Episode Five: “With Interest”
Many people will watch “With Interest” and think about why it was even needed in the first place. To the credit of the fans, this episode does not include the show’s other main players like Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) or the now-established graffiti artist serial killer, Muse.
The episode does show Matthew Murdock (Charlie Cox) on the tipping edge of becoming Daredevil again. On Saint Patrick’s Day, Murdock goes to New York Mutual Bank to discuss whether his law firm can get a loan. However, assistant bank manager Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapoor) denies his application.
Once Murdock leaves disappointed, a group of criminals enters the building and takes everyone hostage. They work for a man named Luca (Patrick Murney), a leader of one of the five crime families in New York. The group is there because Luca needs $1.8 million to pay Viktor, another crime boss.
Murdock hears this and goes back to the bank. With many innocent lives at stake, including his own, Murdock takes it step by step to make sure the villains are taken down.
The episode is a “bottle episode,” which is not inherently bad by any means. It may not feature Fisk or Muse, but it is still a good episode featuring Murdock in everyday life. It serves as a perfect buildup for Murdock to finally let loose and protect the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.
“With Interest” also feels like a straight homage to the opening of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” (2008), mixed with a little of John McTiernan’s “Die Hard” (1988). It plays with the audience’s expectations of whether people will die and if Murdock himself will get out of the situation.
The inclusion of Kapoor’s Yusuf Khan, who was originally from “Ms. Marvel” (2022), is a delightful touch. He and Murdock bounce off each other well in their interactions in an episode that tells a good side of Murdock’s eventual rebirth as Daredevil.
Episode Six: “Excessive Force”
“Excessive Force” is the episode that original Netflix series fans have been waiting for over six years. Both Murdock and Fisk have realized their old selves (their true selves) cannot be contained anymore. Luca breaks the news to Fisk that the robbery was a failure and he cannot pay the $1.8 million to Viktor.
Fisk doubles down and raises the amount to $2.8 million and gives Luca a week to pay it. Fisk also learns of the existence of Muse after an employee for the city’s sanitation department informs him the paint in the graffiti is mixed with human blood from an estimate of 60 missing people.
Fisk then establishes an Anti-Vigilante Task Force to deal with Muse and any other possible existing vigilantes. Officer Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley) and former detective Cole North (Jeremy Earl) are included in the task force.
Angela del Toro (Camila Rodriguez), Hector Ayala/White Tiger’s (Kamar de los Reyes) niece, goes to Murdock and presents him with information related to Muse. She believes that before his death, Hector was investigating missing people and what common area they were going missing in.
Murdock refuses to help her, so Angela goes by herself to find Muse. She is later subdued by Muse and is taken to his lair where he does his dirty work. At home, Murdock receives a phone call from Angela’s mother telling him that Angela has been missing for hours.
Alerted, Murdock finally puts on the suit and tracks down where Muse can be. Once he finds him, the two duke it out in a fight scene that is right out of the original show. Meanwhile, Fisk is holding Adam (Loy Taylor Pucci) — Vanessa’s (Ayelet Zurer) affair partner when Fisk was in prison — in a cell below the mayor’s residence.
Fisk gives Adam an axe and challenges him to a fight to which Adam accepts. Both Muse and Daredevil fighting and Fisk and Adam fighting are cut together with a beautiful score done by the Newton Brothers. Murdock and Fisk have now taken the red pill. There is no going back for them.
