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Daredevil Recap And Review – S01E09 – Speak Of The Devil

By Steve Lam

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Daredevil juxtaposes somber moments with scenes of high-octane violence for its ninth episode, Speak of the Devil.  Starting off in an unknown time and place, we see Daredevil being brutally beaten in a fight to the death.  The episode goes on to show Matt’s daytime legal life and his moral dilemma of bringing down Fisk by way of killing him.

I found this episode to be gripping, just like the others.  With strong character development, real emotions, and one of the most bad-ass fight scenes you’ll ever see, Speak of the Devil keeps the tradition of excellent storytelling at full power — which is pretty much the mainstay of Daredevil as an overall series.

A Daring Recap

Unknown Place and Time: Daredevil faces off with  a red ninja.  The red ninja seems to have a skill level that is a bit more superior to our hero.  Nonetheless, Daredevil tries to hold his own, but is still hit with some brutal strikes.

The Present: Matt takes up Father Lantom on his offer of coffee.  In the church, the two discuss their beliefs in the Devil.  Lantom first clarifies his definition of the Devil and eventually settles on a memory of when he was in Rwanda.  There, he saw a local warlord dismember a holy man and his family right in front of a village.  Lantom tells Matt that he saw the Devil that day.

At Nelson and Murdock, Ben arrives to express his frustration at not being able to find any dirt on Fisk.  Matt enters and meets Ben for the first time.  Ben reveals that Daredevil visited him and gave him information on Fisk’s illegal activities.  Going through various potential leads, the team sees all of them as dead ends.  Matt suggests looking into Confederated Global Investments and how it links to Fisk.  Foggy wonders why Daredevil doesn’t just take Fisk out.  Ben thinks that Daredevil is reluctant to go down the road of murder.

Fisk and Wesley discuss about finding Detective Hoffman and Daredevil, who hasn’t been appearing as often.  Nobu enters and is angered that he hasn’t received the city block he was promised.  Fisk expresses the difficulties he’s having in securing what Nobu wants.  Nobu suggests paying Fisk for what he needs to get the job done, but Fisk has another idea in mind.  He would like Nobu to take care of a mutual enemy of theirs — Daredevil.  Nobu thinks Daredevil will be hard to track, but Fisk knows that an emotional trigger may make their enemy come to them.

Elena arrives at Nelson and Murdock to tell the team that Fisk has doubled his offer to have the tenants vacate the premises.  Foggy and Karen tell Elena to not take the offer because they will fight it.  Elena believes that she can change enough of her neighbors minds to make a stand.  Matt, after doing his research, discovers that Fisk is close to a woman — Vanessa.  He leaves to visit her.

Matt enters the art gallery under the guise that he’s purchasing a piece to impress women.  Vanessa welcomes him and takes him on a tour.  When she asks him about his tastes, Matt flatters her and asks what the taste of her significant other is in a bid to learn more about Fisk.  At that moment, Fisk enters and is introduced to Matt.  The two speak and Fisk attempts to sell Matt on his vision for Hell’s Kitchen.

Matt arrives at the church to speak with Father Lantom.  He tells him about the visit to the art gallery and meeting Fisk.  From their interaction, it seems that Lantom is aware that Matt is Daredevil.  Lantom urges Matt to consider the cost of his soul if her were to kill Fisk.  He believes that Matt wasn’t looking for a reason to kill Fisk, but looking for a reason not to.

At the office, the team reaches another dead end with their investigation.  Karen suddenly receives a call notifying them of Elena’s murder.

The three visit the morgue to identify Elena’s body.  They learn that Elena was stabbed multiple times by a junkie who was trying to steal her purse.

Unknown Place and Time: Daredevil fights the red ninja who’s now using a kyoketsu-shoge.  Daredevil is slashed multiple times and critically wounded.  The red ninja reveals himself to be Nobu.  He hooks the kyoketsu-shoge into Daredevil and brutally drags him.

