The June 20, 2022 installment of Jake Schoeneberger’s random entertainment opinions
The Daredevil show has is quickly becoming one of my favorites I’ve watched in a long time! The addition of Elektra has definitely taken this series up a notch because of how much she’s complicated Matt’s thoughts and forced him to look at himself and the life he’s chosen in new ways. I have to say, Jacob Schoeneberger senses a reckoning coming for Daredevil soon. Who is the real Matt Murdock?
With that in mind, here are some random thoughts about the entertainment Jacob Schoeneberger is currently consuming.
This Installment’s Edition of Jake Schoeneberger Has Been Living Under a Rock Features: Daredevil
*This will contain spoilers for anyone who hasn’t watched the show yet.*
The eighth episode of season two begins right where the last episode left off. Daredevil estimates that the flashlight he tossed into the pit fell at least four stories before hitting the ground. That’s a mighty deep hole. A second later, a throwing star whistles right over their heads.
There are half a dozen attackers, Elektra estimates, but Daredevil says he has a problem because he can’t hear them. Apparently these are the most silent ninjas ever and that’s going to pose a huge problem for the superhero without sight.
Daredevil listens to the sound of their weapons and he and Elektra hold their own in the ensuing fight. But when Elektra has a ninja pinned down and is about to stab him, Daredevil stops her and the ninja is able to slash Elektra with a knife across her chest. She’s hurt badly. Daredevil tries to save her but then he is incapacitated by several ninjas and he’s in major trouble.
But then a bombshell drops, quite literally, as Stick makes a heroic return dropping down from above to save Daredevil. Jake Schoeneberger jumped right up off the couch when Stick arrived, and he was not a moment too soon. He kills a ninja and gets Daredevil and Elektra out of there in a hurry.
Stick has a driver and they’re all in a car making a getaway but there are more ninjas pursuing them. Elektra is in bad shape and losing a lot of blood. Matt says they need to get her to a hospital but Stick says only he can save her.
They elude the attacks by the ninjas and get back to Matt’s apartment. Apparently there was a toxin on the knife that cut Elektra and Stick is using baking soda and alcohol to form a remedy to stop the advance of the toxin.
It’s a pretty horrific scene as they administer the concoction into Elektra’s wound to slow the poison. But her heart rate steadies, and it appears to help her. Just before they give her the concoction, she whispers to Matt that if she dies, she’s sorry she didn’t tell him. But then she drifts off before she finishes her thought. That line has Jacob Schoeneberger scratching his head. What didn’t she tell him? The suspense is killing me!
As Elektra sleeps, Matt asks Stick if she’ll recover. Stick has yet another bombshell for us as he says, “I’ve known her to pull through worse. Ellie’s a real fighter; always has been.” Seems Stick knows Elektra. But for now, he isn’t telling Matt anything.
The next day Matt is, of course, late to the trial for Castle yet again. Pretty sure Karen and Foggy are going to totally lose their minds on him. Foggy says it may be his fault because in their argument the previous day he told Matt to just stay home. But we know that isn’t the real reason Matt isn’t at the trial.
In the courtroom, Castle’s former commanding officer takes the stand as a character witness. The colonel recounts a story about a mission in which Castle won the Navy Cross. Frank cleared out a landing zone single-handedly in order to save the men under his command. When Foggy asks the colonel to describe Castle, he says, “I would say Frank Castle is a man who would gladly give his life to keep others safe.” Then Foggy asks him if the man he knew could have committed the crimes The Punisher is accused of. The colonel says, “The Lieutenant Frank Castle that I know is a hero. A man who deserves our respect and our gratitude. Not the same man.” That’s a great testimony and it reminds us of who Castle really is.
When Reyes attempts to question the colonel, she assumes he wasn’t actually in the battle he described so he couldn’t know the details of what Frank had done. Unfortunately for her he was there and he was the officer who had made a mistake that Castle bailed him out of and saved his life among others. The line of questioning backfires on her and helps Frank’s cause. This little twist brought a huge smile to Jacob Schoeneberger’s face. It’s best not to question the heroism of those who served their country.
Back in the apartment, Elektra has stabilized and is resting, but Matt has had about enough of Stick not telling him what’s going on. Finally, Stick recounts the story of the larger war he’s been a part of (and now Matt and Elektra have entered into as well).
