Daredevil‘s tenth episode was quite the thriller. Despite not being the most physically eventful episode, it certainly left an impact by diving deep into the past of Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock. It was centered around justice and Foggy’s reaction, which deserved an entire episode to itself, although things were extremely dull for Fisk, up until the end when Vanessa was one of the many to be poisoned at the fundraising event. Multiple plots were left on big cliffhangers and Episode 11 should pick up and immediately be off to the races.
I really enjoy the fact that we opened up with Fisk, because at this point, we know he genuinely cares about Vanessa and wants to make her better. It’s amazing to even see Wesley so concerned about her health, while Leland is displaying his normal selfish behavior. It’s really interesting that the romance plot in Daredevil‘s first season comes from our “villain” while neither Matt nor Foggy is really romantically involved with anyone. I think this continues to speak volumes about how well Daredevil is executing its first season and character development. Fisk and Wesley have been written so well and made so likable, while Leland plays the traditional business slime-ball, who is always focused on making his money.
Wesley’s decision to handle the Karen situation on his own later in the episode is fantastic. He even points out that he personally doesn’t believe Fisk is choosing the proper way to “fix the city,” but he believes in Fisk so much as a person he’s willing to follow him. Honestly, it was really upsetting, to see Wesley go, because I absolutely loved his character. Yet, it was also great for Karen to stand up to her fear and say “screw you” any and all threats as she emptied the chamber into Wesley’s chest.
It was nice to see Claire back finally. I’ve really been enjoying how Matt and Claire’s relationship has grown, but I wish she had appeared slightly more often in this first season. It seems like they are having Claire’s character and story stay similar to that in the comics. Originally, Claire was actually a love interest of Luke Cage, but she eventually leaves him to “take some time” in California, where she visits an old boyfriend. The ex gets into some trouble, and Luke shows up to save the day, eventually reconciling with Claire. Now, Marvel is filming A.K.A. Jessica Jones right now, with Luke Cage following it up. In current Marvel comics, Cage and Jones end up together, and from set photos, it seems like characters will be romantically involved. It makes sense to use Claire’s story as the love interest for Matt because it fits well.
For the rest of the episode, Matt interacts with Melvin Potter, who is the source of Fisk’s bulletproof suits. Melvin Potter is another decently known Marvel character, so it will be interesting to see if he has any continued involvement with Daredevil or the Marvel Netflix shows going forward. Potter’s fear of Fisk really gives off the impression that he is a crime boss that can force his hand over all of Hell’s Kitchen. Potter is just a guy concerned about his wife who is in a tight bind, and Matt is able to recognize that. It’s clear that this is where Matt will get his suit, made from the same armored material that Fisk has, thus evening the playing field. Hopefully, we see Potter continue to be an ally of Daredevil going forward.
Karen and Ben are still hot on the journalistic trail of outing Fisk to the public. They continue to speak with his mother and discover the full story about Fisk killing his father as a child. As mentioned earlier, Wesley is left to deal with this for Fisk, and he does a pretty good job. If this had beeen earlier in the season, his threats to kill Ben, Foggy, Matt, and anyone else Karen loves before finally coming after her probably would have convinced Karen to quit her cause; however, she has come a long way since that first episode. Although it’s sad to see Wesley go, I believe it speaks a huge amount towards the growth of Karen’s character by having her kill Wesley.
Overall, I thought this was a fantastic episode of Daredevil that inched us ever closer to the grand finale. I have been anticipating that someone from both the good and bad sides of this show would die before Season 1 ended, but I had high hopes it would be Leland to suffer instead of Wesley. This should be another big step in creating the Kingpin, because Fisk is losing his only trusted right hand man. I would expect to see someone on the “good” side go down in the final two episodes, whether it’s Claire, Ben, or someone else. “The Path of the Righteous” touched on a lot of different parts of the show that are all important. I thought it moved things along well and ended on a great shocking cliffhanger of Karen killing Wesley.
Top Moments:
– “Don’t you know who I am!” Great line from Fisk there and a little flash of his Kingpin nature.
-The bromance is dead. R.I.P. Wesley.
– I think Leland turns into more of a scumbag each time a word comes out of his mouth.
[Photo via Netflix]
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