Daredevil Episode 7 Review: Stick

[note: This review attempts to contain as little spoilers as possible. However, potential spoilers and plot points may come up. If you haven't seen Daredevil yet, read at your own risk]

In the words of Jim Ross, or at least in the words of Bill Simmons imitating Jim Ross, "GOOD GAWD, THAT'S STICK'S MUSIC!" Yes, one episode after Daredevil gave us Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock giving an Errol Flynn esq verbal duel, Matt's childhood mentor Stick (Scott Glenn) has arrived to Hell's Kitchen. If you haven't been watching, it would almost be easy to believe that Daredevil had taken a detour from its Wire driven roots and found its way to the nearest comic con. But while the presence of the famed comic book character could've served as nothing more than fan service, Stick proves to be as captivating a character as we've seen yet, making "Stick" (subtle title)  an excellent stand alone episode. No Fisk? No problem. Dude probably needed to buy some more art anyway.

In the present, Stick returns at the worst time for Matt; the police hate him and want him dead, Fisk hates him and wants him dead, and the poor dude can't even get the better of Leland Owlsley (Bob Gunton). Naturally, Stick decides to stick (pun FULLY intended) Matt with his own problems, leading to the two going to the docks to stop shady business man Nobu (Peter Shinkoda) from bringing in a destructive force Stick calls Black Sky. Flashbacks show us Matt's first encounter with Stick, their subsequent training and Stick abandoning him, leading to some serious resentment issues in the present. Meanwhile, Karen and Ben continue their investigation, and we start to see glimpses of rage Foggy has towards the man in black, which will totally not lead to any consequences between him and Matt going forward.



In the comics, Stick served as the gruff, tough, borderline cruel trainer of Matt during his child years, a father figure only in the sense that he was Matt's only adult male figure in his life following his dad's death. Compelling right? Yet, earlier onscreen adaptations of the Daredevil universe either scrapped the Stick character all together, or in the case of Fox's illogical, ill fated and just plain ill Elektra, portrayed Stick (played by Zod, aka Terrence Stamp) as some zen ninja with a God complex. Thankfully, Stick here is precisely like his comic book inspiration, almost taken right out of the pages of Frank Miller's The Man Without Fear. Most importantly though, showrunner Steven DeKnight (and writer Douglas Petrie and director Brad Turner) found the right guy for the role. Scott Glenn has always been someone I pictured for the role of Stick, it was just a question of whether he was too old to play the part (Glenn is 74, though he looks fifteen years younger). The veteran actor, who has played everything from the hero (Vertical Limit) to the villain (Backdraft) to the just plain weird (Sucker Punch) throughout his career, proves me right, filling in all of Stick's lines and somehow managing to make the old, borderline sociopath sympathetic. Yes, Stick may be an asshole, but he's also the kind of guy who will take the time out of kicking your ass to buy you an ice cream cone (followed by him ruining the experience and the joy of eating ice cream forever. Damn you Stick!).

Closing the door on your love for ice cream

"Stick" resembles more of the earlier episodes of Daredevil than the most recent, and that's largely because of the focus on Matt. Charlie Cox truly gets the spotlight for the first time since "Cut Man", and he does his usual excellent job, but with an even bigger edge. The anger Matt has for Stick is massive; even if Stick was a dick, he was still a father figure of sorts to Matt as a kid, and his abandonment is something Matt takes personally. Add that to all the other things tormenting him (seriously, it's not a good time for Matt), and this is perhaps the darkest we've ever seen Matt. Cox does a great job of capturing it, the best scene of which being the brutal, issue resolving climax where Stick and Matt beat the anger out of each other. It's not as flashy as some of the other standout scenes Daredevil has had, but it's effective nonetheless. The rest of the cast is fine, with Peter Shinkoda standing out the most. Nobu doesn't have too many scenes, but Shinkoda allows his character to make the most of them, while also showing us glimpses of the character's honor and code that we'll see in the next few episodes.

Bottom Line: "Stick" is more of the same great TV Daredevil has delivered thus far, bringing in yet another great character to the fold while also highlighting some more traits in its lead. It may be somewhat fan service, but with everything that's made Daredevil work still intact, "Stick" is most certainly fan service done right.

(and yes, I didn't mention the final scene on purpose. It's more glorious, well done fan service. Find it out on your own! DUCHOVNY commands it.)

Please change disks to continue...