"Daredevil" Recap: "New York's Finest"

​Written by Scotty

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Hell’s Kitchen is ripping itself apart at the seams and it is all being caused by one man, The Punisher.  After escaping the police’s sting with his new friend Daredevil, the Punisher is ready to for his next assignment.  But Daredevil is not ready to let him complete this as of yet, but has little say in the matter since he is chained to a chimney.  Trying to find out who this new player in Hell’s Kitchen is, Matt tries all of his lawyer tactics to get him to talk, but since he has never been in a war and seen the things that really change a man, the Punisher will not continue the conversation.

After the blowup on her sting attempt to capture the Punisher, District Attorney Reyes is in no mood to be messed with.  Trying to get the reason for having their client being the bait, Karen and Foggy try to strong arm the ambitious woman, but get shut down before they can even get started.  Threatening to hold the Nelson/Murdock office responsible for the battle scene, Reyes will not answer to anybody for her actions.  Being a small firm, Foggy knows that they would not be able to come back from a disbarring, so he lays back and plays the game by the DA’s rules for the time being.

Karen is not willing to let this go as she starts digging into Reyes’ past and finds some instances that prove what kind of woman she really is.  Trying to threaten the Assistant District Attorney, Karen finds that she can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and gets the police file for the Punisher so she can start her character profile of the mad man.  Foggy is trying to get a hold of Matt, but when the phone goes to voicemail, he will have to turn to the place he hopes not to go.  The hospital is packed full of gang members who are needing to be restrained as they are in the middle of a war.  Only looking for Claire to find out if she has seen Matt, Foggy finds himself doing what he does best, defusing situations.

As the night continues on the rooftop, Matt is able to break through the Punisher’s walls and gets a dialogue going. Finding out that his new foe’s name is Frank, he tries to reason with the man, but there is something that has snapped in his mind. Frank applauds Matt’s attempt at cleaning up Hell’s Kitchen, but putting people in jail is not working since they make their way back to the streets faster than they can be captured again. Putting the evil of the city into the ground is the only way to make the streets safer and since the Daredevil is not willing to take a life, Frank will follow through to the end. Giving Daredevil the opportunity to stop him from completing his mission, the Punisher puts a gun in his hand and tries to provoke him to do the right thing.  Daredevil is not willing to comply, since he has not taken a life, he will not start now, even if it means saving one.

Finally, the Punisher speaks and when he does, he has plenty to say.  The dialogue between him and Daredevil on the rooftop was great and I wish it did not have to end since you started to find out more about Frank.  Even though you get a piece of the backstory, you do not have enough to find out what set off the ex-soldier and whatever it is, it is gonna be epic.  With Karen not willing to take the threats from the District Attorney lying down, she is able to get the police file on the Punisher and start her own work. While the crime scene photos are graphic, she continues on with her profile which is going to be quite the read.  As always, Foggy steals the show when he is able to stop two rival gang members from killing each other in the ER.  It is easy to see how Hell’s Kitchen can fall apart, but bringing it back together will take more people like this who care enough to save their city from total destruction.

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