Warning: Spoiler Alert
In the wake of Claire’s involvement in episode 4, Matt brought her to his place. A sense of security in the short-term perhaps. Claire gets out of the shower and they share a lovely back and forth about his life outside the vigilante variety and Matt plays the doctor. Identifying her open wound by the smell of copper in the air and feeling that her broken rib is really just a hairline fracture. When asked what does Matt actually see, he responds with, “The world on fire”. Matt asks Claire to stay at his place until he can figure this all out. What follows is the anticipated ‘kiss’.
Matt has been busy focusing on Fisk. Even making a loose connection that the cab company, the death of Prohaszka, all leads back to Fisk. Then Claire adds a name to the equation. One of the Russian’s perked up at the mere sound of the name. Vladimir.
Wesley arrives at Vladimir’s office to follow-up on the deal Anatoly struck the night before. As if he didn’t already know, Wesley asks where Anatoly is. Wesley continues to play along as if he didn’t witness first hand the demise of Anatoly, when Sergei enters the room and informs Vladimir that they ‘found him’. Sergei brings in the body and lays it on the desk, sans head. Vladimir reaches into his coat and pulls out a black mask. The war Fisk wanted to incite, was the Russians vs the man in the black mask. Not Fisk vs the Russians.
Leland, Madame Gao, and Nobu meet in a chop shop like garage where an employee is intently trying to remove blood and brain matter from the door of Fisk’s black SUV. Madam Gao finds this very amusing. Then Fisk explains the scenery around this unusual meeting place. Madam Gao is no longer amused.
Fisk: The Ranskahov’s are no longer a part of this organization.
Leland: When did this happen?
Fisk: After I removed Anatoly’s head with my car door.
The larger matter at hand is how to move the product without the Russians. Fisk explains that for the immediate future, Gao will send her product to the Russians as if nothing has changed. Then when the time arises, Fisk will assume their responsibility. Fairly distributing that revenue equally four ways for the four remaining partners.
Matt gets the drop on a cab taking a singing Asian man somewhere. The cab is driven by two unspecified Russians asking about the man in the mask. He dispatches with the bulk of the Russian men. The Asian man was essentially a friendly fire casualty. Matt asks about Vladimir. The Russian on the ground is terrified that Matt will cut his head off like he did to Anatoly.
Mrs. Cardenas walks into what she calls “Foggy Law”. Mrs. Cardenas’ building is supposed to be rent controlled, but the landlord (Mr. Tully) wants them to vacate so they can build new townhouses. The building now has no running water, no electricity, and are offering a $10,000 buyout. The buyout of course, Mrs. Cardenas has no interest in. Matt tells Mrs. Cardenas that Foggy will speak to Tully’s attorney. The same firm that Nelson and Murdock once interned for.
Matt visits their desk officer friend at the fifteenth precinct hoping to get his hands on complaints against Tully. Matt waits patiently and begins to listen in on interrogations behind closed doors. Detectives Blake and Hoffman question the scared Russian from the night before. Before they walk out, the Russian offers up vital information. Information he never should have given. The Russian offers the name of a big fish hoping for a deal. “His name is Wilson Fisk”. After some side conversation from the detectives, Blake punches Hoffman and they react as if the attack came from the Russian. Then Blake points his gun at the Russian. The gunshot jolts Matt out of his seat.
Detective Blake: You really shouldn’t have said his name.
Karen is blown away at how nice Foggy and Matt’s former diggs are. “It looks like one of those places in a movie where you buy a clone.” She is much less impressed with Marcy, a former colleague and fling of Foggy’s. Marcy decides to have their meeting in the lobby and lays out very clearly that Tully nor his representation plan to do anything beyond offer a buyout for Mrs. Cardenas and the other tenants. Foggy then navigates through a four point explanation of why there are more than the two options Marcy laid out and they will meet again. In court.
Foggy and Karen arrive at Mrs. Cardenas’ building. It is ripped apart. With no further leads to chase down, Foggy tells Mrs. Cardenas that he and Karen and eventually Matt will help them. In this moment, that means trying to fix the damage the ‘workers’ caused.
Blake steps outside for a moment. Daredevil jumps him, gets him in a compromising position (physically) and squeezes. Blake eventually talks but gives up nothing of any significance.
Vanessa meets Fisk again, but reluctantly. She spends the first few minutes gauging Fisk’s intent, her safety, but finds the honest side of Wilson Fisk again. As they enjoy their meal in complete solitude, Vanessa tells a story about a prince that our more well versed comic book enthusiasts will find particularly interesting. A clear nod to the original comic book image and attire of The Kingpin.
Vanessa: All of a sudden this tall man in a white suit and an Ascot…
Fisk: An Ascot? That’s a bit much.
As the dinner date continues, Fisk and Vanessa evolve the conversation to an awkward but necessary place. Vanessa explains that she brought a gun to a dinner date because she knows Fisk is a dangerous man and she’s only looking for an excuse to stay. Fisk completely opens up to her minus the literal details. For what Fisk is trying to accomplish, people are going to get hurt. However, “By my side, is the safest place you’ll ever be”.
Vladimir cleans his dead brother’s body when Turk walks in. Turk reports that a guy he did time with told him about a chop shop on the edge of the Kitchen that did detail work on a black SUV. Attempting to clean the blood and brains.
Vladimir: This car, who does it belong to?
Turk (nodding side to side): I don’t know. Some big white guy. Bald as ****
Vladimir: Fisk?
Turk: Didn’t get a name. But my boy said he heard baldy say something about the guy in the black mask. He couldn’t make it all out, but…it sounded like he and this masked dude are tight.
Vladimir: He works for Fisk?
Matt grabbed Blake’s cell phone in their previous scuffle. There is one text message with four specific addresses. Matt believes the addresses correspond to businesses the Russians control. This gives Matt his next move. A move that concerns Claire as there is no end game. Earlier in the episode they shared a ‘romantic’ moment. Now Claire is concerned with how this ends. Matt’s only real concern is stopping whatever is happening. Not acting is not an option.
Claire: I just don’t think I can fall in love with someone who is this close to becoming what he hates.
Matt: You’re right. You shouldn’t.
In one of those locations Vladimir’s men arm themselves to the teeth. An Asian man is escorted into the warehouse Sergei sees him and asks Vladimir if he was expecting another of Madame Gao’s delivery men. Then the man in question raises his arm and presses a remote trigger that explodes the building before Matt could gain access. On the other side of Hell’s Kitchen, Foggy and Karen have a moment interrupted (still in Mrs. Cardenas’ apartment) by a similar explosion. All around the Kitchen, random (well decidedly not random) buildings keep exploding. Fisk and Vanessa have a front row seat to the show.
Sergei does his level best to get Vladimir out of danger and police custody. The Daredevil intercepts their route. Upon seeing him, Vladimir fights back with a pursuing rage. Daredevil is quicker and punches harder. Then two squad cars pull up demanding the man in black show them his hands.
