Yesterday I talked about how Daredevil’s costume has been a problem ever since it was introduced in the final episode of season one. Today’s episode brings another, more critical problem to the forefront, namely the fact that Matt Murdock isn’t all that interesting. I mean, sure, the season is still very young and a lot is going to change, but as of right now, Murdock/Daredevil is the least intriguing part of his own show.
Batting first in terms of interesting characters this episode is Foggy. I was a little worried about what the writers were doing with him this year, because in the first episode he doesn’t do much besides try and get Matt to become romantically involved with Karen and go to the Dogs of Hell motorcycle bar to get some information that we basically already knew. It looked like we were taking him down the same path as last year where he was largely redundant.
But this episode, Mr. Nelson gets to take a step towards becoming independent and, dare I say, kind of bad ass. It all starts when he finds Matt unconscious on the roof of a building after having been shot by the Punisher. Then, when Matt talks about going looking for baddest new vigilante in Hell’s Kitchen, Foggy tries to forcibly take his costume away from him.
It should be noted that this is also the best character moment Matt has had this season. He’s almost physically dependent on being Dardevil, to the point where he almost fights his best friend in order to continue playing hero. But I digress, we were talking about Foggy.
The intrepid Mr. Nelson then calls bullshit on a high powered New York district attorney in order to defend his client, the Irish mob lowlife who escaped from the Punisher in episode one. He, Karen, and the perp, Grotto, then agree to help the DA nab a drug dealer by putting a wire on Grotto in order to get Grotto into the witness protection program.
Alas, all of this is a mere set-up. The cops and the DA are using Grotto as bait to lure the Punisher out into the open and then take him out with extreme prejudice. The second he learns that this is actually what’s going on, Foggy instant goes into full, “Fuck you, here’s a lawsuit” mode. Its kind of great to see this relatively meek character get to bust out some mad swagger and Henson plays it so goddamn well. He ramps up his righteous indignation, starting out just a little unsure of himself but gaining confidence with each word he says.
Then, as the police ambush is falling apart, he sees that Matt has arrived and has engaged the Punisher in a bout of fisticuffs. He rushes out into danger in an attempt to save his friend. Keep in mind that this is a friend who is blatantly putting himself at extreme risk and has been told as much multiple times. Yet Foggy is still compelled to dart out, possibly into a hail of gunfire to protect his buddy. Foggy Nelson is a true American hero.
But as great as Foggy may have been in this episode, the real MVP is on screen for only a few minutes. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is absolutely perfect. His scene, about halfway through the episode, at the pawn shop is not only a perfect encapsulation of the character, but it may be the launching point for one of the great villains/anti-heroes on TV today. He utters just a few words, barley any complete sentences, but he creates such an imposing and threatening figure that its nearly impossible not to be intimidated. This is a man who doesn’t want to speak and doesn’t have to. He knows what he has to do and nothing is going to get in his way. He is merciless and uncompromising. He’s a man on a mission and I cannot wait to see where we’re going with him.
Episode two is a great step in fleshing out the supporting characters in Hell’s Kitchen. More and more, we’re getting fully realized characters who stand completely on their own. Shit, I didn’t really talk about Karen in this recap, but she’s awesome as well and gets to show off her strength and resourcefulness. Now if only the title character can catch up to his backing band we would have something absolutely spectacular on our hands.
Quick Notes:
>I can’t believe that Karen wasn’t more pissed off that Matt wasn’t helping with Grotto’s case. She said that the firm was bankrupt, and she and Foggy were working their asses off, but here’s Matt taking some sick leave. She should be telling the prick to suck it up and get to work!
>I love Brenthal’s “Oh shit” reaction when Daredevil throws his own smoke bomb at him. He’s just like, “Are you KIDDING me right now?! Seriously?!”
>Not to talk about the pawn show scene too much, but how brilliant was it to have the Punisher sipping a cheap cup of coffee the entire time. I can’t put my finger on why it works so well, but fuck me if it isn’t perfect.
