CAST
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock
- Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page
- Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson
- Toby Leonard Moore as James Wesley
- Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley
- Vincent D’Onofrio as Unknown Character (voice only)
- Peter McRobbie as Priest
- Daryl Edwards as Detective Hoffman
- Chris Tardio as Detective Blake
- John Patrick Hayden as Jack Murdock
- Skylar Gaertner as Young Matt Murdock
- Nikolai Nikolaeff as Vladimir
- Gideon Emery as Anatoly
- Peter Shinkoda as Nobu
- Wai Ching Ho as Madame Gao
- Rob Morgan as Turk Barrett
- Royce Johnson as Brett Mahoney
- J. Tucker Smith as Clyde Farnum
- Tonya Glanz as Susan Harris
- Elise Kibler as Tracy Farnum
- Erick Abbate as Kidnapped Boy
- Richie Allan as Elderly Man
- Raul Dedos as NYPD Officer
- Craig Henningsen as Mr. Rance
- Ilan Krigsfield as Gun Dealer
- Dennis Lauricella as NYPD Officer
- Roberto Lopez as Russian Driver
Writing Credits
- Stan Lee (based on the Marvel comics)
- Bill Everett (based on the Marvel comics)
- Drew Goddard (creator and writer)
- Luke Kalteux (story editor)
- Christos N. Gage (staff writer)
- Ruth Fletcher (staff writer)
The above information was gotten from this IMDb link.
EPISODE ONE (INTO THE RING)
Hell’s Kitchen, New York.
Sign of trouble. Cars are parked everywhere. People assembling to check what just happened. Screams and noises from vehicles are heard. A certain man moves around in the midst of all this, clearly looking for something or someone. He rushes through the crowd. This man's name is Jack Murdock.
Jack: Move..please. Matty. Get out of my way! Get out of my way!
Responder: Don’t move. Help is coming, kid.
Jack: That’s my boy. That’s my boy. Matty! Matty!
Kid: Dad.
Jack: Don't move, okay? No no no! Just don’t move. Somebody get us some help!
Kid: Dad, what happened?
Jack: Matty, it's gonna be alright. Just don’t move. Don’t move, okay?
Kid: What happened?
Jack turns around to get a glimpse of what actually happened. He sees a man being pulled out of a wrecked car, implying that an accident took place, then he notices some tanks on the floor. An elderly man gets his attention.
Elderly man: Your boy..He pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.
Kid: Oh, Dad! Oh, it burns!
Jack is still trying to understand what happened asides the car accident and this old man saying his injured kid on the floor saved his life. It is in this moment that Jack notices a chemical being spilled to the floor from one of the tanks, and then he pieced it together. His son had saved an old man by pushing him out of the way of a truck moving with those tanks. In the process, an accident occurred and the chemicals in the tanks had spilled to his son’s eyes.
Jack: Oh, Jesus! Close your eyes, Matty.
Kid: Dad!
Jack: Close your eyes.
Kid: Dad! Dad!
Jack: Close your eyes.
Jack’s son still manages to open his eyes out of confusion of what his dad is trying to do and the fear of the accident that just occurred. Little did he know that this would be the last time he would see. Utter darkness set into his sense of vision.
Kid: I can’t see. I can’t see. I can’t see!
Jack hugs his son, trying to encourage him in the midst of this chaos. His nine-year old boy has just lost his sight.
Kid: I can’t see! I CAN’T SEE!
This kid’s name is Matthew Michael Murdock (Matt Murdock for short).
20 years later. The Church (Confession Time)
Matt: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been too long since my last confession. My dad, he used to come back to this Church back when I was a kid. He was a fighter. Old school. Boxer. Lost more than he won. Had a 24-31 record before he…But he could take a punch. Jesus, he could take a punch.
Priest: Language.
