"A Good Man Goes To War" Assembles A Pretty Vast Doctor Who Team!

The Good: Good acting, Decent special effects, Moments of character
The Bad: Very basic plot, Plot-heavy with minimal character development
The Basics: "A Good Man Goes To War" finally begins to give explicit answers for what has been going on with Amy Pond when Melody Pond is born and abducted by a futuristic military organization.


Having come in comparatively late to the Doctor Who phenomenon, there are a number of elements that I have been eagerly watching for as I make my way through the series. Having seen Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax in "Deep Breath" (reviewed here!), I have been attentively watching for their origin story in Doctor Who. Indeed, when the Earth-based Silurians were explored in "Cold Blood" (reviewed here!), I eagerly watched for clues as to how Vastra would have been on the surface of Earth while the rest of her people slept for a couple hundred more years. It's not there (though there is a throwaway line in the two-parter about the "others" which might be enough to imply a splinter cell of Silurians who were active while the rest of the populace slept) and neither is there a true introduction or meeting between The Doctor and Vastra. Instead, Vastra appears at the outset of "A Good Man Goes To War" and is thrown into the mix with River Song and Rory in a way that is supposed to immediately give the viewer the credibility and weight of Vastra as someone akin in The Doctor's life to a Companion. But, lacking any prior context, the appearance of Vastra, Strax, and Jenny fighting at The Doctor's side at the outset of "A Good Man Goes To War," the appearance of a sudden, new Doctor Who super team is painfully abrupt.

If you feel like you've come in on the middle of a review, welcome to "A Good Man Goes To War," where The Doctor and a whole team of Companions and previously-unseen allies are suddenly a part of a significant conflict. The conflict came as a result of the events at the climax of "The Almost People" (reviewed here!) and given the reversal coming at the end of the episode made it prohibitive to discuss it in the review of that, we open "A Good Man Goes To War" with a sidebar of how improbable it was that we got here at all. Throughout the current season of Doctor Who, there have been hints about The Silence, Amy Pond is reading as both pregnant and not-pregnant at the same time, we've seen memory-erasing creatures that are part of The Silence, and Amy Pond has had hallucinations of a mysterious woman with an eye patch who appears in incongruent places. At the climax of "The Almost People," it is revealed that Amy Pond has not, in fact, been aboard the TARDIS for some time; she was replaced with a ganger "flesh" version of Amy at some point in the past and in cutting the psychic link to her very pregnant self, The Doctor destroyed the duplicate version of Amy. That is where "A Good Man Goes To War" begins, with the momentum of one Amy liquefying into goo and the actual Amy Pond beginning to go into labor in captivity somewhere else.

But here's the things; how did we get to this point? The Doctor was studying the strange readings that indicated Amy Pond was both pregnant and not pregnant at the same time and he took the TARDIS to the time and place of the nascent version of the flesh for "The Almost People" in order to confirm his suspicion about Amy. When one steps back from this, to look at it objectively, it is a painful leap of scientific analysis to get from point A to point B. The Doctor has a theory - the Amy Pond has been replaced, apparently - but in a universe and 900+ years of experience with robots, alternate universes, Sontaran duplicates, mind control, TARDIS equipment malfunction, etc., he manages to narrow his suspicions down to The Flesh, a replicating technology that he admits he has insufficient experience with (hence the trip to the time and place of "The Almost People"). To the viewer, in the time frame of the sixth season, this is incredibly unsatisfying as The Doctor makes no clear explorations of any alternate theories; he guesses correctly on his first try that Amy has been replaced by the thing he knows virtually nothing about. Really?!

And so, after an increasingly unlikely guess proves The Doctor's theory and he is able to remedy the deception by cutting the link between Amy Pond and ganger Amy, the viewer is thrust into "A Good Man Goes To War!"

Opening at Demon's Run, Amy Pond has had her baby and she is surrounded by military personnel led by the mysterious woman in the eye patch. Amy pledges her baby, Melody, that the baby's father is coming for them. Thousands of light years away from the facility, the Cybermen are under attack and Rory extorts them for information on where Amy is. Elsewhere on Demon's Run, a space station, Lorna Bucket recalls her brief experience with The Doctor while the Headless Monks get a new member and The Doctor's allies are called from various points in time and space. When Rory goes to pick up Dr. River Song, she is unwilling to join them on the mission. Madame Kovarian, the woman with the eye patch, visits Dorium Maldovar, who reveals that he knows where her forces are holed up and that there is a prophecy involving The Doctor going to war at Demon's Run.

The war at Demon's Run is an extraction mission where The Doctor arrives with his allies to stymie the military forces and rescue Amy Pond. But after an initial success at thwarting the military, Colonel Manton marshals his forces and The Doctor has to call in his reinforcements. But Kovarian is playing a deep game and when putting together the pieces of Amy Pond being on the TARDIS while having a signal beamed through time and space from Demon's Run makes Amy and Rory suspicious of why Kovarian wants Melody Pond at all. In studying Melody, The Doctor and his allies realize Melody Pond is human and time lord. Kovarian reveals that Melody Pond was created as a weapon to be used against The Doctor as the military forces converge upon The Doctor's allies at Demon's Run!

