The series built a full arc and story over the course of six episodes so it had to slow down. In effect, "Stick" is really that pause in the narrative so that everyone can catch their breath. The connection between what Fisk is doing in Hell's Kitchen and this new threat from the Japanese is tenuous at best. This is most likely the introductory phase of a new arc, with something else that Matt has to worry about on top of Hell's Kitchen's fall.  






The episode is heavy on flashbacks, presumably to establish who the Stick character is, and what his relationship with Matt is like. The emphasis on the relationship pushes the subplot where Karen, Urich, and Foggy find out more information on what happened with Union Allied into the background. There's actually very little movement with that subplot because the series wants to set up the supernatural threat instead.



I think what's missing from the Japanese threat is a larger context. How does this fit into the world of the show? It was easier to get immersed in Fisk's plan to take down Hell's Kitchen and remodel it in his image because the threat was grounded in reality. Crime had infested through Hell's Kitchen due to the aftermath of the Battle of New York. So switching to something with a more supernatural bent felt jarring. On top of that, no one has any clear idea of what "Black Sky" really is. Apparently, the child is someone that even Fisk is afraid of. The organization does have a Yakuza representative so that may demonstrate a connection with the story arc that began the series.







Not much is explained of this because the episode wants to show viewers how Matt came to develop his fighting skills and guiding moral philosophy. It was established in "Condemned" that he was unwilling to "cross that line" and kill another human being. It could have been chalked up to Matt's Catholicism and that would have been enough, at least for me. But we see here in the time young Matt spends with Stick that his mentor wants to pound the killer instinct into him. It may just be who Stick is, or how he was trained by his mentor. It seems like Stick has the same enhanced senses that Matt does. It's never said out loud to confirm, but the comparison is apt. 



The issue is each man's guiding principle. Stick knows no other way but death. He doesn't see Black Sky as an innocent, helpless, chained up child. He sees a weapon that needs to be taken out before it does any real damage. He doesn't see it as human (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently in the midst of developing the Inhumans arc) where Matt does. Matt values life, and that shouldn't be regarded as a sign of weakness. Stick speaks condescendingly to a young Matt about how he had nine years of vision compared with Stick being blind at birth, and I really think that's where their philosophies diverge. Matt appreciates the world, takes his time to find things outside of beating criminals to a pulp. Stick has been guided by his jaded look at the world since the beginning, and no one's been there to tell him of another way. Matt and his Daredevil alter ego could serve the organization Stick works for very well, if he ever does decide to join up. The likelihood of that occurring would seem remote right now.







There also seems to be further separation between Matt and his co-workers at the law firm. Granted, the pairing of Foggy and Karen has been a nice, lightweight distraction from all of the darkness the show is steeped in, but it doesn't go in a forward direction much in this episode. Karen is desperate by now to expose the corruption that had occurred at now-dissolved Union Allied Construction, and it seems clear that there is a connection between Fisk blowing up half of Hell's Kitchen, the unfinished renovations in Mrs. Cardenas' apartment building, and Union Allied. She just doesn't have concrete proof for Ben to run with at the newspaper. Add to that she has to deal with the fact that Foggy has developed a silent crush on her and we get the makings of a rather one-dimensional plot. 



With Matt and Claire, the show at least took the time to develop the romantic chemistry between them. This is even done in the doting romance between Fisk and Vanessa. Foggy and Karen possess little in recognizable chemistry. Their "romance" has the appearance of being slapped together simply because they are the two remaining characters without a connection. Their first "date" together was an unexpected one, and that was interrupted by the building next door exploding. That Foggy is now brought into the circle of knowledge regarding the background of Union Allied puts another mind at work on the case, but that development took more time than was really needed. This was the first rather disjointed episode of the series. There wasn't the usual balance present, largely because so much time was devoted to fleshing out more of Matt's backstory. The plots in the present time suffered. I think the show will pick up soon enough though.