If one thing Daredevil has managed to become famous for – other than creating an impossibly gritty world for its titular hero to run around in – it’s those memorable action sequences that have been getting more and more ambitious with every season. You know the ones, those sequences that see Matt Murdock brawling with a selection of lowlifes in a hallway that looks like it’s been captured in one, glorious take. Well, it’s that time again as Blindsided not only finally lights the touch paper on the Kingpin turning his attentions fully back to the man without fear, but we are served up possibly the most ambitious “onesie” sequence of all.
Of course, one sequence does not a good episode make and on top of that huge fight sequence, there is the continuing seduction of morally flexible agent Benjamin Pointdexter by Wilson Fisk and a stunning, unexpected move by Foggy Nelson all gather together to deliver up another barnstormer of an installment – but if it had adjusted it’s sights just a little bit, Blindsided could have been one of the best.
After swiping Foggy’s wallet last episode, Matt has cooked up an insane plan in order to try and get a bead on whatever Wilson Fisk is planning. Simply put, the man without fear has seemingly become the man without common sense as he plans to infiltrate Ryker’s Island with his former friend’s ID in order to gain access to Jasper Evans, the man who shanked Wilson Fisk, and get to the bottom of things. After managing to bluff his way in with a suit, tie and the relevant paperwork, Matt gets an audience with Jasper and manages to figure out that Fisk arranged to himself stabbed in order to get him transfered and that he offered the Albanians up to the FBI for a very specific reason. However, when Jasper suddenly turns violent, the staff insist that Murdock head to the infirmary to get checked, but it’s here that Matt finds out he’s wandered into a rather sizable trap. You see, just because Fisk isn’t in this particular prison anymore, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have a tremendous amount of influence and before you know it Matt is fighting for his life against both prisoners and corrupt guards.
Meanwhile, Wilson Fisk manages to bamboozle a confused Pointdexter by choosing to not inform his superiors about the execution of two Albanians at Dex’s hands after they had already surrendered and in the aftermath, the somewhat unbalanced agent finally sees the criminal in a more, forgiving light. But while Karen reels from the news that Matt is still alive and continues to continue digging about the ownership of the building where Fisk is being held, surely the most shocking move comes from Foggy who, in his own attempt to get at Fisk, throws his hat in the ring to become the next District Attorney and manages to instantly get support from local police.
But this doesn’t help Matt, who has to make some desperate bedfellows in order to survive.
While the main thrust of this episode is the hefty action sequence that dominates the first half of this installment, it’s probably best if I focus on it last and get the other stuff out the way. While the Fisk/Dex bromance finally starts to gain momentum as Wilson finally finds the cracks he needs to get those fiendishly convincing feelers in, the real shock here is Foggy finally entering the fray big time by making a play to become DA. While Elden Henson’s affable Franklin Nelson has been on prime sidekick duty since the show began, he’s mostly been there to support, condemn or prop up his best buddy, Matt, in a way that only a great wing man can, but I’m gratified that this season finally some real chances with him. Yes, his reactions at discovering Matt was Daredevil was a show highlight, but the fact that he is fully entering the Fisk fight on his own and under his own conditions is a massive leap for the character. As a result, this and Karen’s latest hunt for a news story somewhat overshadows a sizable plot point that Karen (thanks to Foggy’s determination to not lie for Matt anymore) is told that Mr. Murdock is still alive – which is a bit of a shame.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Mr. Murdock is going to be alive for much longer, especially considering that the battered vigilante may have finally bitten off more than he can chew. His recent change of demeanor to a more darker edged frame of mind is seeing him make some wild risks to scratch his Fisk-shaped itch, but while heading out into the night to kick some teeth in before he was physically ready, the guy walks right into a trap set by Fisk, all but giving up his identity as the Kingpin watches on camera.
But the most stunning thing about the whole sequence from beginning to end isn’t the length of the fight (a truly impressive 10 minutes), but it genuinely the most danger we feel Daredevil has ever been in. It’s legitimately palpable and you can honestly feel the peril coming out of the screen in waves as his mission goes from a makeshift, foolhardy Mission: Impossible quest into something incredibly disastrous in no time at all. Fists fly, bodies crumple and the shot stubbonly refuses to cut as Charlie Cox and a number of game stuntmen beat the shit out of themselves for our enjoyment – however, it’s the fact that this is the first time that Matt has gone into one of these epic rumbles as himself and not clad in either the black or red and you actually do fear for him even though this is only episode 4.
The thrust kicks and uppercuts are fucking great, but what really sells the danger is the look of panic etched on the features of Cox and a shot of our fearless hero, bathed in the red of the warning lights and looking completely terrified may be once of the most powerful shots in the entirety of the Netflix/Marvel pantheon.
It’s something of a shame then that the sequence ends with thirty minutes still left to go of the episode and the result ends up being something of an anticlimax. Surely ending the thing on a gargantuan sigh of relief immediately before yet another attempt on Matt’s life occurs when his cab driver suddenly steers the vehicle off the end of a pier, would have been the more exciting prospect to send us out on a gut punch.
But instead, we leave a bloodied Matt passed out in that taxi cab after a frenzied deal with the Albanians gets him smuggled to relative safety and then the rest of the entire episode just leaves him there to focus on everyone else. It’s a glaring oversight that snatches it out of the jaws greatness; in fact Blindsided could have comfortably been in the top five of all time greatest Daredevil episodes of all time and while the individual elements and that magnificent fight are top notch, a slight readjusting in the order of the plot points would have given the whole thing way more impact than a curb stomp with army boots.
An exceedingly great episode that could have been flawless with a little bit more vision.
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