Stream-And-Run: Daredevil, "Speak of the Devil"

            Episode 9...

            Where goes Daredevil, there must be ninjas. This episode - a vast improvement over the previous one - opens with Matt engaged in the fight of his life against a red-clad ninja, who is later revealed to be Nobu of Fisk's inner circle. It's another in long line of standout action scenes this series has offered up thus far; the episode cuts back and forth throughout the episode from the fight to the events leading up to it, and with these scenes Daredevil regains the forward momentum it lost in the previous episode. A lot transpires here, as our heroes continue trying to find the dirt on Fisk, only to have tragedy strike when they least expect it. Said tragedy is just what this storyline needed, as it not only keeps the story going, but also shows off Fisk's ruthlessness. This puts Matt on the warpath, as he tears up the streets looking for Fisk, which eventually leads to the confrontation with Nobu, and, eventually, Fisk himself. Getting to see Cox and D'Onofrio finally share the screen is a true delight, as Kingpin and Daredevil have been mortal enemies in the comics going on thirty years now. The weakened Matt gets his ass handed to him by Fisk, and we see that, as in the comics, Kingpin's girth is hardly a set-back as he pummels the future Hornhead pretty much right straight into the ground. Matt himself gets put back firmly in the spotlight with this episode, and the fascinating conflict of his inner violence is once more the center of the episode, hauntingly realized by the ever-brilliant Cox. The conversations taking place between Matt and the Catholic priest are standouts of the entire series thus far, as the two of them discuss how real the devil truly is and whether or not Matt should cross the line and just kill Fisk. It's an outcome that the series thus far has presented as the only solution in this violent, morally gray world, but the priest put everything into perspective by his argument for letting the people Matt beats to within an inch of their life live. A community, with all its elements both good and bad, thrives on how the members within it treat each other. If Matt crosses that line, than all delineations thusly disappear, leaving the community with no sense of right and wrong.

            Not bad for a silly superhero show...