After the solid, but unspectacular last episode "World
on Fire", Daredevil returns with a vengeance (duh) with
"Condemned." What did you expect after the last episode ended with
Wilson Fisk lighting the biggest fire since the imaginary inferno that nearly
ended the career of Ricky Bobby? Where as its predecessor was more of a cool
down, "Condemned" comes in hot. There is fire, obviously. There is
bloodshed. There is another abandoned warehouse. There is people getting framed
and corrupt cops getting shot by corrupt cops. Oh, and there's a CONVERSATION
BETWEEN MATT MURDOCK AND WILSON FISK! That's right, for the first time in
Daredevil's run, the hero and the villain finally exchange pleasantries in an
all too epic scene. I'm sure as the scene played out, you could hear a million
nerd voices cry out with pleasure, followed by the sound of superhero underwear
hitting the floor faster than a speeding bullet.
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| Internet's reaction to Fisk/Murdock scene |
Alright, in fairness, there's far more to this episode than
just pleasing the nerds. Having been trapped in the inferno last episode while
trying to find Vladimir (Nikolai Nikolaeff), Matt struggles to make his way out
of Russian territory with the severely wounded Vladimir hanging on for dear
life. Of course, Fisk is looking for Vladimir in order to keep him silent on
their business (why else do you think he set fire to their territory?). Claire
Temple goes back to work at the hospital, only to spend the majority of the
time calling Matt or worrying about him. Foggy and Karen are also at the
hospital, Foggy having been injured in the fire along with their client Elena
(Judith Delgado). Ben Urich tries to investigate the disaster while dealing
with corrupt cops (Chris Tardio, Daryl Edwards). And again, FISK AND MURDOCK
SPEAK! I can't emphasize enough how big that is. This moment ranks up there
with such classics like the tears in rain soliloquy, every time Kevin Harlan
screams "WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!", and the day Stephen A. Smith
gets fired from ESPN.
In all seriousness, how good is the Murdock-Fisk scene? The
best way to describe it is to use the slogan for those Pop Tarts commercials;
crazy good. Charlie Cox brilliantly presents Matt in this conversation as a man
trying to do the right thing who is out of his depth, while Vincent D'Onofrio
brings a growling intensity to Fisk. The remarkable thing is how in control of
the situation Fisk is. Try as Matt does to get the better of him in this
conversation, he never once gets the best of Fisk, and in fact slowly starts to
realize as they go on that he may unfortunately be more alike his enemy than he
believes. And Fisk isn't wrong with that point; in reality, both Matt and Fisk
want the same thing, which is to make Hell's Kitchen a better place. Whereas
Matt wants to do so with justice, Fisk is taking a more...creative path I
suppose. Their conversation lays that out as well as possible, and also brings
up a question that is impossible for Matt and the audience to ignore; how far
must our hero go in order to bring down Fisk? What price is he willing to pay?
Aside from Cox and D'Onofrio, the rest of the cast is as
usual brilliant. Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Hensen have some nice, quiet
moments together in the hospital. You could by them as a couple, if not for the
impending sense that Karen and Matt are going to end up together eventually. I
told you a few reviews ago that Rosario Dawson would become quite good in this
show, and she delivers her best performance here as Claire. I loved her scene
where she guides Matt through patching of a wounded Vladimir (a tough scene as
he was responsible for Claire's beating in "In the Blood"), and even
the emotional scene between Claire and Matt towards the end is solid. Vondie
Curtis-Hall is stellar as Ben Urich once more, and the episode even manages to
sneak some tiny commentary in about how journalists are no longer as important
in covering tragedies as TV and blogs are. Yes, an episode built around a warehouse siege and two guys speaking over walkie talkies managed to fit in some commentary about the newspaper business. Like I said, crazy good.
The star of the show however is Nikolai Nikolaeff, who plays
Vladimir. I told you in the last review I would have more to say about his
performance in Daredevil, and now is the time. Like I've said, Vladimir
could've easily become a character that faded off into the background in the
hands of a lesser actor (think Brandon Routh replacing Christopher Reeve as
Superman for example). But Nikolaeff, who's biggest role to date had been a
minor role on the NBC comedy Camp, makes Vladimir a completely three
dimensional character, who grows exponentially in his final appearance. Make no
mistake; Vladimir is a character who has done some terrible things in his life.
You don't even need Fisk pointing that out in his conversation with Matt to
recognize that. But there is still good in Vladimir, still the same speck of
light in him that once inspired him and his brother (Gideon Emery) to try and
make a new life in America. Nikolaeff is an actor who understands this, and I
loved watching him have Vladimir, flaws and all, scratch and claw his way
throughout this episode before finally coming to grips that there is some good
in him. His final scene, where he sacrifices himself to let Matt escape
(whether that's his intention or not), is a powerful one. Dear every film director, HIRE THIS MAN!
Please change disks to
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