Daredevil: Season 2, Episode 9 – “Seven Minutes in Heaven”

“Seven Minutes in Heaven” allows each character to confront who they are with brutal honesty. This was by far the best episode of the season, and the fact that there was very little Daredevil (Charlie Cox), and a whole lot of Punisher (Jon Bernthal), had a lot to do with it.

Elektra (Elodie Yung) appears in only a brief scene in the beginning, and that is to this episode’s benefit. I did appreciate how upfront Matt and Elektra were with one another about their true natures. Elektra enjoys killing, plain and simple, and Matt simply can’t tolerate killing. Their partnership is short-lived, which makes me wonder why we had to spend so much time with these two flirting with each other in the first place, only to arrive at their breakup moments after they pledged themselves to one another.

Matt’s right, though. They do need to stop corrupting one another. However, that doesn’t mean Matt should refuse Elektra’s help in stopping the Hand. His need to fight this war on his own doesn’t make much practical sense, no matter how you feel about Elektra’s methods, especially after we learn that the Hand has indeed achieved immortality when we meet a resurrected Nobu (Peter Shinkoda). Speaking of Nobu, I’m pretty sure Matt “killed” him last season, thereby breaking his own moral code, but I didn’t see much guilt over that death. If he’s claiming self-defense, that’s a pretty weak argument. You can’t uphold the law during the day while subverting it during the night.

Seeing how much Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) is progressing as a character makes me extremely glad that her relationship with Matt crashed and burned before it had a chance to take off. She doesn’t need to be saddled with the role of a love interest — she’s so much more than that. I cheered when Karen told Foggy (Elden Henson) that she didn’t need to be warned about Matt’s lies, an act that she rightfully sees as both patronizing and disrespectful. Her relationship with Matt earned her the right to the truth, which he has repeatedly denied her again and again.

It’s Karen’s desperation to uncover all the lies that surround her that makes her so compelling. I used to think that Karen’s relentless determination in Frank’s trial was so that she could absolve herself of guilt for killing Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore). Now, however, it’s clear that this is simply who she is. She loves the truth, and will pursue it at all costs. For that reason, becoming an investigative reporter suits her much more than being a legal assistant. The moment when she stepped into Ben Urich’s (Vondie Curtis-Hall) old office was a touching scene, but also brought to light some interesting secrets Karen’s still harboring. This mysterious accident could be the event that Karen alluded to last season when she told Wesley that she had fired a gun before. I’m loving these new developments to her story, and I can’t wait to see how Karen will continue to grow.

This episode owes its brilliance to Frank Castle, with Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) as the supporting star. Their interactions with each other were extremely interesting, both of them carrying such high stakes with each action. I was a little surprised that Frank would agree to throw away his own trial for a meeting with Fisk when he so readily declined Fisk’s offer five minutes into their meeting. But Fisk was able to win him over with reason, and that’s what makes Fisk not just a brutish villain, but a criminal mastermind. He’s willing to play the long game, placing intelligence over his animal instincts.

Then again, he has no problem in unleashing Frank’s, and oh boy does Frank unleash some pent-up anger. That prison hallway fight scene was this season’s best yet. It was violent and graphic, but the undercurrents of righteous vengeance really made you root for Frank even as he spilled blood and cracked bones over and over again. The directing for this scene was phenomenal too, and I adored how when the police shouted at him to fall on his knees, Frank stood there defiantly, disappearing into the tear gas.

Although Fisk betrayed him, Frank was finally able to get some answers about the massacre that killed his family. Apparently, the whole event was part of a sting operation, and when the head organizer of the deal (The Blacksmith) didn’t show up, the shooting began. The medical examiner, Dr. Tepper (Eric Michael Gillett), revealed that the John Doe he made disappear was in fact the undercover cop, which has huge implications for the district attorney’s office, and the city in general. The cover up must go high up, and the eventually unraveling of the truth will probably turn the city on its head. I’m looking forward to it.

Other Thoughts:

Foggy (Elden Henson) and Matt break up for the millionth time. It’s interesting to see Matt pushing away all of his friends, thereby doing exactly what Stick (Scott Glenn) told him to do, even though Matt insists on being nothing like Stick. Someday, Matt will have to own up to all of his hypocrisy.

Foggy perfectly sums up the problem with Daredevil’s crusade: “You don’t get to create danger and then protect us from that danger.”