The Good: Serialized plot elements, Allusions
The Bad: Mediocre plot, Raises far more questions than it answers, Nothing exceptional on the acting front
The Basics: Elektra is introduced to Daredevil in an unremarkable way in "Kinbaku."
Entering the second season of Daredevil many fans of the franchise were thrilled that the show was adding the character of Elektra to the mix. Elektra's introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a big deal (although the MCU has recast significant characters before), so the casting of Elodie Yung as Elektra Natchios made the entertainment news long before the second season of Daredevil premiered. The appearance of Elektra in the Marvel Cinematic Universe leads to the potential that the second season of Daredevil might undo the negative impression of the prior cinematic incarnation ofDaredevil (reviewed here!).
Unfortunately for the writers and producers of Daredevil adding a popular character like Elektra to the mix comes with inherent issues. Elektra has a huge fanbase of her own - not because of the film Elektra (reviewed here!) either! - who know who and what Elektra Natchios is. For the bulk of her tenure in Marvel Comics, Elektra Natchios has been a ruthless assassin and, at her inception, that was who she was. The problem with adding her into the Netflix series Daredevil is reconciling who she is known to be (which is something fans pretty much demand of their Marvel characters when they hit the theaters and television screens) with the characters who are already established. Given the high level of moralization at the outset of the second season of Daredevil, adding a trained assassin to the mix would go very obviously against Matt Murdock's character.
"Kinbaku" is the first proper episode of Daredevil that features Elektra. Elektra might have appeared for the final moments of "Penny And Dime" (reviewed here!), but "Kinbaku" is the first episode that includes her in a substantive way. From very early on in "Kinbaku," the plan of the executive producers of Daredevil is surprisingly clear: Matt Murdock does not know Elektra's true nature. As a result, "Kinbaku" has the potential to allow newbies to fall in love with Elektra through the slow reveal and established fans to recall what they initially liked about Elektra in the first place. "Kinbaku" makes it clear from its outset that the episode is going to be a proper introduction to Elektra and that she and Matt Murdock have an extensive history.
Ten years ago, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson are crashing a high society party when Murdock is caught. Before security can eject him from the party, he is rescued by Elektra, who vouches for his presence there. In the present, Elektra reveals that she is back in Hell's Kitchen to try to divest her portfolio of Roxxon stock; she wants her massive wealth to not include the sinister energy company and she wants Murdock to help her negotiate the deal. Murdock rejects Elektra, though when the next morning he discovers that Nelson & Murdock is virtually bankrupt, he has some trepidation about turning away Elektra's money. Karen Page arrives at the office with information about how the media is reporting the Frank Castle case and she reveals that she broke into Castle's house to her employers. Nelson is thrilled to learn there is suddenly money in the bank and Murdock asks him not to spend it, claiming it is from a client who he doesn't think will pan out.
Flashing back to the party, Matt Murdock engages in a witty banter with Elektra and the two have palpable chemistry. Elektra takes Matt out in a stolen car, illustrating how the beautiful woman is able to get Murdock to go against his usualy moral character. When ADA Tower visits Nelson & Murdock, he asks Foggy Nelson for all the documents pertaining to the Grotto case, but Nelson refuses to turn them over without a subpoena. Murdock realizes that he cannot even get into the building that Elektra's meeting is at, so he surveils it from a nearby building. At the meeting, Elektra disables Roxxon's servers. After a rough day of tying together leads in the murder of Frank Castle's family, Karen Page has a date with Matt Murdock.
"Kinbaku" is a character study and the introduction and exploration of Elektra is little more than that. Fans of the source material will appreciate how Elektra is characterized immediately in "Kinbaku" as a woman who gets Matt Murdock to go against his character; she excites Murdock in a visceral way that overrides his usual rationality and morality. "Kinbaku" shows that well without making it explicit within the episode. Fans of the Daredevil television show will be able to find the clues that reveal Elektra's true nature long before it is revealed. In "Kinbaku," viewers get Elektra's backstory from Murdock's perspective - a history of their brief, passionate, time together ten years before; we do not get her history. That said, attentive viewers will catch the giant clue thrust in their faces when Elektra first appears after the opening credits (her line about German beer is identical to one delivered in the prior season and is a massive clue to her backstory).
While most of "Kinbaku" introduces Elektra - past and present - to Daredevil, the narrative of Frank Castle does not abruptly end (as one might expect). Instead, throughout the episode there is a thread involving Karen Page investigating Frank Castle's past. That brings Page to the New York Bulletin, where she confronts Ellison, the editor of the newspaper. The references to Ben Urich in Page's storyline help tie "Kinbaku" to the prior season and redirect Karen Page's character in a new and intriguing direction.
"Kinbaku" is also flush with allusions to other aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Should Jessica Jones get a second season, it would have a difficult time not making explicit that the organization that created Jones and Simmons is a subsidiary of Roxxon, based on a single line in "Kinbaku." Ellison references "the incident' and Marci Stahl drops back into the narrative with an oblique reference to Hogarth's law firm from Jessica Jones! Easter eggs aside, the return of Stahl and Karen Page digging through piles of newspapers keeps viewers engaged through the otherwise mediocre introduction of Elektra.
The dominance of the Elektra storyline makes it easy to overlook the odd lapses in continuity in "Kinbaku." Matt Murdock in the flashbacks does entirely uncharacteristic things and from her outset, the only way Elektra makes sense as a character is if she is either wrapped up with the worst sort of people or such a liar that she believes her own lies. In the past, Elektra gives Matt Murdock the chance to get his vengeance on the man who killed Murdock's father. Either Natchios's father was wrapped up with organized and corporate crime or Elektra is able to lie to Murdock's face without him detecting any change in her heartbeat.
Director Floria Sigismondi takes a lackluster script and at least makes it look good. Charlie Cox is appropriately de-aged for the flashback scenes and the sex scene with Elektra is shot very artfully. The second date location for Murdock and Page is beautifully shot and amid the spectacle, the passion in the post-date scene is well-presented - both physically and from a performance standpoint.
But "Kinbaku" is a bridge episode and it is a thoroughly unremarkable episode in its own right. Daredevil is at an awkward transition between The Punisher and Elektra as primary antagonists for the second season and the build-up to the Sweeney flashback makes the opening more unfathomable. "Kinbaku" is the beginning and end of the relationship between Matt Murdock and Elektra and it reveals enough about Elektra's character to make Matt Murdock permanently repulsed by her. As a result, Murdock's low-key reaction to Elektra popping back up into his life becomes something of a parody of understatement.
Outside Karen Page starting an investigation at the Bulletin, "Kinbaku" is utterly forgettable and fits poorly into the narrative of the second season of Daredevil. Viewers are almost better served by skipping the episode and getting Elektra's backstory from her perspective in one of the later episodes. Indeed, skipping "Kinbaku" and leaping into the next episode eliminates the mediocre. As it stands, "Kinbaku" might well be the low point of the second season of Daredevil.
For other works with Geoffrey Cantor, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Bert And Arnie's Guide To Friendship
Men In Black 3
Man On A Ledge
When In Rome
Public Enemies
[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Daredevil - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the blind vigilante here!
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4/10
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© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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