Matt: Sorry, Father. Yeah, guys he went up against used to say it was like hitting oak. And nights when he was outmatched, my dad’s strategy was to let em hit him till they broke their hands. He never got knocked out, my dad. Knocked down, sure. But he always got back up. He was always on his feet when he lost. Every now and then, he’d get hit and...something inside of him would snap. My grandmother, she was the real Catholic. Fear of God ran deep, you’d have liked her. She used to say “Be careful of the Murdock boys. They got the devil in em.” And you’d see it sometimes in the ring. His eyes would go dead and he’d start walking forward real slow, hands at his sides, like he wasn’t afraid of anything. And the other guy, he’d see that look, and he’d try to get away from him…Nah. My dad, he’d catch him and trap him in the corner. Let the devil out. Now, I didn’t understand it, you know? What he was feeling deep inside, I didn’t understand it. Not back then.
Priest: But you understand it now? Perhaps this would be easier if you tell me what you’ve done.
Matt (puts on his glasses): I’m not seeking penance for what I have done, Father. I’m asking forgiveness for what I’m about to do.
Priest: That’s now how this works. What exactly are you going to do?
The Docks (Evening)
Girl: Help! Help! Help me!
Three girls are being forced into a large container by two guys, clearly ruffians. Another one, the third guy (Turk Barrett), speaks up…
Turk: Hey! Hey! Man, shut up. I’m getting a $1000 a head for y’all. So, you be quiet, I’ll let you have a bucket (raises a bucket). You don’t..(turns on a taser)
The girls scream the more at the sight of electricity sparkling on top of the taser. Turk drops the bucket and uses the taser on one of them, and all the girls are pushed into the large container. The fourth ruffian is seated, enjoying a burger, not acting interested in what his partners are doing.
Girl: No. Please, no!
Turk: Scream all you want. Come on, let me hear you scream. Scream loud. Nobody gives a shit down here (laughs)
Behind Turk is a figure perched on top of one of the large containers in the docks. This figure is in the shape of a man, dressed in a black outfit and a black eyeless mask, watching closely. The girls see this figure and are terrified, so they scream, causing Turk to look at what’s behind him. The “man in black” instantly jumps down and gives Turk a knockout punch. Turk lands on the floor and passes out. Seconds later, the two ruffians, confused as to who this man is and not even caring to know, rush towards him with the intent to fight. The man in black easily dispatches the first ruffian like the wind would blow something away, and then focuses on the second ruffian. The girls in the container keep watching, though still terrified but with some relief that their kidnappers are being punished. The second ruffian has barely landed a punch on the man in black as the latter has demonstrated an extensive set of combat moves, from fast punches to blocks to a change of direction by swinging his opponent’s arm. He easily takes down the second ruffian, though the fight is far from over.
The first ruffian rises up in anger and lands two punches on the man in black, holding his neck; who then responds by hitting him with his two hands and loosening the ruffian’s hold on his neck. The ruffian manages to push the man in black to the floor, but the latter quickly rises up, delivers a kick to his opponent and hits a joint in his knee which makes him exclaim in pain. Turk wakes up from his sleep, cocks his gun and points it at the man in black. First shot! The man in black dodges it by quickly moving to his left as though he knew exactly where Turk was going to shoot. Turk keeps shooting but this man manages to evade all the shots by moving as fast as he can. He also picks up Turk’s taser on the floor and stays out of Turk’s sight. Turk rises up, confused as to who this person would be (some nut in a mask trying to be a hero perhaps), he moves to the direction where the man went, both hands on his gun, pointed forward. He suddenly turns backwards and shoots as he heard sound of movement behind him. Still nothing, he keeps moving in the new direction right in the middle of several large containers until he suddenly gets hit by his taser which causes him to fall to the ground. The man in black had thrown the taser in such a skillful manner that it bounced off a large container and landed on Turk’s face. The fourth ruffian (the one seated and enjoying a burger) who has not made a single move since the fight started because he is blind is also hit with the taser, causing him to fall into the river as he was seated on the edge. The man in black, having beaten the ruffians, moves towards the container to talk to the girls.
Man in black: Head towards 48th. Stay in the lights. Flag down the first officer you see.
The girls are so scared and quite confused as to what exactly just happened that none of them makes a move until the man in black shouts ‘Now!’ at them and hits the container. They quickly rush out of the container, realizing he has actually helped them and they leave the docks. Turk wakes up again, trying to shoot the mystery man. But he quickly moves in such a flipping manner to dodge the gunshot like he had anticipated it. He grabs Turk and begins to land punches on him. One! Two! Three! Four! Five! The punches keep coming and coming as though they wouldn’t stop…This man, the ‘man in black’ is Daredevil and his story is just beginning.