"A Good Man Goes To War" is packed with new creatures and characters in a way that makes viewers feel like they have missed something. Madame Vastra is introduced in 1888 with Jenny after having defeated Jack The Ripper . . . before declaring she has an old debt to The Doctor and leaving with him. Strax is picked up in the 4300s (how did he end up in the 1800s with Vastra and Jenny for "Deep Breath" then?!) and between the plethora of new characters and the wide range of settings and alien creatures there, "A Good Man Goes To War" feels initially jumbled and packed. Throwing in Lorna Bucket, a military officer who met The Doctor somewhere in his time stream, the episode starts to feel deliberately cluttered. Given how very many ancillary characters there are throughout the Doctor Who narrative at this point, that Steven Moffat did not use any of the already-present background characters for Bucket's role is needlessly complicated.

As a result, the hype surrounding the Headless Monks, an entirely new race, feels like filler. The point of the Headless Monks within "A Good Man Goes To War" is to work for the big rebeal of The Doctor into the narrative. But, rewatching The Doctor's allies gathering, amidst sudden creature menace from The Headless Monks and a massive military presence at Demon's Run, the ultimate entrance of The Doctor seems far more obvious than it is clever - it's like Steven Moffat frontloads the first act with red herrings and then expects viewers to be surprised when The Doctor exposes one of the many red herrings for what it is.

"A Good Man Goes To War" illustrates an interesting dark side to The Doctor which is a definite transition for the character and actually makes for a natural foreshadowing of the Peter Capaldi version of The Doctor. Capaldi's Doctor hates soldiers . . . but Matt Smith's Doctor uses soldiers. While Vastra declares that Demon's Run has been taken without any blood spilled, but she neglects the Spitfires shooting up Demon's Run, the destruction of the Cybermen fleet and the conflicts between the military and the Headless Monks. The Doctor has no problem using others to kill on his behalf in "A Good Man Goes To War" and that is a troubling character twist.

Outside being light on character development, "A Good Man Goes To War" is not bad, though it has a very simplistic plot. This is a confrontation episode where the participants do not know the motivations of the other side and the episode belabors putting together the pieces already in play. "A Good Man Goes To War" is built to a reversal that is emotionally virtually identical to the reversal in the prior episode, especially in terms of mood.

The performances in "A Good Man Goes To War" are good, especially for Matt Smith. Smith makes a pretty powerful emotional transformation in the course of "A Good Man Goes To War" as he begins as his familiar cocksure, almost goofy version of The Doctor. But as the episode progresses, The Doctor loses everything and Smith plays him as shocked and hurt and frazzled and Smith makes the transition incredibly well.

The climax of "A Good Man Goes To War" is frustrating, though, as The Doctor leaves the narrative before the big reveal is made explicit. His leaving is pointedly awkward as he takes the TARDIS with him, leaving someone else to get various allies back to their correct places and times . . . without the TARDIS. Similarly, the TARDIS translation matrix is explicitly called upon . . . after the TARDIS disappears, which seems very strange.

But, "A Good Man Goes To War" is a generally good set-up episode that is a remarkably satisfying initial answer to many of the season's mysteries. And it leads into "Let's Kill Hitler" perfectly!

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Sixth 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 Matt Smith as The Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Simon Fisher-Becker, please check out my reviews of:
Les Miserables
"The Pandorica Opens" - Doctor Who
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone

7/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Come Separately, Leave Together: The Defenders Are On Their "Worst Behavior"

The Good: Good performances, Plot finally moves forward
The Bad: Light on character
The Basics: The Defenders converge upon Midland Circle for their first (inadvertent) fight together in "Worst Behavior."


The Defenders came in with an instant narrative issue; bringing together the "street level heroes" of Netflix's Marvel Television Universe works had to occur with an organic quality and that was very much "easier said than done." Leading up to the third episode, "Worst Behavior," the four protagonists of The Defenders have slowly begun to come together, as three of the four have been investigating small pieces of a much larger case.

"Mean Right Hook" (reviewed here!) leads directly into "Worst Behavior" as Luke Cage and Danny Rand ended the prior episode by running into one another and Jessica Jones was rescued from Misty Knight's interrogation by Matt Murdock. "Worst Behavior" is very much dependent upon the prior episode as the heroes, the imprisoned Stick and Alexandra were all in play - as was the new villain White Hat.

