Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1, Episode 4: Sic Semper Systema
Was this how we expected the Punisher to return? It certainly wasn't how I expected the Punisher to return. But it's also absolutely fitting to both the character as we last saw him in the MCU, and to Jon Bernthal's take on the character -- which explores a lot more about the themes of trauma and soldiers being victims (as much as Frank himself refuses to be described by that 'pussy-ass word').
But we follow up on the swerving plot twist at the end of episode 3, with the surprise kick-the-dog death of White Tiger. After the huge legal victory from the previous episode, it all seemingly turns to be all for nothing as what Matt is rewarded with is the death of a man he respects, and the crying, angry family left behind. Angela Del Toro will show up a fair bit more in subsequent episodes, so this is a nice little introduction to her character, but it does sting quite a bit.
We also get a sequence where Matt deals with the extremely uncooperative homeless person Leeroy Bradford, who gets arrested for shoplifting some caramel corn. The episode, I think, does a great job at initially showing Leeroy as being an obnoxious asshat that is not appreciative of Matt's efforts to give him the best he could get based on the system -- a reduced sentence. But Leeroy's subsequent tearful speech, pouring his heart out to Matt about how much the system has really fucked people like him? That's some surprisingly powerful stuff, and while it is a bit of a filler scene in the middle of this slower episode, it leads to Matt being more disillusioned with the system in general.
All he needs is an additional push. And as Matt investigates the crime scene and manages to find the bullet emblazoned with a Punisher skull, he heads off to confront the Punisher -- who's hiding in some random warehouse filled with guns and paranoid survivalist equipment. The time-skip hasn't been particularly kind to Frank, as whatever light he might've found at the end of The Punisher season 2 has gone out of his eyes. He's spiralling deeper and deeper into his mission, and initially seems brusque and dickish about Matt's own problems. We do brush off the idea that Punisher is the one that killed Hector, though, which is nice.
Except, just like the Leeroy scene a bit, Frank is actually playing therapy the best way he knows how -- by forcing Matt to admit the things he's been shutting away in his life and trying to run away from. As much as Matt wants to believe in the system, as much as Matt tries to convince himself that yes, he did the right thing by the book... his friend is dead. And it's not exactly Hector he's talking about -- as Frank astutely (if not politely) points out, it's Foggy that Matt misses so dearly, someone who is bright and good and nice in the world. Frank manages to force Matt to be a bit more honest with himself, as he strikes Frank at one point, and eventually breaks down. Frank notes that he himself always sees specters of his own family -- good, innocent people as well -- and especially his son, who keeps telling him to 'kill all the bad guys'.
This leads to a damning sequence when Matt insists that Bullseye has been served the harshest sentence that the system could ever give him. He'll never be free again. "HE GOT LIFE!" Matt yells out loud... and Frank points out that the same can't be said about Foggy. A nice bit of wordplay, and a dark nod to just how far the system can go. It's an amazing debate, and interestingly an almost full 180 compared to the original confrontation between Daredevil and the Punisher in the second season of Daredevil -- where the Punisher tries to keep Daredevil in the light.
I really do like this sequence. Matt has been great at dodging the questions directed at him in regards to Foggy's death and Bullseye's sentencing and him hanging up the devil horns. Whether it was Kirsten, Cherry, Heather or even Wilson Fisk, Matt has been dodging these hard emotions as easily as he dodges punches and bullets. But Frank doesn't give a shit. He barrels through Matt's verbal defenses to really strike home. At the end of the episode, we get a nice side-by-side montage as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk suits up and embraces the parts of them that they've been hiding for the past couple of episodes... Daredevil and Kingpin are back.
Speaking of Wilson Fisk... he's not finding the system particularly nice to him either. Despite his huge show last episode on fixing the road, turns out that everything else in the city really does require huge amounts of red tape. Not going in any particular order, Fisk ends up realizing that what he can do is vastly limited, and no amount of "I want to do this" gets him what he wants -- and I really do like the difference in attitude between the well-worn, traditional but very knowledgeable Sheila, versus the go-getter young man Daniel Blake. Sheila is a bit of a wet blanket in everything she says and does, but she brings in the safety and stability that Fisk needs for his mayoral term.
While Fisk is going around attending meetings he doesn't give a shit about -- and his building frustration with how every single meeting has some choir singing "We Built This City On Rock & Roll" is darkly comedic. We also learn a couple of small nods from Buck Cashman, the only one on Fisk's mayoral team who knows about his ex-criminal career, who notes that the Five Families are getting restless without the Fisks to keep them in control.
Throw in the fact that the young, upcoming yes-man Daniel Blake made a bit of a fuck-up by being a bit too drunk and spilling some bits of news to BB Urich (who's a lot less relevant than I thought she would be), causing even more trouble to land on Fisk's lap. Daniel actually owns up to his mistake and he really does seem like the naïve guy that's drinking all of Fisk's kool-aid. This leads to Fisk forgiving Daniel for now, though not without a rather terrifying-to-the-audience "don't fail me again" remark.
The Fisk couple's marriage counseling isn't going the best either, as they finally land on the huge landmine that is Vanessa's affair with Adam. Therapy is already difficult to do with full and transparent honesty, but it's rather telling that Matt's informal session with a drunk-and-yelling Frank Castle is much better for him than the dodgy, euphemism-laden, cold-sniping spat between Wilson and Vanessa. Dr. Heather Glenn tries her best, yes, but it's hard to do a therapy session when the couple is both hiding the fact that they both ran a criminal empire, and one of the fates that could've landed upon Adam is much worse than "having words".
This leads to a discussion over dinner as Vanessa and Wilson discuss how at one point Dr. Heather speaks to Vanessa alone to confirm if she 'felt safe' around Wilson. Wilson notes that he respects and understands the psychiatrist's intentions, and goes on a bit of a tangent about his own father -- his childhood tormentor and role model... but Wilson finds it hard and is still trying to learn about forgiveness. Their conversation ends in an ominous 'people change' conclusion that could really go either way for their relationship.
Of course, as the episode winds down and we see on the Matt side of the story that he's re-practicing his locked-up costumed vigilante side, Wilson Fisk ends up going to a random underground bunker... where he shows that he's actually not changed at all, and still keeps 'Kingpin' active. Adam, Vanessa's lover, is kept chained up in a bunker like it's the middle ages or something, suffering and begging to be let out while Wilson dines on fancy meals.
This wasn't a super-interesting episode when I first watched it (other than the explosive Matt/Frank debate), but sitting down and reviewing all of it really does make me appreciate the parallels in storytelling between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk; their respective frustrations with 'the system'; their respective therapy sessions, and ultimately the two of them returning to who they are. And as these two giants get into position, the episode finally ends with a bit of a hint on a psychotic street-art-themed serial killer, Muse, but we'll talk more about him next episode!
Marvel Easter Eggs Corner:
- The Punisher, Frank Castle, returns after last being seen at the end of the second season of his TV show.
- Angela Del Toro, niece to Hector Ayala, is the character who takes over her uncle's mantle as the second White Tiger in the comics.
- Various references to the old Daredevil show include the reappearance of the 'Rabbit in a Snowstorm' painting, still stained with Kingpin's blood; Fisk using 'ill intent' as a metaphor; and him starting a story about his father with 'when I was a boy...'
- The episode confirms that Punisher has figured out that Matt Murdock, the lawyer who represented him, and Daredevil the superhero is the one and the same person, which was hinted at but not confirmed during their team-up in season 2 of Daredevil.
- One of the spare Daredevil suits that Matt has is the yellow one he wore in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. His darker red-and-black suit that he wore in Daredevil season 2 can also be glimpsed.
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