Ron Does Stuff

At the end of the last episode, Matt finally let that devil out of him and beat up a couple of corrupt cops in the process. I don’t know if they come out of that experience alive because those looked to be some pretty severe injuries but let’s see in this new episode!

This new episode open with Hector Ayala talking about the coquis of Puerto Rico and how it’s a magical sound for the boricuas but annoying to the tourists on the island. It’s the music of the island, he says, and Matt promises that he’ll be reunited with the island and his family soon.

Elsewhere in New York, what I assume is a gang transaction goes wrong because a man has to be a man and now two of them are dead. Since it segues into a BB Urich piece on safety in the city, I am assuming this is not going to affect Fisk’s term as mayor positively.

The killing is breakfast conversation for Fisk and Vanessa, with Vanessa pointing out that the criminal element in the city is restless because neither her nor Fisk are at the head of the table keeping them in line. But Fisk is being adamant about not involving himself or Vanessa in it, accompanied with a meaningful shot of his knuckles. I wonder what Fisk is planning?

Back in court, it does look like Powell — one of the corrupt cops — survived the encounter and I am frankly surprised? That neck crack looked pretty intense! But he isn’t even limping or anything and even threatens Matt, who seems nonplussed. It’s one way ableism is going to work in his favor, I guess? Who would think a blind man could fight like that?

The hearing starts and it starts off pretty much like any television trial would except Matt seems to have Powell on the defensive because of his knowledge of Nicky Torres, the informant that Matt saved the night before. His enhanced hearing also lets him know about yet another corrupt police officer who whispers to another that Torres mus not be allowed to testify. Just like Powell, he’s also got a tattoo and it looks pretty much like the Punisher logo. Is this where Frank Castle makes his return?

There’s an incredibly tense semi-car chase scene that happens as Matt’s team transports Nicky to the courthouse and I gotta say I enjoyed the misdirect! I truly thought there was going to be an action sequence but it was funny to see how simply taking a cab was enough to get the police off of Cherry and Nicky’s back. Unfortunately, all of that was for nothing because Nicky turns and sides with the cops instead. Matt and his team have nothing else left to do but have Hector take the stand.

Fisk and Vanessa, on the other hand, seem to be above everything else happening in the city because the conflict they’re facing is internal. Vanessa thinks Fisk is keeping her in the cold because of Adam, a character that hasn’t been shown yet. For a time I thought I just wasn’t remembering enough of the Netflix iteration of this series but a Google search shows that he hasn’t been revealed at all.

Now, I don’t know much about legal procedure, but at the same time this is a fictional show about superheroes, so maybe there’s some sense in Matt revealing that Hector Ayala is the White Tiger. Maybe to drum up public sympathy for him? Either way, the reveal is apparently in bad form and the judge and the attorney for the state is pissed but it looks like Hector might be acquitted?

Matt and Hector have a discussion about Matt’s controversial move, but it really feels more like Matt trying to convince himself that he doesn’t need the Daredevil persona anymore. Matt’s revelation also allows them to appeal to the emotions of the jury, with them bringing to the witness stand the people that White Tiger has helped out.

The ending arguments are a tricky thing, because I live in a country with extrajudicial killing perpetrated by cops. It’s hard to listen to the prosecutor mount a defense for the police force, but at the same time the extrajudicial means that White Tiger employs can’t be excused either, at least in the real world. It’s really only something possible in this fictional universe.

Hector Ayala goes free, which ticks off Fisk since it goes against his plans for the city. He has Daniel — the young guy from the first episode who praised Fisk’s unconventional social media campaign — call BB Urich again for what I assume is a propaganda war against Matt.

And it turns out it isn’t? Because despite being told not to, Hector Ayala once again patrols the streets as White Tiger, where he gets ambushed and shot in the head. The show wants us to think that it’s the Punisher who did this, but as we’ve seen from the tattoo reveals, this is something much more sinister.