Daredevil - S1E4 - In the Blood
Previously on Daredevil, ‘Rabbit in a Snowstorm’
“In The Blood” opens to eight years ago in a prison in Siberia where the Russians, Vladimir and Anatoly, plot their escape by fashioning weapons from the ribcage of their dead cell mate. We finally get a glimpse into these characters’ pasts which strongly hints that one, if not both, of them is going to die in this episode.
“If he wants a pound of flesh he can come here and carve it himself.”
It looks like the Russians have been busy.
They’ve recently acquired the taxi company previously owned by the man John Healy murdered in the opening minutes of the previous episode. Business hasn’t been running as smoothly as they want, however, thanks to Matt. Wesley pays them a visit at their base of operations to voice his “employer’s” displeasure with their declined productivity. Vladimir and Anatoly know what needs to be done and they reassure Wesley, through some coarse words, they’ll handle the matter.
Claire Temple returns in this episode unfortunately her role is essentially to be the bait the Russians use to get their hands on Matt. And while they proceed to beat her bloody and senseless, she doesn’t give up any information regarding Matt (or “Mike” as she continues to refer to him). It’s quite unnerving to consider the women in Matt’s life end up being victims for him to save. He finally does come to rescue Claire, cutting the lights to inspire fear from the Russians’ thugs and lend a sense of otherworldly foreboding to his presence. He is, after all, referred to as a “devil” by the crooked cop he put into a coma in episode two. Despite Matt’s palpable guilt over putting her in danger, Claire understands that it was her choice to treat his wounds, thus putting her in the line of fire. If anything, being captured by the Russians has convinced her more than ever of Hell’s Kitchen need for his brand of vigilante justice.
“A woman that can be bought isn’t worth having.”
We follow up on Wilson Fisk after his short introduction at the end of “Rabbit in the Snow Storm.” He asks Vanessa Marianna, the curator of the art gallery where we first met him, out on a date and it is through her eyes that we get to know the man behind the myth.
The show delves deeper into Fisk’s identity, peeling away the layers to reveal a very vulnerable man underneath all the trappings of a criminal lord. Vincent D’Onofrio is magnificent to watch on screen as he captivates the audience by showing us The Kingpin’s sympathetic side. During their date we learn that Fisk grew up in Hell’s Kitchen hinting at his mysterious past and his even more mysterious reasons for leaving the city behind. He’s also so awkward in many ways - from when he first asks Vanessa out to dinner to how he admits he doesn’t know much about wine - that we’re left wondering if this is really the same man who commands a criminal empire with an aura of fear and wonder.
However, all the humanizing characterization of The Kingpin we’ve been privy to so far is cut short when Anatoly interrupts his date, thus shattering Fisk’s magical evening. He takes out all his rage on the Russian, beating him into a bloody pulp with his bare hands and showing us the ferocity that makes his subordinates fear him. Fisk finally ends his terrifying rampage by decapitating Anatoly by repeatedly slamming his head with a car door. It is brutal and insane to behold. He calmly wipes his blood-splattered face with a handkerchief after walking away from the Russian’s headless corpse, reverting back to a calm demeanor now that his rage has subsided. Perhaps Matt is in way over his head.
Side Notes
Quote of the Week: “If he had an iron suit or a magic hammer, maybe that would explain why you keep getting your asses handed to you.”- Wesley to Vladimir and Anatoly
Did you know that Foggy’s mother wanted him to be a butcher? It’s pretty ludicrous to imagine him hacking away at pork loins with a cleaver.
I can’t seem to figure out Vanessa’s accent. We do know that she’s not from Hell’s Kitchen, but even she seems to be just as mysterious as Fisk’s past. Does she have her own secrets to hide?
Ben Urich and Karen Page continue their investigation of the corrupt goings-on in Union Allied Construction. You get the sense that something scarier is in store for this two later this season.