Opening months in the past (during the last few scenes of the Daredevil season finale "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen," reviewed here!), Alexandra is informed that the Black Sky has been recovered. Alexandra and White Hat preside over the resurrection of Elektra, but she is devoid of her past identity - she is only the Black Sky now. Alexandra interrogates Stick about the location of Danny Rand and Stick vows to die rather than let the Iron Fist fall into Alexandra's hand. Stick cuts off his own hand in order to escape Alexandra and Elektra. Matt Murdock helps spring Jessica Jones, though his attempt to reach out to her about the Raymond case is rebuffed.

Luke Cage returns to Claire's where his guilt leads him to confess to Claire that he was hurt. Claire puts together that Cage fought the Iron Fist and Claire puts the two in a room together where they begin a conversation. Cage is bothered by Rand's sense of privilege and is overcome with disbelief over Rand's supernatural abilities. Elsewhere, Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock tail one another before Jones learns that John Raymond was an architect working on the building at Midland Circle. Jones uses her investigative abilities to track down Raymond's work and that leads her and the others to converge upon Midland Circle, where they find themselves in a very direct conflict with Alexandra and The Hand.

"Worst Behavior" illustrates the process of resurrecting Elektra in a way that satisfactorily explains why she has no popped back up into the Marvel Cinematic Universe until now. During the events of Luke Cage and Iron Fist, Elektra was being reprogrammed and trained by Alexandra . . . which also explains how and why Alexandra was absent from the little war between The Hand leaders that preoccupied Iron Fist.

Elodie Yung is given the chance to shine in "Worst Behavior" as Elektra transitions from feral to the ninja warrior she previously was. The delightful aspect of Yung's performance in "Worst Behavior" is that she begins the episode performing with virtually no language and not being relegated to simple fight scenes before she is put in the familiar, choreographed, dance-like fight sequences viewers expect of her. Yung nails the confusion and untamed aggression of the Black Sky in her early scenes in the episode and they work quite well to show the difference between the refined (if brutal) Elektra and the Black Sky.

"Worst Behavior" allows Luke Cage to get caught up on The Hand, K'un-Lun and the power of the Iron Fist. Cage is introduced fairly directly into the supernatural aspects of The Hand, while Jessica Jones continues to explore the pragmatic, detective, approach as she meets with John Raymond's widow and daughter. Jones is an excellent character to find out the truth about the ultimate issue that is preoccupying The Hand - in the first episode of The Defenders, Madame Gao mentions that they have encountered a door and the natural question viewers might have is "what door, where?" Jones witnesses Matt Murdock moving in an exceptional way and investigates the architecture angle that leads to Midland Circle.

Finn Jones continues to play Danny Rand as both inexperienced and somewhat dim (or, at the very least, uncreative) in "Worst Behavior." Rand has to be prompted by Luke Cage to use his corporate connections to track down how Rand Enterprises might be connected to The Hand. It is only through Cage's idea and Colleen Wing's pressing that Danny Rand manages to find Midland Circle.

Krysten Ritter dominates "Worst Behavior" on the acting front, though it is largely a function of Ritter being given the episode's best lines. Ritter has a wonderful sense of comic timing and in "Worst Behavior," she is allowed to illustrate that while still portraying Jessica Jones.

"Worst Behavior" finally shows a concrete direction for The Defenders; Alexandra is after the Iron Fist and all of the disparate cases converge on her and The Hand. The joy of "Worst Behavior" is that The Defenders starts to illustrate that it can actually accomplish something wonderful and complicated - that the pieces in play might be used well. It is the first episode of the season that shows that potential and the first one truly worth watching.

For other works with Krysten Ritter, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Jessica Jones - Season 1
Veronica Mars
Listen Up Philip
She’s Out Of My League
Confessions Of A Shopaholic
27 Dresses
Gilmore Girls - Season 7
Veronica Mars - Season 2
Someone Like You

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into The Defenders - The Complete First Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season of the street-level heroes here!
Thanks!]

7/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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You Have Seen "Black Tiger Steals Heart" Before . . . In Every Other Marvel Television Work!

The Good: Adequate performances, Fine direction
The Bad: Dumb, predictable, obvious, overdone reversal plot stretched out to mimic every other Marvel work, No good character development.
The Basics: Iron Fist does the same reversal episode every other Marvel Television Universe work has done with "Black Tiger Steals Heart."


If you are bothering to read this review, there is a reasonable expectation that you are a fan of the components of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially the television portions produced by Netflix. Remember when Vanessa was proven to be as knowingly corrupt as Wilson Fisk on Daredevil? Do you recall how it felt when Malcolm was exposed as Kilgrave's photographer on Jessica Jones? Or that moment when it turned out that one of the people at the Kilgrave support group was actually the villain's mother? Perhaps you recall what a huge character twist it was when the identity of the Black Sky was revealed on Daredevil or how cool it was when Diamondback first confronted Luke Cage on the street and revealed that he was Cage's brother . . . Remember that sinking feeling on Luke Cage when it became clear that Cage's beloved dead wife actually knew about the experiments that gave him super strength? Hell, if you even made it through the first season of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. you might recall that it was a pretty badass reversal when Grant Ward was exposed as an Agent Of HYDRA.

