Daredevil - S2E11 - .380

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Previously on Daredevil, “The Man in the Box”

“It’s not your city anymore…”

I’ll said it once and I’ll say it again, because it bears repeating over and over: Matt Murdock is being the worst this season. Not only does he unintentionally lure an army of ninjas into Claire’s hospital (and they kill several of her innocent coworkers), he also manages to get all the survivors of The Farm recaptured. When later faced with the gravity of his failure in a conversation with Claire, Matt behaves like a spoiled child bemoaning how The Hand is ruining his city… his city! As if he’s the anointed defender of Hell’s Kitchen. Well guess what, Matt? Nobody voted for you. Phrases like “my city” and “not in my city” are insufferable when it’s the hero’s personal decision to take on this crusade to fight crime. I expected Matt’s Catholic guilt over being unable to save the lives of innocents to kick in instead of this childish outburst.

Nevertheless, The Hand has really failed to live up the hype surrounding their introduction, which occurred as early as season one with Nobu’s fearsome duel with Matt. They seem to be skulking nameless bodies for Matt to kick around or for Matt to be kicked around by, with some vaguely threatening grand scheme in the works. That being said, the more mystical aspects of the Daredevil mythos are a lot tougher to swallow when the showrunners have established such a solid gritty true crime tone with most of the series.

“Matt, admit it… you’re in over your head…”

One of the most delightful aspects of season two has most definitely been the relationship between Frank and Karen. It’s the unlikeliest of friendships forged by the most seemingly mundane commonalities: the love for their families. It’s refreshing to see both characters be so honest around each other. In fact, I would go so far as to state that a Karen-Frank relationship is far more believable at this point than what the writers are trying to sell us regarding Karen and Matt. The seemingly innocent Miss Paige definitely enjoys her unlikely role as The Punisher’s personal confidante and does everything in her ability to help him track down The Blacksmith.

Make no mistake, however; Frank switches back to a murderous killer when he needs to be like when The Blacksmith’s henchmen ambush them in a restaurant. The end result is a bloodbath and Karen’s resolve is understandably shaken when she experiences firsthand the carnage left by The Punisher’s crusade.

“There’s no shame in that.”

Madame Gao is back and is as cryptic and unnerving as ever as Matt pursues a lead regarding The Blacksmith that directs him straight into her lair. Though I am thoroughly disappointed that she didn’t toss Matt across the screen like last time, the conversation between the two was definitely a highlight of this episode. One could argue that “.380” has just been an hour-long setup for the season finale.

Where they’re going with all this still remains a bit uncertain especially with the closing minutes of the episode being devoted to Elektra and her inevitable confrontation with Stick.

Side Notes and Memorable Quotes

Quote of the Week: “I suppose after all this time, I expected more from you.”- Madame Gao in all her withering disdain

• The kids from “The Farm” are basically mind-wiped zombie soldiers now, right?
• “What makes you ever think that I left?”- Madame Gao
• If Foggy is leaving Matt behind to work for Jerri Hogarth’s firm, I’m okay with this if this means he gets to show up on Jessica Jones.
• Any ideas on the identity of The Blacksmith? I’ve poured over the pages of Daredevil comics trying to find the answer.
• Madame Gao is going to be in the Iron Fist series, right? I would hope so. They make me think that she’s one of the Immortal Weapons. And I would pay top dollar to see her sassing Finn Jones (AKA Game of Thrones’ Loras Tyrell) the same way she’s been sassing Charlie Cox.
• Did Matt really have to perform the sign of the cross spontaneously like that? You’re Catholic, Matt, not a superstitious Transylvanian villager.
• “We need to talk.”- Elektra

It’s time for the awaited master-student showdown between these two!