the complete opposite of Matt's dynamic with Elektra. It's sweet, charming and a little awkward. Matt wants to make sure that he does the right thing in order to make for a perfect evening. Despite all the uncertainty and darkness in his life, he wants this one dinner to go wonderfully so he can hold onto that memory. Fortunately, it does. Not even Elektra can ruin this date for very long. Matt and Karen make it special to them which does help build a genuine dynamic between them. It's not long afterwards until they have to face the real world again. But it's sweet nevertheless.
So much of this episode works because of its focus on Matt Murdock and not Daredevil. There are certainly hints of the masked vigilante with all the flashbacks with Elektra. But he is still defining himself as Matt Murdock as he embraces this darker side. All of this is very significant. Matt and Daredevil need to be different personas that are still somehow connected with one another. The actions of one need to have consequences for the other. But the narrative can allow both identities to have importance in the narrative. So much of this season has focused on Daredevil as he battles the Punisher for the future of Hell's Kitchen. But now, that threat has lessened. Frank Castle is behind bars. He still complicates things. But Matt is allowed to have a life outside of his pursuit of the Punisher. He is able to embrace this relationship with Karen. And yet, he really isn't allowed this happiness for very long because of Elektra.
Elektra has returned because she is still going strong with her manipulative ways. She wants Matt to represent her in a business transaction. He wants nothing to do with it but she puts money in the firm's account anyway. Foggy is ecstatic to see that the firm is no longer broke for this week. But Matt knows that there are strings attached. And yet, he doesn't really do anything to push Elektra out of his life for good. After all that she's done, he's still curious why she has decided to re-enter his life now. She puts on quite the show during the big meeting too. But that only leads to Elektra forcing Matt to fight alongside her once again. She wants him to embrace that identity and puts him in a situation where he needs to. She craves that. He has changed as a person. Now, he willingly embraces his darkness in order to protect Hell's Kitchen. He does it with noble intentions too. But now, he is in a situation that could be very precarious for him. It's all because Elektra wants to have fun with him once more.
Some more thoughts:
- "Kinbaku" was written by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and directed by Floria Sigismondi.
- This season has largely forgotten about Foggy having a crush on Karen last season. But here, it pops up again as he complains to his other crush Marci about Matt and Karen now trying to date. It's just completely pointless.
- The two relationship dynamics also work really well because both female characters aren't solely defined by Matt. They have their own things going on that should complicate things very quickly this season.
- As Karen has dug deeper into Frank's past, she has needed someone she can talk to. She needed Ben. And now, she has approached Ben's former editor to work on the story. He's much more cooperative with her than he was with Ben. But he's also a very poor stand-in for Ben.
- Everyone notes that Reyes is planning on using the Punisher's conviction to start a full on program to deal with the various vigilantes as well as to run for Mayor. But hey, at least the show was able to fit in a Jessica Jones reference.
- That sex scene between Matt and Elektra while hot was very weird and awkward. Jessica Jones was able to use sex in order to define dynamics between characters and the narrative. Here, it's just odd and manipulative. It hints at the hot electricity between the two characters. But it does so in an over-the-top way that doesn't feel all that organic or necessary to the story.
- The camera movement and soundtrack changes as Matt leaves his perfect date with Karen and experiences the chaotic world of Hell's Kitchen again was so beautiful.
As noted in previous reviews from this series, every episodic review was written without having seen any succeeding episodes. Similarly, it would be much appreciated if in the comments, the conversation would only revolve around the show up to this point in its run.