Stick recounts a story about how hundreds of years ago, one of the warlords who ruled the land stumbled across the secret to immortality, a way to bring the dead back to life. Now free from the fear of death, these warlords paint the land red in blood killing everyone who stands in their way. They grow in size, power, and wealth and spread across Asia over the centuries and finally call themselves The Hand. The Hand collects weapons and the weapon they really want is called the Black Sky, exactly what Stick made sure they didn’t get back in the first season. No one knows what exactly the Black Sky does because they’ve never actually activated one.
But Stick says The Hand made one mistake. They created an enemy. They slaughtered a village but one kid stood against them and fought back. They call this child The Chaste. The Chaste gathered warriors to fight against The Hand with him without mercy.
Matt doesn’t believe his story and calls it a fairy tale that Stick invented to make himself The Chaste, an important figure in a fictional saga. But Stick says, “Believe it or don’t. The fact remains that the city you’re sworn to protect is ground zero in a war it doesn’t even know is happening. That hole is just the start.” Matt, still disbelieving, asks if Stick has pulled Elektra into his thinking. Stick replies, “Welcome to the world, kid. Elektra works for me.” You’ll have to excuse Jake Schoeneberger while he picks his jaw up off the floor. This show is a masterclass on how to pull off great plot twists.
Back in Castle’s trial, a medical expert is describing the bullet wound Frank took to his brain and the damage it did to his psyche. The damage has created extreme emotional disturbances but includes a reasonable explanation about the disturbances from his point of view. It’s another strong defense for Castle, but out of nowhere a member of the audience at the trial bursts out during the testimony. He says that Castle killed his dad and causes a scene. While the judge orders the outburst to be stricken from the record, it’s a stark reminder of what killing people, even supposedly evil people, leaves behind. A trail of broken human beings that will further perpetuate the cycle of pain.
After court is adjourned for the day, Karen is talking to Frank and tells him he needs to take the stand. Frank resists saying they won’t win the case, but Karen says they could get the charges reduced. Then Karen pulls one of her patented, big-hearted moves. She says, “All of them, they all think that you’re a monster. But I know that you’re not. You’re not.” She’s fighting with everything she has to help him. It’s why you can’t help but admire Karen as a character.
Outside the courtroom, Karen tells Foggy that Frank has agreed to take the stand. Foggy says they’ll do it on the condition that Matt is the one to question him. She resists but Foggy insists Matt is just the right person to do the job. So Karen agrees to try to convince Matt to do it.
Once Elektra has regained consciousness, Matt asks her a heartbreaking question. He asks, “When we met, was it fate, was it luck, or was I a mission?” Hurts to hear him have to ask this because though things went badly in their relationship, we truly believed there was love between them and we know Elektra was Matt’s first deep love. She answers that it was a mission for her, and now we know why she said what she did before the poison made her lose consciousness. That must cut Matt deeply, even old Jacob Schoeneberger is feeling a pain in his heart for him right now.
She explains that Stick believed Elektra could get Matt’s attention and get him back to Stick’s mission. Matt says he was right, but she counters that he was wrong because she did the one thing she promised Stick she wouldn’t do: she fell in love with Matt. She also confirms Stick’s story of The Hand and The Chaste.
Matt then pours his heart out to Elektra and asks her to leave Stick’s mission and join him, by his side, fighting their mission, their way. The key to that mission is no killing. Elektra responds to this saying, “Why are you so good? There’s a light inside you. I tried to snuff it out in college. I am so lucky I failed.” This statement is in direct contrast to what she said to him back when she tried to have him kill the man who killed his father. Back then she spoke of his “glorious darkness” and how it drew him to her. That’s the absolute beauty of Matt, he has both light and darkness inside him, like most of us. But we love Matt because he chooses to follow the light and let that guide him even though the darkness is there.
After this lovely revelation, a hard twist takes place. Karen arrives at Matt’s place and finds Matt there with Elektra in his bed. She’s clearly hurt and she tells him curtly that Castle will be taking the stand the next day and Foggy could use his help. Then she abruptly leaves. It’s heartbreaking to see Karen have to endure that.
In the courtroom the next day, Karen won’t talk to Matt and Foggy lights into him. Foggy says, “Let’s be clear. You’re not here because you’re a better lawyer or person; you’re here because you’re almost as crazy as Frank Castle and that’s it. I called you here to be useful for a change.” That puts Matt in his place and Foggy has every right to be blunt with him. Though we know Matt has responsibilities as Daredevil, he also has responsibilities to Foggy and Karen and he let those slip just as we all feared he would.