"Black Tiger Steals Heart" is that episode of Iron Fist. And, if you think I'm beating the dead horse by pointing out that all of these aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have a prolonged build-up to a virtually identical reversal, now you know the frustration of experiencing "Black Tiger Steals Heart." "Black Tiger Steals Heart" makes the big character reversal for the least-developed, least-interesting character on Iron Fist.

"Black Tiger Steals Heart" follows immediately on the events of "The Mistress Of All Agony" (reviewed here!) and it is one prolonged, pointless tease, leading the most idiotic viewers to the revelation that Colleen Wing and her sudden sensei Bakuto are not who they seem to be. And "Black Tiger Steals Heart" might have been interesting if Bakuto had been a presence in any episodes before this (he's had, perhaps, five minutes of screentime before this episode) and if Colleen Wing had been presented in a more interesting fashion in any of the earlier episodes of Iron Fist.

Unfortunately, "Black Tiger Steals Heart" is obvious and predictable. The moment that Bakuto does not give Danny Rand a straightforward answer about what he did with Madame Gao, the episode is constructed to build to the not-at-all-shocking reveal at the episode's climax.

Danny Rand and Colleen Wing awaken, drained, at Bakuto's compound after Rand healed Wing and lost consciousness. The same morning, Joy and Harold have a heart to heart while Harold explains what being dead was like to her. Bakuto gives Danny Rand a tour of his karate compound and he shows Rand footage of a prior Iron Fist in action, defending the pass to K'un-Lun. Harold Meachum calls Danny Rand and is excited to learn that Gao has been taken out.

As Danny explores the compound, he becomes more and more convinced that there is something wrong there. When he discovers Madame Gao, incarcerated, on the compound, he learns the truth about the compound's nature. As Rand reacts to the truth, Harold makes a move to take back his position at Rand Enterprises by confronting Lawrence Wilkins.

"Black Tiger Steals Heart" gets off to a bad start when Danny Rand makes a comment upon touring the compound that mimic's Luke Skywalker's reaction to being on Dagobah. I mean, "Black Tiger Steals Heart" was already being derivative of every other Marvel Television show, but to rip off The Empire Strikes Back and try to make Bakuto into Danny's Yoda is enough to make viewers cringe. Bakuto becoming a dominant force in Iron Fist might have seemed like less of a storytelling "screw you" to the fans if it didn't come in the season at virtually the same place where Diamondback became the Big Bad for Iron Fist. So . . . many . . . formulaic aspects.

Most of the acting in "Black Tiger Steals Heart" is all right. David Wenham, Jessica Stroup and even Ramon Rodriguez manage to do fine in their roles. Finn Jones takes a while to build-up to a human reaction - looking more like he is attempting to remember his lines than actually reacting organically in some of his early scenes - for Danny Rand, but he gets there. Jessica Henwick is unfortunately stiff as Colleen Wing. In "Black Tiger Steals Heart," the romance subplot for Colleen Wing and Danny Rand feels entirely forced.

Ultimately, were it not for David Wenham's scenes where he is given the chance to play Harold Meachum as smart and manipulative (as opposed to bottle-throwing angry), "Black Tiger Steals Heart" would be utterly unworthy of watching.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Iron Fist - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Ramon Rodriguez, please visit my reviews of:
Battle Los Angeles
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3
Pride And Glory

2/10

For other Marvel movie, television season and episode reviews, please check out my Marvel Cinematic Universe Review Index Page for a listing of those reviews!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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End On The Anticlimax: "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" Is More Foreshadowing Than Satisfying!

The Good: Good character moments, A lot of plot seeding, Moments of performance
The Bad: Light on resolutions, Details, Mundane mood accents the less-developed plot
The Basics: Daredevil ends its second season on "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen," which might be a good tie-in to future episodes, but is more lackluster than fans of the show (and comic) might want.


It is very easy to think that Daredevil shot its creative wad in its first season. Daredevil appeared on Netflix with a season that utilized its most iconic villain (which is par for the Marvel Cinematic Universe course) and killed off a shocking number of its essential support characters. When the second season of Daredevil was first announced fans might have had the reasonable concern that what was left of the franchise was nearing its creative end; with Elektra and The Punisher popping up now, only Typhoid Mary and Bullseye remain from the core of essential Daredevil villains. Both Typhoid Mary and Bullseye would have trouble with fitting into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and (even together) sustaining a full-season arc for the show. The second season finale of Daredevil is built almost entirely on the promise of future seasons of Daredevil. "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" does a faux-conclusion for Elektra's storyline - faux- because only those ignorant of every other Marvel Cinematic property would not see the episode's final scene and what it promises coming.

