Another fantastic episode. Starting off with a near dead Matt Murdock huh, the russian crime syndicates really were brutal. I enjoy this new woman Claire, she seems to admire the efforts this black masked vigilante is doing throughout Hell's Kitchen, and now thanks to her caring for Murdock after he was dumped into a dumpster half dead, she's trapped in this world of corruption too and has to flee. I really enjoyed seeing more of Matt and his dad's (Jack) relationship, its clear that Jack was doign everything he could to give Matt a better life than he ever had, wanting Matt to live out a bright future and not be trapped in the dangerous world he is. And man, Jack was such an amazing man and a caring father, it was so painful watching Jack have to perform these dangerous tasks with corrupt business men for his boxing career, jsut so he could get money for his son. Jack's final moments were quite heroic, watching Jack essentially forfeit his life by going all out in the boxing match rather that participating in the rigged outcome for his boss was amazing, I'm glad Jack finally got a win and showed what the Murdocks were capable of, and man was it heartbreaking seeing the final phone call Jack made to his (i think ex) saying to take care of Matt, and so was seieng him being dead in the street afterwards. Its clear that Jack was a huge inspiration for Matt Murdock as he was always there for Matt and never backed down in the face of insurmountable odds, and losing the only person in his life like that must've torn Matt apart emotionally. Matt's relationship with his dad also seems to be a big factor into Matt's current philosophy, with Matt constantly and tirelessly fighting for the sake of justice, trying to rid the city of these corrupt syndaaicates and their practices. Though, as that Russian guy who Matt interrogated spelled out, all of Matt's efforts seem pointless in the grand scheme of things, regardless of who Matt takes outs the corrupt business practices, human trafficking, etc., will keep going on, in this endless cycle of corruption, but despite this, Matt still keeps on fighting, never backing down like his father. Like Claire said, its not enjoyable for Matt, but he feels' this overwhelming sense of justice which keeps him going despite how painful it is for him, physically and emotionally. And man was that hallway scene some beautiful fighting choreography, i really felt how much of a toll that fight took on Matt as he beated up those Russian crime syndicates, and the ending shot where Matt took the kid out back to hsi father was a beautiful ending to the episode. Also, on a more positive note, I loved the moments between Foggy and Karen today. It's clear Karen is very much traumatized by the murder of her assoicate and attempted murder of her, with Karen no longer being able to see the human aspects of Hell's Kitchen, only the violence its mired with. I'm glad that Foggy took Karen out on this "not a date," showing Karen the hidden beauty of Hell's Kitchen and taking her mind off things for a breif moment. This episode really made me respect Foggy as a person, jsut seeing how kindhearted and caring he is was sweet, and I hope things stay good between him and Karen regarding their friendship.
Review by GabyBlockedParentSpoilers2017-09-04T22:15:16Z— updated 2018-10-27T20:50:09Z
The intro of Claire the Nurse, played by Rosario Dawson (thank you to the casting gods for this wonderful choice), is a great setup for her no-nonsense attitude toward Matt/Daredevil. She has no time or patience for any bullshit, even when fighting crime and defending the weak. Major kudos to the writers in giving alot of dialogue exposition into Matt's current situation to Claire while not making it boring or stuffy or obvious dialogue exposition. Instead all of this feels natural as Claire tries to understand her current situation and how involved she should get to Matt's.
The interplay between Matt's youth and relationship with his father (an integral and defining aspect of who Matt is/becomes) and his current emotional and physical situation is a great way of getting into Matt's head while giving us amazing emotional backstory.
Favs: After hearing what the mob has been doing to the ppl of Hell's Kitchen, Claire helps Matt torture and get information out of the kidnapper.
Highlight: The single shot fight sequence where Matt saves the little boy. Sets the tone for the general asthetics of the show (shadows and shilohettes) while portraying a realistic street-style not-holding-back fight, showing how Matt could take on 8 to 10 guys and still win (while also getting a betting himself). Culminating is Matt walking over bodies as he carries the kidnapped kid out. This fight scene also sets the benchmark for realistic fight scenes for TV/Series.