2x03 New York's Finest

8.5/10. It's hard to know how much my view of this episode is colored by my long time viewing of The Walking Dead. To the point, I've seen Jon Bernthal debate the morality of killing, of being harsh and more radical in pursuit of the same goal as a more straight-laced, rule-bound good guy many, many times by now, and I know the notes very well.

So when The Punisher and Daredevil are having a conversation on the roof about whether it's alright to kill in the name of the greater good, whether Punisher goes too far or Daredevil doesn't go far enough, whether there is a kernel of good in people and whether these vigilantes get to decide who lives and who dies, it's very familiar. That's not a bad thing necessarily. This debate has been hashed out in art and parlor rooms for decades, if not centuries, and played out in comic books and films and television shows and novels and conversations between friends. The difference is that Bernthal's played this type of guy before, and it shades his performance.

But, it's a great performance. Daredevil isn't wrong when he notes that Frank carries himself like a soldier. There's a precision, a curtness to him, that screams military, and it's a tribute to Bernthal how well he conveys the basics of a character the audience is just getting to know. The way he tells Daredevil to stop pretending that he knows what's it like, the way he interacts with the cantankerous busy body from the building who served in Vietnam (a nice nod to Punisher's roots), and the way he methodically and tersely moves through his plan all make Punisher feel like a very lived-in character despite how little time we've spent with him.

The problem is, frankly, that I like his performance better than Charlie Cox's. I don't want to put too much of that on Cox, who does a creditable job as Matt Murdock defending Daredevil's ideology while chained up by a man who opposes him. I think I'm just tired of the good guy platitudes. You need a guy like Daredevil to believe in hope, to believe that there's good in people, otherwise a show like this becomes too dark and nihilistic all at once and you lose the contrast and the spirit of the series. But at the same time, I find myself agreeing with Punisher's sentiments, if not his methods. Or at least his assessment of Murdock's views as naive and simplistic. There's a brutality and directness that someone who's seen the horrors of war can come away with, and even though I wouldn't begin to condone the way Punisher plays judge, jury, and executioner, his views at least feel more realistic and grounded, even if Daredevil's feel more well-intentioned and noble.

And the show does a good job at setting up the way the two of them are not too different. As I mentioned in my prior review, there's a lot of shared Frank Miller DNA between Batman and Daredevil. Both of them share a code of not killing, both seek to clean up a crime ridden version of the big city, and both find themselves faced with extreme reflections of themselves in the people they come into conflict with. When Punisher says that Daredevil is one bad day from turning into him, and then shows him something horrible while he's chained in place, it's hard not to think of The Killing Joke, where The Joker made a very similar pronouncement.

This Punisher has a decent amount in common with The Joker, particularly the Heath Ledger version, despite the characters' very different goals and personalities. Both Joker and Punisher are trying to get the heroes they face to break their moral code, to admit that some people deserve to die, that the noble and haughty can be broken and made to play around in the mud like the rest of us. When Punisher holds a gun to Grotto and makes Daredevil decide whether there's a real difference between choosing to kill and allowing someone to die through your interaction, it's a genuine moral dilemma, and it doesn't necessarily make Daredevil look great, or at least shows him wading into a gray area, even as he takes a third option when he shoots off his chains.

This of course leads to yet another one-shot action sequence. This one, however, though technically more proficient than the standout hallway rescue from last season, lacks some of the soul and spirit of the prior one. Maybe it's because the editing cuts were a little more notable here, or the stylistic flourishes were a little more ostentatious in the stairwell transitions, but for whatever reason, the hallway fight last season felt like we'd been plopped down in the middle of an all-out brawl in the middle of the slums, while the stairwell fight felt like a video game or a theme park ride. Sure, the visuals were cool and the fight choreography was impressive, but it was much harder to get lost in.

Still, the episode was buoyed by the stories of its supporting characters. Karen as the dogged investigator is always a good look for her. She has a determination and a sense that she's seeking to redeem herself after what happened with Wesley that makes her resourcefulness and unwillingness to back down very admirable and engaging. Similarly, giving Foggy a chance to show off his skills, what he brings to the team despite his lack of athletic prowess made up in bravery and ability to relate to people, really worked here. The way he was able to talk down those gangsters and earn Clare's respect was superb.

And my word, how Rosario Dawson, who's had a stellar career, isn't a bigger star, I just don't know. She has such a "seen it all" weariness to her, in her interactions in the war zone of the ER, in her conversations with Foggy, and in her regular interactions with everyone around her. But when she cracks her half smile and waves goodbye to Mr. Nelson, there's such a twinkle in her eye, a bit of warmth or playfulness behind the "I'm too old for this shit" vibe she gives off that adds layers and makes her one of the most intriguing and textured characters in the Netflix MCU.

It's those types of performances that keep Daredevil humming. Dawson gives one; Bernthal gives one, and the rest of the cast holds their own as well. I'd be lying if I said The Walking Dead didn't loom large over this episode for me, but there's so many lived-in details to this world and these people that even if the notes are familiar, I'm still happy to hear the tune played in this key.

The writing for this show is so bad. This intro to the Punisher makes him appear weak and indecisive. There's no discernable difference between him and the dozens of faceless, nameless bikers across this four episode arc. They did a terrible job introducing him, and furthermore, the acting on this show makes it nearly unwatchable. Elden Henson was a poor actor as child, and he never got any better. Having him as a bit player is one thing, but having him as a co-star, where he's required to carry scenes is unacceptable, b/c he's incapable of doing so. Watching him act opposite Rosario Dawson was just painful, b/c he's so far out of his league opposite her. I don't find Charlie Cox to be anything special, either. He's an all right actor, but he doesn't command the presence necessary to hold this role. I also find his moralizing incredibly disingenuous and irritating.

What this episode boiled down to was, Frank Castle, the Punisher, had Matt Murdock (Daredevil) chained up on a rooftop, and he'd duct taped a gun onto his hand, so he had a choice: He could either shoot Frank, as Frank was killing one of Murdock's clients who also tied up. Murdock chose not to shoot him, instead shooting the chain to break free. He didn't shoot Frank, b/c he spent the entire episode moralizing about how it was wrong to kill anyone. Yet, moments later, after escaping, he came across a number of angry bikers. The gun is still duct taped to his hand, and he pulls the trigger, but there are no more rounds in the gun. So, the moral of the story was, it's all right to waste an episode going on about how it's bad to kill criminals, but when given a chance, it's all right to do so? The story made zero sense, and it was a giant waste of time.