To quell the rising backlash over his release, Fisk serves up a scapegoat to the FBI. Dex misses the mark when he runs into a woman from his past.
In 2018, it makes no sense to provide full-length reviews of each individual episode for shows released all at once on the streaming services. Sure, there are some shows out there that value the power of the episode. They do make a point in differentiating each episode to ensure it's not just one big slog to the finish. However, the ability to watch the entire season at one's own viewing pace has largely changed the way we consume and discuss these shows. So, some brief summary thoughts are really all that's actually necessary with these seasons. As such, here are my latest thoughts on the next episode of Netflix's Daredevil.
"The Perfect Game" was written by Tonya Kong and directed by Julian Holmes
This season has certainly painted a bleak and inept portrait of the FBI. They almost seem incapable of looking at things from the bigger picture. That's suppose to be their job. They protect the best interests of the country on the federal level. And yet, there is absolutely no reason why Ray and Dex should be in their current positions of power. The show already made it clear that Ray's debts were problematic and should keep him from advancing any further. And now, he has established himself as the only guy who can get Fisk talking. That's not true in the slightest. Any agent could fill that role because Fisk is working a larger game. It's simply making Ray feel self-important even though he has become so annoying to the audience. He doesn't investigate or listen to Karen's concerns because she has no evidence or isn't willing to share it with him. However, he's immediately trusting Fisk for no reason whatsoever. Those roles should be reversed because Fisk is a convicted criminal and Karen was part of the team that helped take him down in the first place. Everything that Ray does is in service of the plot to keep Fisk an engaging and controlling villain while forcing Matt on the run. Meanwhile, there is no excuse for Dex making it into the FBI. Is his marksmanship really more valuable than his personality disorders? It doesn't seem like he has to deal with any consequences for coldly murdering a bunch of people earlier this season. He passed the psych evaluation simply by lying his way through it. It should not be that easy. This is the FBI. The audience should trust that they are capable of conducting a thorough and all-consuming investigation. It's hard to believe that because it has trusted Ray and Dex with protecting Fisk even though they aren't aware that he is still running a massive criminal operation. Moreover, is Fisk even conducting the best strategy when it comes to eliminating Matt Murdock as his enemy? Right now, he tells the FBI that Matt was a criminal associate of his who fixed problems for him. Felix Manning is the man actually fulfilling that role. Karen is aware of him and the threat that he poses to everyone she cares about if she runs this story about Fisk's corruption. But there is no evidence that connects Matt back to doing something because Fisk would have ordered him to do it. Instead, Ray is seemingly grasping at straws by bringing up that one time Matt and Foggy unknowingly did work through Fisk. They had no interactions with him whatsoever at that time. The FBI doesn't seem to care. And yet, this seems like an investigation that should go away quickly due to lack of evidence. Instead, it feels like things will only intensify further because the footage from the prison could support the idea that Matt is so much more than a blind lawyer. Fisk doesn't include that detail in his report about Matt and his association with him. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to out him as Daredevil though? Fisk has that information and knows just how crippling it could be to Matt. It could limit his access now that the federal agencies know his true identity. That's not the direction the show is pursuing though. In fact, Matt isn't even a part of this episode until the very end. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It allows the show to better focus on its ensemble and move the pieces around to a place where they become more complicated for Matt. He just has to rest after the fight at the prison. In that time though, his life completely changes. Seeing the consequences of that has to mean something though. It makes Matt an underdog which should get the audience to support him. And yet, what should we be hoping he achieves through his actions this season? Should he kill people? If so, who all deserves that punishment? Is Matt irredeemable if he crosses that line?