Next Morning (Matt’s Apartment)
“Foggy, Foggy, Foggy..” keeps sounding from the phone of Matt Murdock who is still asleep, his own way of knowing who is calling him as he is blind to see it. He wakes up and picks the call.
Matt: Hello.
Foggy: Good morning, sunshine.
Matt: What time is it?
Foggy: Half past get the hell up. Let’s go. We gotta meet the real estate agent in 45.
Foggy is Matt Murdock’s best friend and law partner who is calling him for a meeting they have to secure an office and to start their careers as defense attorneys. Foggy is already dressed up, in a suit and tie, walking in the streets while making the phone call. Matt on the other hand is just waking up and goes all ‘ughhh’
Foggy: What was that? Was that a moan? Do you have somebody in bed with you? The paralegal? Is it the para over at…never mind, I don’t wanna hear about it. No, I do wanna hear about it! What was she like?
Matt (jokingly): Violent.
Foggy: I gotta get the blind thing going. It’s so unfair. Oh, hey! Real estate agent, not your type. Very homely. Might be genetic. No need to be charming (shrugs his shoulders). And she kinda told me she thinks blind people are “God’s mistake”.
Matt: That’s a horrible thing to say, Foggy.
Foggy: I know! In this day and age? All right, shake it. I gotta go bribe a cop.
Matt: Ah, Foggy.
Foggy: Kidding, NSA, if you’re listening. But seriously, yeah, I gotta go bribe a cop (hangs up the call).
A cop moves up some stairs and changes the look on his face once he sees Foggy who in turn waves at him with a smile.
Cop: Officer of the law. Defense attorney. We’re supposed to be enemies.
Foggy: First off, we’ve been enemies since we were four, Brett; so let’s not blame it on career choices. Secondly, I’m not a particularly good defense attorney, so helping me is like helping yourself. And finally, these are for Bess (hands over a package to him).
Brett (collects the package and opens it): Please stop giving my mum cigars, Foggy.
Foggy: What? She’ll outlive us all. Look, I’m not asking you to do anything immoral. Just give me a heads up if something, you know, interesting walks through the door.
Brett (scoffs): You’re right. It ain’t the careers (walks off).
Foggy: Thanks, buddy!
At the proposed law office for Matt and Foggy
The real estate agent is showing Foggy the place when Matt walks in, wearing his glasses and dressed in a suit and tie.
Real estate agent (talking to Foggy): You’ve got a reception area, a conference room and two offices. Corner suite has a view of the Hudson. You can flip a coin with your partner for it.
Matt: Uh, he can have the view.
The agent turns around and immediately learns that Matt is blind.
Real estate agent: I'm so sorry. I didn’t mean to…
Matt (smiles): Of course not.
Real estate agent: Susan Harris. Midtown Property Solutions (offers to shake him)
Matt: Matt Murdock.
Susan withdraws her handshake as she remembers he cannot see her.
Foggy: She just curtsied. It was adorable.
Matt: Well, it’s nice to know chivalry isn’t dead. Susan, would you mind walking me around the space?
Susan: Of course. My pleasure (offers her hand to him as a guide while Foggy smirks, shaking his head). As I was telling your associate, this office was barely touched by the incident, which is why it’s on the market already. The neighbours weren’t so lucky.
Matt: “The incident”? Is that what we’re calling it now?
Susan: Well, it sounds so much better than “death and destruction raining from the sky, nearly wiping Hell’s kitchen from the map."
Matt: Shorter too.
Foggy: Owner figuring in the delightful view of cranes and scaffolding. Feels like we’re getting pre-incident prices.
Susan: They’re a quarter of what they used to be. Hell’s Kitchen is on the rebound, Mr Nelson, and in 18 months, you won’t be able to rent a broom closet at this price point.
Matt: We’ll take it.
Foggy (scoffs): We will talk about it. Because we’re not sure we can afford even this palace, unless we make some changes to our current clientele policies.
Matt: My partner and I are having some disagreements over the direction of Nelson and Murdock. I believe we’re here to defend the innocent.
