Marvel’s Daredevil 313 – A New Napkin
Every rose has its thorn and it appears that Wilson Fisk has found his. Vanessa has plunged into her love’s world and the blood that stains his hands now cover hers. It can be debated which of the pair is the rose or the thorn, but it is undeniable that the perfectly groomed couple are two peas in a corrupt pod.
Frustrated by the justice system’s lack of effectiveness, Matt takes matters into his own hands. This renewed course of action worries Foggy and he warns D.A. Tower that someone is planning to murder Fisk. Unfazed by Foggy’s clarion call, Tower bristles at his suggestions to interfere, instead preferring to let street justice make an impact where the law couldn’t.
The Kingpin’s smear campaign paints Karen as a liar and the late Agent Nadeem as an unstable murderer. Foggy’s unyielding faith in the law and Matt’s virtue crashes up against Karen’s ire. She’s disillusioned and wonders if Matt’s quest for vengeance isn’t the correct way to deal with Fisk. They never come to a conclusion as Foggy’s world gets shaken when he’s called into the FBI offices. His fears soon subside when he discovers that he’s been summoned by Nadeem’s wife, Seema who has Ray’s video confession to share with him.
While Nadeem’s video goes viral, Matt engages in some psychological warfare on Agent Pointdexter. Using information in his late therapist’s audio tapes to rattle him, Matt exposes the true extent of the Kingpin’s manipulations, and ignites Pointdexter’s rage. The result is a three way brawl between the Kingpin, Pointdexter and Matt that is sure to bring a smile to any long time fan of the Daredevil comic books.
A New Napkin is a fitting conclusion to another satisfying season of Marvel’s Daredevil. It not only did justice to one of the Man Without Fear’s iconic storylines it also added a new layer of depth to its characters. The addition of Sister Maggie gives the series a new figure to provide Matt with an emotional anchor while allowing them to find redemption for their past failures. Perhaps the most intriguing shift is Vanessa Fisk’s turn as the Lady MacBeth of New York. It’s not often that you see a husband and wife team try to run an organized crime syndicate but her yin to Wilson Fisk’s yang has a lot of potential.
With another nod or two to the source material and an in-joke to another Marvel/Netflix series in the closing moments, Daredevil has once again established itself as the best of the Marvel series on Netflix. Now that Luke Cage and Iron Fist have left the fold one wonders how much longer Daredevil will remain on the streaming service. Either way the series is headed in the right direction and its return, wherever that may be, will be welcome.
