Here's an episode that demonstrates the difference between the binge-watching model of Netflix and the standard weekly episodic model of the broadcast networks. The plot of the episode is more a continuation of what came in the previous episode rather than being more self-contained. It's designed so that you have to go immediately from the premiere to this episode in order to find out what happened. You can't just watch this episode alone or you would be lost.

 

 

Being the title character, Daredevil wasn't going to be killed by a head shot from the Punisher, but he nearly was. If it wasn't for that nearly bulletproof helmet that Melvin created for his suit (which someone hilariously described as a darker version of the Flash's suit), Matt would have died. And for most of the episode, he looked like a shell of himself. Foggy made some really good points about how far this new threat is going to go. Also, both Foggy and Matt understand that it may have to take Matt/Daredevil to the brink of death in order to stop the Punisher (who officially gets his nickname in this episode).

 

It's a modified version of their argument from "Nelson v. Murdock" last season, only with Foggy dialing back his anger due to the fact that he now accepts Matt's alter ego. So Matt is left by himself, in his apartment, for the first half of the episode in order to recover from his first encounter with the Punisher. This creates a problem that the show has yet to figure out for the most part: Sidelining Matt Murdock in his own story, in a show that bears his name. Matt is visited by Karen, and it's a scene that reinforces Karen's more caring side (and perhaps furthering her crush) but doesn't do much in the long run. The big reveal for Matt during that time is the temporary loss of his hearing, something that will factor in later events of the episode.

 

 

With Matt out of commission, it's up to Foggy and Karen to carry the bulk of the plot going forward. That means having to protect Grotto from meeting the same fate as the heads of the Irish mob. Once again, Foggy and Karen are the little guys taking on the big establishment, only this time, instead of it being Wilson Fisk, it's the New York District Attorney's Office, headed by DA Samantha Reyes. Reyes had previously appeared in the first season finale of Jessica Jones in a nice bit of continuity among Marvel Netflix properties. She is, of course, immediately untrustworthy in terms of whatever motives and actions that the DA's Office is looking into. Foggy and Karen have shortly developed a soft spot for Grotto, though that could just be their obligations as representation for whatever clients they take on. Which is a loyalty that Grotto could very much use. Otherwise, he's probably a dead man.

 

Reyes uses Grotto as bait to try and draw out the Punisher, whose motives and actions get some clarity in this episode. He's taking out the many crime families of New York, as expected, though it's still unclear whether he's doing this on his own or on the orders of someone else. The Punisher moves through the episode in an almost Terminator-like fashion, from killing many more members of the Dogs of Hell gang to casually buying an arsenal of weapons to take out Grotto and whomever he associates with.

 

 

We see that the Punisher will ruthlessly kill (as opposed to Daredevil, who continues to struggle with the urge to kill his enemies), yet even he has his limits. He will take care of the dog that once belonged to the head of the Irish mob after killing his master. He casually bought an arsenal of guns, then draws the line at child prostitution and exploitation. He tries to take out Grotto, and when the police and Daredevil interfere, he will engage in a battle with both, yet stop short of killing Daredevil when he has the golden chance. Is that final sequence, where Matt's hearing goes out at the worst possible time, leaving him vulnerable to attack, telling us that the Punisher is actually an uneasy ally of the good guys? Why and where did he take Daredevil at the end of that fight? It's a mystery saved for the next episode.