Daredevil, Season 2, Episode 9: Seven Minutes in Heaven
Wilson Fisk is one of those characters that demands full attention when he comes on scene, and this episode did not disappoint. Every single conversation between Wilson Fisk and Frank Castle really steals the episode, and I honestly am hard-pressed to even remember just what the Hand or Daredevil did in this episode. From their initial meeting with Frank not wanting anything to do with Fisk, to Fisk trying to strike a deal with Frank, the two just exude a kind of class all to their own. Frank Castle, the Punisher, the vigilante who shoots to kill en masse, and Wilson Fisk, the (newly-minted) Kingpin, who is a force both in resources, mind and strength, a fallen crime lord who is rebuilding his empire from the ground up from his prison, a master at controlling others to get what he wants.
It's amazingly well-written. Neither Fisk nor Frank was written as naive or being duped, and the characters clearly respect each other to talk in blatant terms. Fisk acknowledges how Frank will never submit to being a hitman, and he makes it clear that, yes, he benefits from his rival being taken out, but at the same time Dutton is involved or has information regarding the death of Frank Castle's family. Of course, there's the betrayal with Fisk locking Frank Castle in and springing all the inmates, leading to one of the most gloriously brutal action sequences in the entirety of the MCU that gave the Daredevil-vs-Dogs fight a run for its money. It's brutal, it's awesome and holy shit it's just a thrill to watch.
And after that, Fisk doesn't apologize, and straight-up tells Frank that he was fully intentional on killing him before. But he's letting Frank Castle out, because, well, a destabilized criminal empire is far easier for Wilson Fisk to retake when he gets out. Also, Fisk probably won't admit it outright but having this maniac loose in the prison is not going to bode well for his plans to assert control. And the short physical fight between the two, this grudging respect as they agree to unleash the Punisher upon Hell's Kitchen for wholly different goals? Man, it's awesome. It's also a great plot device to get Punisher out of jail for more punishing shenanigans in the season's final four episodes.
Wilson Fisk also gets a short flashback showing his life in between season 1 and season 2, with a welcome reappearance of those cufflinks of abuse. We get him being challenged by local prison overlord Dutton, who gave Fisk his 'Kingpin' moniker which he adopts at the end of the episode. I do like how Kingpin recruits a bunch of inmates, and how he still has allies outside. Fisk's empire may have crumbled, and he's short on money, but he's not unresourceful as he uses his limited influences to guarantee the safety of his new allies' families and rebuilds a new inner circle. I'm sure Benjamin Donovan, Stewart Finney and the brothers might show up as new minibosses come Fisk's eventual and inevitable breakout.
Man, I'm just happy to see Wilson Fisk again, okay? And the Punisher is just a great character to lob dialogue with back and forth.
Matt and Foggy have a big verbal spat this episode and it honestly just felt like a retread of the previous season's angry fight, except more final. It's not at all interesting and I'd rather they develop the Hand plot or have Matt interact with Karen or Stick or Elektra or something. Foggy shuts the law firm down, which honestly felt more like a 'oh well, that was inevitable' moment instead of a big shocking twist. Karen goes around with the editor man to become the new Ben Urich, and it's honestly all really dull compared to the Kingpin/Punisher stuff. We did get a couple of interesting tidbits regarding Frank's origins thanks to Karen discovering the police causing Frank's body ('John Doe') to disappear from the crime scene, and the person behind the big gang shootout that claimed Frank's family, the Blacksmith. Knowing nothing about Marvel lore beyond the bare basics, I just shrugged and went 'oh, so this is the final boss'. One of the final bosses, anyway. Is the Blacksmith Reyes? Or a Hand operative? I think it'll be underwhelming if it turns out that the main villain is someone we've never seen before. Karen's subplot is definitely stronger than Foggy and Matt's, that's for sure.
Meanwhile, on the Hand plot... Daredevil discovers that Nobu is back, albeit scarred. We get a short fight scene that I think shares a couple of moves with their first altercation, but apparently the Hand can rise from the grave, as Stick's backstory claims. There is something going on with Daredevil investigating Stan Gibson (the Roxxon money dude that they beat up when they were playing spies before) and discovering that his son is taken hostage. Before being confronted with Nobu, Daredevil discovers that, well, the Hand is draining blood from the kids. Or something.
Honestly the Hand plotline is seemingly just designed to make us go 'WTF' with the promise of big revelations later on... but it still feels kinda fractured. Add that to the relatively weak and procedural Karen and Foggy subplots, and the Matt end of the episode felt a fair amount weaker compared to how it was in the strong first half of the season. The Kingpin and Punisher more than make up for it, though! Those two really stole the episode. This show is balancing just the right amount of characters to feel busy and to jump from one subplot to the other, but without being way too busy or overcrowded.
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