Wilson Fisk is back. Jail suits Fisk well, and he plans on coming back with a bang. During Frank Castle’s ‘Trial of the Century,’ talk about how the justice system has failed came up a few times. Nothing is a better example of this than Wilson Fisk in this episode. Everything Daredevil thought he took care of in Season 1 comes back to haunt him in this Episode.
When Fisk finally went to jail for all of his untold crimes against Hell’s Kitchen Daredevil tell us what happened to him. Did he keep his head down in his cell? Does he create a new empire on the inside? Does he work the system and get himself out? In this episode, nine episodes into the second season, viewers finally got the answers. And the answer is yes, to all of it. Fisk flourishes in jail, playing the game just like he did with his allies on the outside.
Now of course unknowing Matt Murdock continues to grow into his role as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, but he’s regularly upstaged in this episode. Episode 9 is about transitions for Fisk, Castle, and most importantly Karen.
Smart and resourceful Karen quickly snaps out of her brief love interest role. Unlike Foggy and Matt she doesn’t get caught up in playing for her ego. Karen takes responsibility for her actions, and continues to passionately push her own storyline forward. This entire time, watching Karen Page grow and battle the likes of Fisk throughout the course of this series – she’s actually been Ben Urich’s apprentice. It’s great to see a female lead take on a role more than an office assistant, more than a love interest. Karen Page is the next great journalist looking for the truth. The scene where she steps into Ben’s old office hints at something dark in Karen’s past. Viewers have seen Karen develop over the course of the entire series, but they still don’t know anything about her. Karen’s not from New York, and she hasn’t been there long. Why did she come to Hell’s Kitchen, and why can’t she go back home? It looks like viewers might get some answers on who Karen Page really is.
Now whether they realize it or not, Karen and Fisk have been working against and parallel to each other throughout the series. Both of them have a hand in developing Frank Castle as a character. Karen has tried to help Castle several times, finding what shred of humanity he had left. Like with Grotto, Karen saw the person inside the criminal. Then Fisk takes Castle, throws him to the wolves for personal gain, and all but eliminates the person inside The Punisher. The scenes inside the jail show Castle in survival mode. This is Castle the veteran, expert sniper, and a man who’s lost everything when society decides to sweep him under the rug. The Punisher’s brief, but brutal, time in jail with Fisk reveals a new goal. Who is the Blacksmith?
