Deadly Troubadour

Night Nurse! We are getting Night Nurse in a Marvel TV show. Holy Crap! And some other things happen.

Daredevil s01e02: Cut Man

Writer: Drew Goddard

Director: Phil Abraham

Netflix

Quick Review: Foggy and Karen go drinking to escape her fear of the city. Matt gets patched up after getting beat down. The story of Battlin’ Jack Murdock. I liked two of the stories but felt that Matt in the present was a little lacking despite strong performances by everyone involved. I’m looking forward to more Rosario Dawson as Night Nurse, I mean Claire, but this wasn’t that interesting and had so moments that, well, I’ll get to. Let me just say it went a little too Jack Bauer for me. The other storylines were great fun. And powerful.

Analysis: Possibly the best moment in this episode was Jack Murdock’s face in the light while listening to the crowd. It made me wonder if we had seen him in the light yet. Sure, there was the training scene. But this was a face in golden sunlight (figuratively speaking.) A great moment. The whole Jack segment was wonderful. Kudos to John Patrick Hayden for bringing this pug to life. I wonder how much more we will be seeing of Jack after this.

As for Foggy and Karen, I am glad we get this episode now. What a way to win me over on both of them. Fun and camaraderie. Foggy doing what foggy does best: being a good friend. Except, it does make me wonder where this is going to lead romance wise. I don’t even want to guess and speculate and I think it is safe to trust the show to handle it well. The sparkle of the dialogue these scenes has is truly wonderful especially with how completely tonally different it is from the rest of the show. Actually, all of the bits are striking different tones and yet they all pull together. Fantastic.

But the Matt scenes… I don’t know. The phrase “sophomore slump” kept ringing in my head. And nothing was bad it just wasn’t as engaging as the rest of the show. I didn’t feel as connected to these scenes. It felt a little like setup for something I’m supposed to care about later. But then there was the torture scene. Superheroes walk a thin line and Murdock dips into both sides. Stabbing a knife into a guy’s eye is a little too much over the line for Matt, at least this early in the piece. Where does it leave him to go besides killing? Daredevil is a character of greys to a certain extent and I’d rather see him battle that grey than the “do I kill?” side of things. It just seems less interesting. But that is a conversation for later. I just don’t want this to go that extreme without it being treated as too far. Maybe I’m being to sensitive.

But speaking of glorifying violence! That final scene! Yowza! Great choreography made even greater by acting. A exhausted character having and exhausting fight. Terrifically well done. I’m liking that in these first two episodes fighting crime isn’t easy. no simply one punch to the face. I can’t help but think how it will look if there is a Daredevil & Captain America team up and we get to see the difference between a highly trained fighter and a super soldier. I wonder if that is a thought or if it was just a choreography choice.

Other things I liked are the sound. The music having that heartbeat rhythm/pulse to it adds something to the show. Also, the buzzing lights added to the general dingy feel. Smart subtle choices.

I’m also liking all the color. For such a dark show we are getting lots of greens, reds, yellows. It adds a lot to the look and I appreciate it. I wish I could write about color more intelligently.

Two little finds: Mike Murdock is Matt’s fake twin alias. From the 60s. (I think.) Also, Crusher Creel also goes by the alias “Absorbing Man” and tends to fight Thor.

Overall, despite my knock of the Matt story, this is a very well made show. Looking forward to the next 11.