In one of the most brutal episodes to date, the Irish Mob declares war on the Punisher and he returns the favour. Naturally Daredevil is caught in the middle…
With a new player in town, the criminals of Hell’s Kitchen aren’t taking the threat lying down. As Matt Murdock wrestles with a dark night, day and evening of the soul, the Irish Mob set about quickly mourning their losses and then starting to knock heads together in search of the Punisher. It isn’t long before they find him and though there are casualties among them, they finally take him down. The Mob’s leader Finn (Defiance, Sons of Anarchy, Doctor Who‘s Vincent Van Gogh Tony Curran) wants to extract some answers before the vigilante dies and sets about torturing his prisoner.
Meanwhile, Matt follows the trail of death left in Finn’s wake and Karen uncovers what might have set the Punisher on his road to revenge…
While Marvel/Netflix‘s Daredevil has never veered away from being dark and broody, it has to be said that the start of the fourth episode in the current run is particularly brutal, with pistols, shotguns and even an ice-pick all used to inflict considerable damage – and mainly to the few live individuals (the Irish Mob) gathered in a funeral parlour to mourn the victims of the Punisher. It’s surprisingly uncomfortable viewing for a show that can hand out a beating but steers away from being too sensational. This is, after all, Daredevil, not – say – Banshee.
While it’s all very effective, one hopes that this is the border for how far the show is willing to go in the case of graphic violence and now withdraws a little. We need a show that covers the seamier and more gritty side of the Marvel Universe – and this is a show that delivers it, but frankly (no pun intended) it’s cleverer when things are intimated or inferred rather than shown point-blank and Penny and Dime doesn’t need all its plentiful money shots to make its point. Visibly drilling a foot and then threatening to do the same to a dog? Gunshots to the face. Nope – this probably isn’t what the masses probably tuned in for.
The third-act cemetery scene – where a weary Frank and Matt compare war stories and the fickleness of God – is the redeeming note, ironically the calm after the storm that inflicts an entirely different kind of pain. It’s Bernthal’s best to date and the pivot of the entire episode… and shows he can be more than the thug, the archetype for which he is often cast That key scene ends the initial Punisher arc for now and we draw close to the end the episode itself on another quiet and perfectly judged romantic scene between Matt and Karen in the rain. Clearly there’s a spanner about to wrench away that smooth sailing chance of happiness – and she’s waiting on his couch.
An episode of extremes, it’s still beautifully shot, but hopefully the intrigue and pain to come won’t need to be quite as visceral…
7/10
