"Daredevil" Recap: ".380"

Written by Scotty

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

As the villains in Hell’s Kitchen are starting to gain power once again, the Hand has been able to locate the five patients that were taken away from them.  Ransacking the hospital, Claire is able to defend herself, but losses a co-worker in the fight. Daredevil is there to help and keeps most of the hospital staff safe from the stealthy ninjas, but knowing that another life has been lost to this crew, he will not rest until they are defeated. While Claire is already being watched by the higher ups in the hospital, she is given her second strike for taking in the patents, but that does not disturb her as much as the hospital trying to cover-up what has just happened. Seeing a dead body on the coroner's table that had already been autopsied, and now with the loss of her friend, she decides that this is no longer the place for her and turns in her badge and tries to walk away from her life there.

While telling the police what happened at her apartment, Karen is taken into protective custody, but she still has other things to take care of.  Sneaking out with Frank Castle, the two stop at a local diner to get some coffee and she finds out more about the new vigilante in her life. Seeing that he is not just a gun for hire, Karen is told to leave as a couple gunmen are about to enter the diner. Frank is ready for action and to find answers about who the man in charge of the massacre that killed his family really is. Being able to defeat his two attackers, Frank is given directions to the pier where the ‘Blacksmith’ supposedly works out of. But nothing is what it seems, especially when Frank Castle is around.

Matt Murdock is looking for answers as well and talking to Karen at the police station, he finds out what she has been doing on the side. Finding out that Frank was not behind the killings of the District Attorney and the coroner, he will have to find some answers on his own. Talking to the Assistant District Attorney, Matt hears that Madame Gao is still hanging out around the city and goes to her to get what he needs. Although Madame Gao does not know who her direct competition is, she knows that everything that the ‘Blacksmith’ is bringing in is coming by boat. Being able to track the gunfire on the pier, Matt is able to find that the Punisher is back to his old games.

Trying to stop Frank from killing another innocent man, Matt is out matched by his skills, but is still able to get the gun out of his hand. While Frank wants justice, Matt knows that his way is not working in Hell’s Kitchen any longer and for this one time, wants to cross the line and use the Punisher’s method to stop the ‘Blacksmith.  But Frank knows that his friend Red will not be able to go through with it and when the support team for the boat shows up, he kicks Daredevil overboard. When gunshots are released, the boat turns into an inferno with no sign of Frank anywhere and when the police show up to investigate the scene, all they find are dead bodies littering the streets. Frank has gotten away once again and will continue to light up Hell’s Kitchen until he finds the man responsible for his family’s death.
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It might not be my favorite episode this season, but it is starting to get all of the storylines pulled together for the season finale.  While Elektra is on the war path after killing an assassin that Stick sent for her, she has the prize in her sights. Matt has little to no interaction with his friends and the only time he tries to reach out to Karen, she shuts him down completely. Foggy is getting wined and dined by his ex-girlfriend Marci who wants to give him his life back with another law firm. Karen gets used as bait while Frank is trying to find out where the Blacksmith is operating out of. But the kicker of the storyline for this episode is the love Karen really has for Matt as even the Punisher is able to see it. Her reaction to this is just fantastic and there is no way for her to hide her feelings from one of the only men that she trusts. Well, two episodes left and time is running out for Frank to find the man that killed his family and for Karen to get the answers that she is seeking…oh yeah and for Stick to talk Elektra down from trying to kill him. Yikes.

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