"A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" follows upon the threat made at the climax of "The Dark At The End Of The Tunnel" (reviewed here!), when Nobu set The Hand upon the task of killing Daredevil. The episode has Elektra in her full, honest, form and manages to not completely neglect the core characters of Daredevil while justifying her appearance on the show. Some of the best moments of "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" are allusions to Jessica Jones and set-ups for future episodes of Daredevil (which are fairly well-telegraphed for anyone who has read Shadowland).

The mysterious object that Nobu has been protecting is shown to still be in Nobu's possession when Nobu tasks one of his assistants with capturing twenty targets in New York City for his own purpose. Daredevil patches Stick up while the two debate the Black Sky, which Murdock refuses to believe in. Elektra, continues to struggle with understanding her true nature and Murdock tries to convince her of her humanity and they resolve to try to stop Nobu and The Hand. While Foggy Nelson meets with Jeri Hogarth for a job at her firm, Elektra and Daredevil visit Melvin Potter, who outfits Elektra with a costume and gives Matt his unique billyclub. Nelson calls Murdock to reveal that Mahoney has been roughed up and the people who assaulted the police detective took the records of all the people Daredevil saved.

The abductors are Nobu's forces and they capture Page and Turk, among others, which leads Daredevil on a chase across Hell's Kitchen to try to rescue them. Turk being among the captives becomes advantageous as he is under house arrest and Page convinces him to re-activate his ankle monitor to alert the police to their location. Murdock correctly deduces that the capture of the people he once rescued is a trap designed to draw him out and to save Karen and the others, he willingly runs into the trap . . . though he has back-up from Elektra and someone he never expected.

The promotions for the second season of Daredevil - one featuring The Punisher, another featuring Elektra - allowed attentive viewers (like me) to pretty easily predict the basic plotting of the larger second season arc. Despite that, "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" is entertaining and it creates an effective emotional investment for viewers. The faux-resolution for the Elektra arc is a deposit into the emotional bank for viewers; will it pay off? The answer seems to depend almost entirely upon how far ahead the executive producers of Daredevil have plotted the series and the rest of Marvel's "street level" universe on Netflix. Given the quality of Daredevil so far, it is hard not to bank on the investment paying off.

After the revelation in "The Dark At The End Of The Tunnel," seeing Elektra react with considering suicide is actually refreshing on television. Elektra has had a core of evil within her, which Stick has tried to redirect and use for his good cause. So, Elektra's sense of violence perfectly fits within her character to have her consider self-violence and that sense of realism is well-constructed. Director Peter Hoar and writers Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez wisely put Elektra on a ledge for her first solo scene following her truth being revealed to herself. Murdock's faith in Elektra is not wasted, which is refreshing. When Page is captured, Elektra calms Murdock and exhibits an affection for him that is very human.

Fans of Daredevil, both the show and especially the comic, and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe will have a lot to squeal about from "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen." Jeri Hogarth's appearance leaves viewers with the promise of a potential crossover of Nelson to any potential second season of Jessica Jones - or any other trips to Hogarth's law firm within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil getting his iconic billyclub is more of a geek-out moment for the fans of the man without fear than seeing Frank Castle in his full Punisher armor. And geeks cannot help but delight by some of the background details - like a poster for The Gladiator in the background at Melvin Potter's workshop. Given that level of detail, it's virtually impossible to believe that the "Wanted For Robbery" poster over Nelson's shoulder when he calls Matt is random!

Oddly, for a show (and episode) that is so detail oriented, it seems odd what details the episode gets wrong. For sure, Jeri Hogarth has a ton of money for things like reconstructive surgery, but the seemingly compressed timeframe of the second season of Daredevil and the lack of a significant gap between it and Jessica Jones (Claire Temple's first appearance in the second season is within the month window after the finale of the first season of Jessica Jones, though there seems to be an incredibly poor transition between the hot summer at the beginning of this season and the finale ending at Christmastime) make it somewhat unrealistic that Hogarth has no visible scars whatsoever. Within the episode, Detective Mahoney requests lights up on three different locations to illuminate the rooftop for the final battle, but those lights never materialize (despite the long stairwell scene before that confrontation.

"A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" illustrates one of the problems with a show that features a lot of physical fights; the final battle in the episode might be a decent-enough fight sequence, but it is poorly lit and much of it is resolved without being focused on. It is like the executive producers, like the viewers, were feeling fight fatigue and didn't know how to top previous fights and just didn't care to try. Fortunately, the episode does not bank everything on the fight sequence. Instead, the episode's big moments are appropriately focused on Matt Murdock.