Foggy: And I believe the innocent includes everyone not yet convicted of a crime. You know, as the law states (smirking at Matt).
Matt: He tends to use fancy terminology.
Susan is just smiling in the midst of these.
Foggy: And my partner fails to recognize that, as defense attorneys, we’re never gonna be able to keep the lights on, waiting for a horde of innocent souls to stumble into our loving arms.
Matt (laughs): At this point, I’d settle for just one.
Unknown Location
Blood everywhere. On the floor, on a knife in a woman’s hand, a little on her face and most of it on a dead man not far from the woman. Instantly, two cops barge in with their guns pointed forward.
Cop: Drop the knife.
Woman: No, no. I didn’t..
Cop: Drop it!
Woman (drops knife and raises her hands): I didn’t do this. I didn’t…I didn’t do this.
Cop: Get on the ground.
Woman (crying): I didn’t do this!
Cop: Now!
Woman (lies down): Oh, God! No, I didn’t do this. Oh God! I didn’t do this.
The woman is handcuffed by one of the two cops. She takes a look at the dead body of the man, still crying and confused as to what happened.
Woman: Oh no. I didn’t do this!
Nelson and Murdock (Law Office of Matt and Foggy)
The two latest defense attorneys in town are getting settled in their office when Foggy receives a call.
Foggy (smiles): Hey, buddy
Brett: Homicide. Female suspect found at the scene. Definitely qualifies as “interesting”.
Foggy: She’s been charged yet?
Brett: Assistant DA (District Attorney) hasn’t made the call yet.
Foggy: Do you have a name on the suspect?
Brett: Yeah. Page. Karen Page.
Holding Cell at the Police Department
Karen Page (the woman arrested earlier) is seated, with cuffs on her right hand. She places her left hand on her head and immediately turns when two detectives along with Matt and Foggy walk in.
Foggy: Okay. Can we please take the handcuffs off the 110-pound woman?
Detective: Miss Page, can you tell me who these men are?
Matt: We’re her lawyers. Uncuff our client and give us the room, please.
The detective gives Matt a stern look and then removes the cuffs from Karen’s hand.
Matt: Thank you, detective.
The detectives leave.
Matt: Miss Page, my name is Matt Murdock. This is my associate, Foggy Nelson. Do you mind if we sit down?
Karen is silent.
Foggy: She gave a vague shrug. I say we go with it.
Matt and Foggy sit down.
Matt: We understand you’re in some trouble. We may be able to help.
Foggy: Can you tell us what happened?
Karen remains silent, looking at them weirdly.
Foggy: Why don’t we start with what we know, then? (opens a jotter) You were found in your apartment with one Daniel Fisher.
Matt: Who appears to be the victim of a homicide. And currently, you’re the only suspect, Miss Page.
Karen finally speaks.
Karen: Who the hell are you guys?
Matt: I’m Matt. He’s Foggy.
Karen: Who sent you?
Matt: No one sent us.
Karen: So, what? You’re just a couple of Good Samaritans? Today’s just my lucky day?
Foggy: I bribed the desk sergeant with a box of cigars for his mum.
Matt: Our practice is relatively young, Miss Page, and we are aggressively pursuing new clientele; (in a lower voice to Foggy)..you gotta stop giving Bess cigars.
Foggy (replies in a lower voice): She likes to smoke, Matt. It’s a free country.
Karen: So how long have you been practicing law?
Matt: What time is it?
Foggy: It’s 12:22am.
Matt: About seven hours.
Karen is surprised.
Foggy (to Matt): Well, if you go from when we passed the bar…
Matt: I was going from when we got our own desks.
Foggy: Oh, then, yeah; (to Karen)..seven hours.
Karen (still surprised): You’ve never done this before?
Matt: If you were to hire us, then yes, you would be our first client.
Foggy: Technically. Yeah.
Karen: Well, I don’t have any money.
Foggy (stands up): Well, it was lovely to meet you, Miss Page.
Matt: You don’t have any money and we don’t have any clients. Maybe we can help each other. Tell me, how did you know Mr Fisher?
Karen: We worked together.