Matt calls Frank to the stand and he’s led in by police. Just as he takes the stand, one of the cops leans in to him and says, “Think about what you want, Frank.” Matt hears this and is puzzled. As he questions Frank, Matt realizes Frank is stonewalling him and it’s obvious he suspects it’s because of what the police must have told him. So Matt asks permission from the judge to treat the witness as hostile and begins a speech all his own. He says that though they’ve heard testimony from Frank’s commanding officer and a medical expert about who Frank is, Matt wants to weigh in on who Frank is.
Matt says Frank is the kind of person the city needs. He says the cops can’t do it alone and that New York needs heroes and the hope that they provide. It’s a bold statement and it earns applause from the crowd, but it’s a risky legal move. He’s not letting Frank describe himself. Matt says Frank needs help because he can’t differentiate right from wrong; he’s a good man who was trying to help but took it too far. We know he’s right but will this really help Frank’s case? This was more like a closing statement than a chance to allow Frank to tell his side.
After Matt speaks, Frank asks the judge if he can speak. He then says he’s not crazy and that he would kill all those criminals again if given the chance. He says, “I know what I did. I know who I am. And I do not need your help.” He then ignites into a tirade about how he loved killing the criminals and as he’s dragged away from the stand he screams that he is The Punisher. It’s a gut-wrenching scene to watch.
After Frank is then found guilty, on the courthouse steps Foggy accuses Matt of provoking Frank and not following Foggy’s instructions. Foggy storms off and when he tries to explain, Karen tells Matt she doesn’t want to hear another BS excuse from him. She says she’s done with their relationship, but she twists the knife when she says, “You’re right, this city does need heroes. But you’re not one of them.” I can’t lie, Jake Schoeneberger shed a tear hearing that.
Matt has put Karen and Foggy through so much pain, but we know he really is trying to be a hero for the city. He’s just failing in his attempts to balance Daredevil’s responsibilities and Matt Murdock’s. He hasn’t defined who he really is and Karen and Foggy got caught in the middle.
Back at Matt’s apartment, Elektra tells Stick she doesn’t want to be with him anymore, she wants to be with Matt. Stick says Matt is soft and he’s made her soft. He also says she can’t change who she is, but she says Matt believes in her. She tells Stick on no uncertain terms to leave, but he asks, “What do you think he’ll say when he finds out what you are, what you’ve always been? You haven’t told him yet, have you?” Elektra is hiding something huge from Matt and the tension is thick.
As Stick is leaving, he says to his driver, “Enough of these amateurs, time to get the band back together. Head to the wall.” What does that mean? Another mystery hangs in the air! This show is exceptional about layering cool and intriguing storylines.
Matt arrives home and finds Stick gone and Elektra in his bed. She says, “I want to be with you, the only person in this world who believes I’m good.” This is a powerful statement. No matter what lies in people’s pasts, it’s always possible for them to choose good going forward. We know Matt believes this because he said that to The Punisher on the rooftop after their fight.
After Matt leaves Elektra to rest in his room, a Hand ninja shoots him in the back with an arrow. They’re so stealthy Matt can’t hear them coming. Matt fights the ninja but he’s hampered by the arrow in his back. Elektra tries to help but her injury impedes her as well.
Finally Matt is able to defeat the ninja but the ninja doesn’t answer when Matt asks who sent him. He tears the ninja’s mask off and realizes he’s very young. The poison in the arrow starts to take effect on Matt. Then out of nowhere Elektra slits the ninja’s throat. She says to Matt, “This is who I am, do you still want me?” But before he can answer the poison causes Matt to lose consciousness.
As Frank is being led to prison, the same cop from the courtroom leads him away. The cop takes him to an outside area where someone must be waiting to speak with him. Jacob Schoeneberger has the wheels turning in his head about who Castle is about to meet and I’m praying I’m right. The prisoner Castle was led to is lifting weights and sure enough when he sits up we find it’s Wilson Fisk. Gotta love this moment! He says to Castle, “I see you got my message.” Now we know who got to Frank during the trial.
The Jake Schoeneberger Random Entertainment Thought of the Day
This show is fantastic. The plotlines are gripping, the action is exceptional and exciting, and the acting performances are phenomenal. This show embodies everything Jake Schoeneberger loves about Marvel, about good dramatic writing, and about great acting.
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