Back to the Present: At a bar, Foggy recollects to Matt and Karen about the initial actions in Elena’s case.  Matt believes that Elena was targeted by Fisk because she refused to leave.  On television, Fisk has a press conference pretending to show sympathy for Elena’s death.

Matt goes home and ponders at a green trunk.  Opening the trunk, the first layer contains mementos of his father.  Matt removes the shelf and retrieves his black Daredevil uniform from the bottom.

Daredevil spends the night beating multiple criminals in a bid to find answers.  He finally finds two junkies holed up in an apartment.  Beating one of them, Daredevil learns that the junkie was anonymously taken to a pier and given instructions to rob and kill Elena.  Daredevil ends his questioning by scaring the junkie into turning himself in.

Daredevil arrives in a building at the pier and finds blueprints of multiple city blocks.  Sensing something, Daredevil is greeted by Nobu as the red ninja.  Nobu admits that this was a trap to lure Daredevil to this location.  After a few more verbal exchanges, Daredevil draws his batons, and the two fight.

At the bar, Foggy blames himself for Elena’s death.  As Karen comforts him, Foggy feels that their mission to catch Fisk is a futile effort.

At the pier, the fight has now come to the point where Daredevil is being dragged via the kyoketsu-shoge.  Daredevil regains his footing and kicks Nobu against a wall, breaking containers filled with fuel.  As Nobu swings his kyoketsu-shoge, Daredevil deflects it into a lamp.  The sparks ignite the fuel and set Nobu on fire, killing him.  Fisk appears with Wesley and another bodyguard.  He admits to using Elena’s death as a way to bait Daredevil to this location.  Fisk willingly challenges Daredevil to a fight and is met with several punches and hits that have no effect.  Fisk then beats Daredevil with monstrous brutality, throwing him into a table.  When Wesley is about to shoot him, Daredevil is able to deflect Wesley’s gun with a metal pipe.  With just enough time, Daredevil runs and jumps through a window, landing in the water.  Fisk commands his men to find Daredevil and shoot him on site.

Foggy, drunk, arrives at Matt’s apartment.  Hearing a loud ruckus, a concerned Foggy finds an alternate entrance.  He’s soon greeted by a stumbling Daredevil.  As Daredevil falls to the ground and loses consciousness, Foggy removes his mask to reveal Matt.

Moments That Blind You with Awesomeness

  • Daredevil’s fight with Nobu.  Excellent acrobatics and fighting moves!
  • When Matt, Foggy, and Karen visited the morgue to identify Elena, the emotion in that scene really came through.
  • Daredevil’s fight with Fisk.  Fisk is one monster of a man!

Final Thoughts

Speak of the Devil is a comparison piece on what two men are willing to do for what they believe in.  Fisk has already made the decision of how far he’ll go, and there’s no stopping him.  Matt/Daredevil ponders what he’ll become if he crosses the line.  He’s afraid of where his dedication to justice will take him.

In most shows, character conversations are usually quite boring, but not for Daredevil.  I found his conversations with Father Lantom to be quite mesmerizing.  It was a great way to externalize Matt’s conflicts and difficulties in taking down Fisk.  Basically, it’s Matt’s frustrations in fighting with both hands tied behind his back.

Foggy and Karen again deliver in spades.  Foggy’s heartbreaking reaction to Elena’s death was very genuine and well-played.  These are probably the best supporting characters any show can ask for.

Since this is the ninth episode, the writers have ingeniously timed Matt’s lowest point to occur here.  Just like a three-act screenplay where the lowest point occurs right after the second act, this ninth episode is right at that sweet spot, given that this 13-episode series is basically a 13-hour movie.

I’m going to tell you now: I’m going to be extremely sad when I finish watching the thirteenth episode of what is probably the most compelling live-action incarnation of a comic book since The Dark Knight (2012).

Next: Check out our previous recap of Episode 8 - Shadows in the Glass

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