Netflix’s newest original series, “Daredevil” debuted April 10, with all 13 episodes of the Marvel Comic adaptation’s first season available on the streaming service. Ed Carroll will review each episode here on Monkeys Fighting Robots without fear and let you know if the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe meets the lofty standards of its predecessors.
As the title of this Daredevil review (and episode) tells us, a major character in the Daredevil comics, Stick (Scott Glenn), made his first appearance. And this episode handled his introduction expertly, using a mix of flashbacks and present-day action to help explain why Stick was so important to Murdock and why it was so hard on Matt when Stick bounced.
Of course, by the end of the episode, we got a bit more insight into the war Stick claimed Murdock was about to face, but this still seems like a big mystery. And I’m not entirely sure who the Black Swan boy is supposed to be; part of me thinks he might have had some sort of super powers (possibly an Inhuman?). But it was pretty cool to watch Stick and the still-not-calling-himself Daredevil reluctantly team up, and there were some really good fight scenes between Stick and Murdock, in both the past and present. I found Stick’s “old man attitude” to be laugh-out-loud funny at times, and both Glenn and Charlie Cox seemed to have a great rapport together. 
We got another extended discussion in Spanish, and I just find it curious that the show flatly refuses to provide any subtitles for what the characters are discussing. I’m not entirely sure why Karen left the apartment (other than a mention of “tattoos,” which the one thug who assaulted Karen had), but seeing Foggy show up to help her take care of the thugs was a fun scene, and as a result, Karen has brought Foggy in on her and Ben’s plans to take down United Allied. This series does an excellent job of moving the pieces around the board.
Murdock is still keeping both Foggy and Karen in the dark about his vigilantism, which I suppose makes sense, but given Foggy’s reaction to the man in the black mask (whom Wilson Fisk framed for the murders of police officers and the bombing in previous episodes), wouldn’t it make more sense to open up sooner rather than later? I suppose this contrasts with what Stick told Murdock about cutting all ties, because they will die.
Murdock is clinging hard to the idea of killing as a line he cannot cross, and it was interesting to see someone similar to him that did cross that line in Stick. Murdock obviously doesn’t view himself as a solider, but it will be interesting to see how Matt decides to proceed.
Some of the action in the final fight between Daredevil and Stick was absolutely brutal, in some of the best ways. It seems like a given that we’ll see Stick again this season, and I’m excited to find out who he’s actually working for — a man with a lot of scars on his back.
All-in-all, this was a fun episode, one that didn’t seem to advance the overall plot too much, but introduced new questions. The Kingpin sat on the back-burner, which was probably the right call after their tense discussion last episode and allowed the show to really focus on the Stick-Murdock dynamic. Netflix’s Daredevil hasn’t had a bad episode yet.
Watching Daredevil on Netflix, too? Leave a comment and let us know what you think and feel free to tweet Ed –@EdTheRevelator
You can find his review of episode one here.
Click here for his review of episode two.
Read his thoughts on the jaw-dropping episode three here.
Ed’s review of the fourth episode is here.
Click here for Ed’s review of the explosive fifth episode.
Episode six was dripping with suspense, Ed’s review is here.