Murdock declares his love for Elektra in a fairly convincing way in "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" and her observations tie well to the confession Murdock ultimately makes. Season three has an important character aspect to follow up on - Daredevil does not kill, so how Murdock's feelings of guilt play out in the next season for what director Peter Hoar shot in a way that convincingly could be written off as an accident is fodder for fan speculation until it airs. Stick and Murdock's relationship deepens in "A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" (though how Stick got out of the chair remains a mystery) and their final scene makes Murdock's final scene make perfect sense (especially tied with the stairwell scene between Daredevil and Elektra).

The acting front is dominated by Geoffrey Cantor. Cantor has the supporting role of The New York Bulletin's Mitchell Ellison, who is now Karen Page's boss. Cantor takes a fairly small supporting role and performs the hell out of it. There is not a millisecond of his portrayal of Cantor in his final scene of the season that he is not absolutely convincing as an editor. His final scene, which is part of the season's long denouement after all the action is over, is one of the most interesting, even through it is mostly just a guy lecturing to his employee. Deborah Ann Woll's responsive monologue is well-delivered, even if it feels a bit gushy for the oppressively dark Daredevil. On-screen, Woll nails her final moment of the episode, which relies entirely upon her reaction.

"A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" is enjoyable, but not actually extraordinary. While it affords some level of closure to the season, the episode is belaboring the foreshadowing to future Daredevil, seeming to bank on the future as opposed to creating something great in and of itself.

For other climactic season finales, be sure to check out my reviews of:
"AKA Smile" - Jessica Jones
"Fast Enough" - The Flash
"S.O.S. Part 2" - Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[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!
Thanks!]

5/10

For other television episode and movie reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Intelligence Devolves To Action: "The Man In The Box."

The Good: Very smart characters, Performances, Character development
The Bad: Very expository, Works better for its serialized elements than on its own
The Basics: Daredevil reasserts itself as entertainment packed with intelligent characters before it devolves into horiffic moments in "The Man In The Box."


As the second season of Daredevil progressed, it became increasingly more esoteric and was devoted to laying the framework for plotlines in future seasons, as opposed to providing satisfying answers for viewers within the episodes. While some of that is natural for television in general and works within the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Jessica Jones (reviewed here!), for example, began to infuse hints as to a storyline surrounding the origins of Jessica Jones's powers within the last two episodes of the first season - the extreme weirdness of the elements seeded from the midpoint on of Daredevil season two are mind boggling. Giant urns with Japanese characters on them that are connected to people who are being exsanguinated is far more obscure and specific than a corporation that is experimenting on humans to make supersoldiers.

"The Man In The Box" follows up on "Seven Minutes In Heaven" (reviewed here!) and because it deals with ramifications of the events of the prior episode, it is impossible to discuss without some references to the prior episode. Because "Seven Minutes In Heaven" added new, horiffic elements to the Daredevil storyline, introduced the idea of the drug cartel led by The Blacksmith and put The Punisher back on the streets, it is hard to pick up "The Man In The Box" and not feel immediately lost. That said, the context clues within "The Man In The Box" give viewers about as much information as the prior episode, so if one skips the carnage of the previous episode, it is possible to not actually be missing much.

Having liberated five young people from being exsanguinated by Nobu, Daredevil enlists Mahoney and Temple to see to their care. Murdock visits Claire Temple, who has admitted the rescuees to a secure area of the hospital and informs her that Nobu is alive and likely to send killers to the hospital. Murdock learns that The Punisher has escaped and the next morning, Nelson, Page, and Murdock are called to Reyes's office, as suspects in Castle's escape. When Nelson mentions Castle was sent to cell block D, Murdock realizes that Castle was sent to the same prison and block as Wilson Fisk.

Reyes comes clean to Nelson and Murdock, about her attempt to bring down The Blacksmith and the sting that went horribly wrong, before shots are fired on city hall. Foggy Nelson is wounded and Murdock's desire to hunt Castle infuriates Page and Nelson. Tower uses the opportunity to get out of Hell's Kitchen, while Murdock visits Fisk in prison for some answers. Page returns to the New York Bulletin where Ellison helps her figure out that Castle will likely target the medical examiner next and the two head to his motel to try to save his life. That same night, Elektra prepares to leave Hell's Kitchen when she runs into an assassin sent for her and Ellison rectifies his past mistakes by getting Page a police escort. When Temple tells Murdock about the toxicology reports on the rescued kids, the situation suddenly devolves as Nobu's ninjas descend upon Metro General Hospital!

One of the real joys of "The Man In The Box" is seeing Charlie Cox and Rosario Dawson working together again. Cox plays being blind perfectly and Dawson portrays empathy so perfectly viewers are instantly convinced she is a nurse. Dawson makes the bit role of Claire Temple captivating to watch and the chemistry between her and Cox on-screen is palpable and instantly re-established in "The Man In The Box." Dawson is a powerhouse who makes the most of a comparatively minor role.

