So this year we decided to break down our reviews of Marvel’s Daredevil by episode, just so as to keep up with everyone’s various binging habits and so we can get more in depth with this season and the devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
In episode two, ‘Dogs to a Gunfight’ we got to see things from Frank Castle aka The Punisher’s point of view and Matt and The Punisher get to have it out with an epic fight scene.
Let’s get into episode two:
A devil on a rooftop
The first episode ended with a confrontation between The Punisher and Matt Murdock which ended with The Punisher shooting Matt. Well now we know that it’s only the first episode so Matt cannot die, but it was still pretty brutal.
When this episode begins, Matt is notably absent but through some smart speculations from Foggy he finds Matt the next morning on the roof where Punisher left him. As Foggy finds him and he worries about him, we see how understated Elden Henson is in this role. But Matt regains consciousness and Foggy nurses him to health while still rebuking him for his reckless actions.
Matt spends most of the episode recuperating and Karen even comes to visit him in order to fill him in about all that is happening. There is a weird sort of awkward tension between them where they seem to like each other but also don’t want to act on their feelings. At the moment, this relationship isn’t really doing much for me but we’ll see as the series progresses.
“The Punisher was inevitable”
Throughout the episode, Karen and the policeman, Brett, explain The Punisher was ‘inevitable’ that in a way when they allowed and cheered on Daredevil, they opened the doors for others like – and worse than – him.
Which is an interesting point, as Brett says that after Daredevil caught Wilson Fisk, they had many copycat vigilantes and The Punisher is just the worst of them, someone who kill those who have done evil.
Witness protecting
The side case that Foggy and Karen are taking on (less you forget that they are lawyers) is organizing the witness protection of the surviving member of the Italian mafia, Grotto.
We get to see Foggy pulling all his ranks and being a badass as he called out the DA for trying to wrong his client, however Grotto still ends up being played by the DA as they make him wear a wire and approach a drug dealer that he knew as part of the mafia which ends up being a front for them trying to lure The Punisher out.
But The Punisher is always one step ahead of them, and he is aware of their plot, reigning down and attempting to kill Grotto he comes face to face with a now healed Matt Murdock and fixed costume Daredevil who is apparently ready for round 2. This fight scene is excellent, and Frank Castle is a wonderful adversary for Matt it will be interesting to see their relationship progress. Matt ends up worse for wear after this episode as well, and The Punisher drags him away with him.
The Punisher gets a name and speaks
This episode we learn that the police refer to Frank Castle whose true identity they don’t know yet as ‘The Punisher’, a pretty cool code name in my opinion.
We also get to see things from his perspective as well as he goes into a shady pawn shop and buys a police radio (which is how he knew about the Grotto trap) which he has no qualms about but when the store owner tries to sell him child pornography, he beats the man to a pulp (or we can assume that’s what took place).
The one point of view scene made me understand The Punisher in a way, his methods might be extreme but it is a way of getting rid of criminals…especially the ones who have the capacity to return to crime. Which makes me wonder if we continue to get more point-of-view moments from The Punisher this season will I be able to sympathize with a man who shot his way through a hospital? Only time will tell.
Marvel’s Daredevil is currently streaming on Netflix.
