Episode 2.02 – “Dogs to a Gunfight”
The next morning, a commotion grabs Foggy’s attention outside the hospital. Neither he, nor Karen have been able to get a hold of Matt all night. Upon making his way up to the gathering crowd, he overhears communique about the the prior night’s events. A report of shots fired on a certain block gets him running. He goes building-to-building, buzzing random apartments so he can reach the roof to try to find his best friend.
Concerned while he’s searching, and an outburst of worry once he’s found unresponsive really sets off the “protective older-brother” in him. He manages to get Matt back home and forces him to stay home while he and Karen take care of the Grotto situation with the District Attorney.
Down at the precinct, Mahoney tells them to take whatever deal Grotto is issued, to get him out of the way of the man in black as fast as possible. He’d seen copy cats before, or Devil Worshippers, but nothing like this guy.
Silence Encumbers A Terrified Hero
Matt, “recuperating” at the behest of Foggy, starts to lose control of his heightened sense of hearing. The most tiny instances of sound, like a car passing by or the faucet of his sink running, are debilitating. It knocks him back for a moment and he drops his glass of the shelf. It shatters in silence. Suddenly, the paralyzing noise around him has been vacuumed out from around him. He’s in the dark, and now silence. It’s absolutely terrifying, and all he can do is sit with his back against the wall. I couldn’t have felt more helpless than in this moment. Suddenly, without warning, Matt was the most alone he had ever been.
Back at the police precinct, the District Attorney starts putting pressure onto Foggy. They attempt to steal Grotto’s case out from underneath him, but in a move reminiscent of when he stood up to Marci in season one, he calls them out on trying to dupe him. The DA has another trick up their sleeve and requests that Grotto wear a wire in order to set up a drug contact of his, and to help grease the wheels, they show him some of the morgue reports from the night of the pub massacre. Then, ominously, they unveil the code name for the man responsible: The Punisher. (I mean, we all knew that but it’s cool to hear someone say it out loud.) Foggy and Karen look incredibly scared upon hearing this, and convince their client to take the deal.
We get a glimpse into who this Punisher is when he walks into a pawn shop and asks for a NYPD mobile communication rig. After making the transaction he’s almost out the door when the clerk offers up something else, a variety of pornography. None of which phases The Punisher until the words “12 years old” spill out. This is where we see that while his tactical ethics may not be at peak, some moral fiber or glimmer of what’s right and wrong still live inside him.
Karen’s still looking over the morgue reports, whether she’s feeling survivor’s guilt or something else, it seems she holds herself responsibility for finding out who some of the victims were. She makes her way over to Matt’s in order to check on him, and reassures him that she’s always there if she needs him. You know, cause friends!
They discuss District Attorney Reyes, and the plan to make Grotto snitch on his old contact, Brass. This leads to the concept of inevitability of The Punisher being created after the first appearances of Daredevil.
“He could be any one of us.”
With Matt’s senses returning to normal, or as normal as they can be for a man who sees the world on fire, he heads over to Melvin Potter’s. (Melvin!) His helmet is cracked from The Punisher’s bullet, and requires a replacement, but it’ll take time. Melvin can reinforce the busted helmet but a new one won’t be ready for a few days. It won’t protect Matt through any blunt force, but it’s better than nothing. I love the interactions between Daredevil and Melvin, they genuinely respect each other and the latter is just a sweet guy who was being taken advantage of by his former clientele.
Matt starts investigating any clues possibly left behind by the Punisher at the location of the pub massacre and comes across the chain where a dog had been tied up after an organized dog fight. There’s a trail of the animal’s blood leading down the street, which Matt follows to a tiny apartment. From the hallway, he hears the dogs massive paws scratching against the floor, and kicks the door down. Covered in bandages, the dog rushes over barking at the intruder. The fact that the man who had killed so many also helped this poor dog when it was hurt shows there has to be some sort of morality that Matt can latch onto in order, perhaps he can even get the Punisher to turn himself in.
There’s a stack of weapons and ammunition along with homemade smoke bombs strewn across the table. There’s police chatter coming over some radios near the smoke bombs. It’s Reyes, and she inadvertently gives Matt the location of the Grotto sting. All the while, the Punisher is at a chop shop run by the Dogs of Hell. Taking out the members one by one.
Grotto nervously walks to the empty lot where he’s to meet Brass when he’s pulled inside a cargo suddenly a big rig from the chop shop starts barreling into the lot. Driven by one of the Dogs of Hell duct taped to the steering wheel, it was all a diversion. The Punisher stands above ready to snipe out Grotto when one of his own smoke bombs lands at his feet.
We Get Up, We Always Get up
Daredevil vs The Punisher round 2. With bullets firing coming from an adjacent rooftop, they battle it out while avoiding being targeted by the police. Fast, precise blows are exchanged before they both fall through a skylight. Matt’s ears are ringing again. He can’t focus, he stumbles.
Foggy rushes to the scene to make sure Matt is ok, but there’s no sign of either Matt or the Punisher.
This is definitely more of a set-up episode than the premiere. There are some fun action sequences and interesting moments like the DA double crossing Foggy, it’s an investigation story. Honestly, I do wish there was a little more time spent with Melvin, I mean come on, it’s Melvin!
Click on PAGE 3 for the review of 2.03 – “New York’s Finest”