Just as seeing Dawson and Cox together, there is a lot for viewers to delight in with Vincent D'Onofrio and Charlie Cox sharing a scene again. For most of their time on screen, they simply talk with one another again and Cox and D'Onofrio make the mostly-expository scene good television. D'Onofrio once again plays Fisk as an intelligent man who knows how to scheme and get under Murdock's skin. D'Onofrio easily slips into Fisk's anger and he makes the transition look effortless. Cox plays Murdock cold and the contrast in physical presence makes him seem as big as D'Onofrio for the climax of the scene. Their shared scene is packed with foreshadowing and it gives viewers the promise that Wilson Fisk and Vincent D'Onofrio have more Daredevil to come!

"The Man In The Box" is the pay-off to almost all of the Punisher's backstory plotline. In the episode, Reyes and Tower detail the entire sting operation that they used to attempted to use to draw out The Blacksmith. The episode is the culmination of Reyes's arc and it is refeshing to see Tower is smart enough to get out of Hell's Kitchen before he's next. "The Man In The Box" is refreshing for how smart the characters in it are. Matt Murdock instantly figures out the Wilson Fisk connection to Castle's escape; Fisk's lawyer has strict terms for Murdock's visit, and the final shot of Wilson Fisk is so well performed that it makes an implication that Fisk getting wounded by Murdock clues him into the truth about Murdock's dual nature. Daredevil is smart, adult television and it is refreshing to have a show where there is some subtlety and inference, as opposed to having everything spoon-fed to the audience.

Elektra's return to the narrative is unremarkable in "The Man In The Box," but it follow's the episode's decent portrayal of its characters are generally smart people. Having been on the other end of a seduction by the Chaste, Elektra takes virtually no time in recognizing what she is up against and dispatching her would-be assassin.

Karen Page's role in "The Man In The Box" is to move her away from Nelson And Murdock and further into working with Ellison as an investigative reporter. Ellison has one of the biggest "awwww!" (sweetness) moments of "The Man In The Box" and it is refreshing to see that the death of Ben Urich's death still resonates with him. Ellison is likable and Geoffrey Cantor plays off Deborah Ann Woll with a protective quality that he manages to not feel at all patronizing.

Like many episodes of Daredevil, at least in its second season, "The Man In The Box" progresses along in one direction before taking an abrupt right turn. When Frank Castle appears on-screen, he is instantly convincing and the truth is refeshingly as it appears. The supernatural aspect in "The Man In The Box" is a significant component to the right turn the episode's climax takes, but the revelation to Elektra is hardly as surprising as it was probably intended.

The result is a smart episode of Daredevil that lacks larger themes, but is pretty essential for all of the major plotlines and character arcs.

For other works with Rosario Dawson, be sure to check out my reviews of:
"New York's Finest" - Daredevil
"AKA Smile" - Jessica Jones
Daredevil - Season 1
Seven Pounds
Clerks II
Rent
25th Hour
Men In Black II

[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!
Thanks!]

6/10

For other reviews of pieces of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, please visit my Marvel Cinematic Universe Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Explicit Characterization: "Penny And Dime" Explains The Punisher!

The Good: Character, Most of the performances
The Bad: Banal plot, Unsettling combination of gore and sensuality
The Basics: The Punisher plotline reaches a peak in "Penny And Dime" making for a weird early-season "conclusion" for Daredevil.


When the Daredevil episode "New York's Finest" (reviewed here!) finished fans of Daredevil had to wonder what the long game for the season was. After all, as "Penny And Dime" begins, it seems like the Punisher threat has been more or less neutralized, whatwith Daredevil rescuing his adversary from the Dogs Of Hell at the climax to the previous episode. Fortunately, "Penny And Dime" opening with yet more people who want revenge upon Frank Castle makes it easy to believe that the show will find a way to keep building something significant for the entire season.

"New York's Finest" did not accent any form of escape for Frank Castle - the viewer sees him apparently unconscious in the elevator as it hits the ground floor and then Matt Murdock looks out into the street - so those binge watching Daredevil might well feel like they've missed something before "Penny And Dime." "Penny And Dime" returns Father Lantom to Daredevil and his role as a moral advisor in Matt Murdock's life seems almost redundant after Murdock explicitly stating his moral code and then illustrating it in the prior episode. Fortunately, the concept of Murdock feeling guilty over his lack of universal successes plays well in "Penny And Dime" and helps justify Lantom's presence in the episode.

Opening with an Irish Wake for the mobsters killed by Frank Castle, Finn arrives and takes out the current head of the Irish mob, ostensibly because the current leader let Finn's son die on his watch. Finn is looking for $1.2 million that was taken by Frank Castle when he hit the Irish mob. The Irish go through Hell's Kitchen tormenting business owners until they find Frank Castle's hideout, abduct his dog and prepare for his inevitable assault on them. Castle managed to elude Daredevil after his rescue and witnesses Finn taking away his dog. Karen Page arrives at Matt Murdock's apartment to take her boss to Grotto's funeral, which only three people show up for. While Murdock gets a pep talk from his priest, Frank Castle inserts something into a wound in his arm and leaves his van in an otherwise abandoned lot.

Melvin Potter provides Daredevil with a new cowl and gloves to help him defend himself. Page follows clues that make her realize that Frank Castle is a piece of a conspiracy of some sort - not the orchestrator of it. Page learns that after Castle was shot in the head, mysterious people came to the hospital and exercised a Do Not Resuscitate order on him and he very briefly died. Castle lays a trap for Finn and his gang at the carousel his wife and children were killed at, but Finn gets the drop on him. Castle's capture puts Daredevil once again in the unlikely position of having to rescue the vigilante whose methods he deplores.

"Penny And Dime" moves the relationship between Murdock and Page forward, though not at such a pace that it is unrealistic or lacking in substance. Page's discovery that Frank Castle was shot in the head helps her exhibit compassion for the man who was shooting at her. Her compassion is irresistible to Murdock and that makes their growing bond seem realistic.

Page is also fleshed out wonderfully as she investigates the personal history of Frank Castle. Page is becoming something of a detective - a wasted opportunity to add Jessica Jones to the storyline! - in hunting for clues about Frank Castle's life before he was a serial killer cleaning up the criminal element in Hell's Kitchen. Page's desire for understanding clues her into the conspiracy that Castle is a component of and "Penny And Dime" begins to characterize D.A. Reyes as someone with potentially sinister motives, which is an interesting twist - that a character begun as a background character could be given such an extensive backstory and plotline to flesh her out. Fortunately, Page is the focus, which keeps viewers invested in "Penny And Dime."

"Penny And Dime" can be difficult to watch in many points as the graphic violence is palpable in the episode. When the teaser features a man getting killed by having something thrust into his eyeball - the sound is absolutely terrible! - the viewer knows that the episode is not going to let up. "Penny And Dime" is filled with torture and shots like Frank Castle's foot getting drilled through with a power drill are shown explicitly. Interestingly, director Peter Hoar and the episode's writer seem to know the threshold for viewers as Castle's dog is brought in by Finn, but not tortured.

After the early moralizing that allows Matt Murdock to express himself, the episode turns heavily toward Frank Castle. Frank Castle loves his dog . . . but not enough that at the episode's critical moment he makes sure his dog is rescued with him. His backstory is revealed in "Penny And Dime" through a long scene of exposition at the episode's climax and fans of the Punisher character will appreciate the fidelity the episode plays to his commonly-known backstory. Frank Castle's family was murdered in front of him and his attempt to kill members of the groups involved or present at the shootout where his family was killed is what is driving him.

Guest star Tony Curran steals his scenes in "Penny And Dime." Curran is brilliantly unsettling as Finn, playing angry and vengeful in a way that might surprise those who know him exclusively from some of his other guest-starring roles. Indeed, it is tough to accept Curran as Finn when one remembers him from his portrayal of the vulnerable and broken Van Gogh on Doctor Who!

John Bernthal does exceptionally well as Frank Castle in "Penny And Dime" as well. Between the brutally difficult physical scenes and the exceptional amount of exposition at the episode's end allows Bernthal to show off his range. Bernthal is tasked with ending the very physical, violent episode with over ten minutes of monologue and he makes it surprisingly gripping. Castle explains the story of coming back from war and being reunited with his family and the story takes time and it slowly develops and Bernthal makes the process surprisingly good television.

"Penny And Dime" very satisfyingly forces a transition in the second season of Daredevil. While "New York's Finest" might have made it seem like the Punisher was neutralized, "Penny And Dime" both puts him back into and takes him out of the mix, preventing him from continuing as the primary adversary of the season in the next episode. The resolution to "Penny And Dime" has the feeling of being a strong ending - up to and including the musical crescendo, which is reminiscent of many of the Marvel movies - and the return to focus on Matt Murdock and his morals helps tie the episode together well. The result is that viewers who watch Daredevil for the Daredevil-core characters are likely to enjoy "Penny And Dime" and its place in the second season; Daredevil is not being rewritten as Punisher Featuring Daredevil And His Friends.

As an early climax within the second season, "Penny And Dime" is good, but the plot is more typical than extraordinary. Viewers who are engrossed in Murdock and Page's relationship are likely to feel cheated by the extension of the "will they or won't they" vibe in "Penny And Dime;" if ever there were a place for two people to fall into bed with one another after a rough and mildly cathartic day, the events of "Penny And Dime" would seem to be it! The combination of graphic gore and violence (yet we do not see the bomb in the briefcase or the fate of the dog?!) and the slow passion of a drop of rain on Karen Page's skin is more unsettling than it is artistic. The result is a more average episode than one that truly electrifies.

For other works with Stephen Rider, please read my reviews of:
The Host
Safe House

[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!
Thanks!]

5.5/10

For other television episode and season reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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