Matt beckons to Foggy to sit down and start writing.
Foggy: And your place of employment?
Karen: Union Allied Construction. I’m a secretary. Daniel worked downstairs in Legal. I didn’t know him very well. But he was always nice, you know? But it’s hard to meet people in the city, so I asked him if he would have a drink with me.
Matt: You asked him?
Karen (with a shaky voice): Like I said, he was a nice guy; (with a normal voice)..we met at the Three Roads bar, on 49th Street. We had a few drinks, and the next thing that I remember is waking up on the floor of my apartment covered in blood. His blood.
Foggy looks down in doubt.
Karen: No, I’m not stupid. I know how that sounds; (starts crying)..but I am telling you, we met at the bar. We had a few drinks. And I don’t know what happened after that. It wasn’t me. Please. Please, you have to believe me. I didn’t kill him.
Matt subtly listens to her steady heartbeat…
Matt: I believe you, Miss Page.
Public Park
Clyde Farnum is enjoying a snack and sipping a drink, taking a break from work. A man dressed in a sharp suit and tie, wearing a nice piece of glasses, steadily walks towards Clyde and sits beside him.
Clyde (looks at him sternly): There’s plenty of room over there. Do you mind?
Man (not minding Clyde’s words): Twenty-eight thousand, nine hundred and fifty-seven.
Clyde: Tell Rigoletto he’ll get his money.
Man: Mr. Rigoletto has retired. His books have been acquired by my employer.
Clyde: Ah. Well, you tell him the same thing (stands up).
Man (smiles): I’d like to show you something. Do you have a moment?
Clyde sits down and sees his daughter in a live video feed from the man’s tablet. His look suddenly changes from ‘arrogant’ to ‘scared’.
Man: What is it about college girls and Monet T-shirts? Open composition and the spontaneity reflecting this transformative time in their lives, perhaps? Or maybe they just like the color blue. Call her.
Clyde brings out his phone and calls his daughter (Tracy), who is studying with her friends in school. She checks her phone, smiles and picks the call.
Tracy: Hey, Dad. What’s up?
Clyde (watching her from the feed): Hi baby. I’m just checking in. You need anything?
Tracy: Uh, yeah, I actually have a ton of laundry. I was gonna swing by this weekend and use the machine. And then, maybe we could catch a movie after your shift.
Clyde: Yeah, yeah. That’d be great. Uh, look..Baby, I gotta go. I love you, baby.
Tracy: Love you too. Bye, Dad.
Clyde hangs up the call, still scared.
Man: Now, you see this man here? (points towards another man in the live feed who is seated, reading a book and not far from Tracy). If we’re being honest with each other, Mr. Farnum, I find his methods unpleasant. But such are the times we live in. Give us a wave, Mr. Rance.
Mr. Rance (from the live feed) turns towards them and waves his left hand. Clyde sees him and is more scared because Mr. Rance has been assigned to kill his daughter if he fails to meet their demands.
Clyde: I told you that I would get you the money.
Man: Such a small sum is of little interest to my employer. Your position, however, that’s something we can work with.
Clyde is silent for some seconds, he looks at his daughter again in the live feed as well as Mr. Rance and then makes a decision.
Clyde: What do you want me to do?
Nelson and Murdock (Law Office of Matt and Foggy)
Foggy is throwing a baseball and walking around…
Foggy: I’m friends with Gary Feinstein in the DA’s office. I’ll give him a call first thing in the morning, see where their heads are at. I’m guessing they’re gonna puff their chest but they have to know murder too is a risk. We end up at manslaughter, we get the right judge, maybe she’s out in five to ten…
Matt: We’re not taking a deal.
Foggy: No, this is why they have deals, Matt. So, the straightforward cases don’t waste everybody’s time.
Matt: I don’t think she did it.
Foggy: She’s the sole suspect, found at the scene, covered in blood, (grabs the mouthpiece of their voice recorder) with the murder weapon and no defensive wounds. If they offer anything, it’ll be a gift, and we will take that gift. We do not want this to go to trial.
Matt: They don’t want this to go to trial either. Why hasn’t she been charged yet?
Foggy: They have 24 hours. And it’s the weekend. They’re gonna take every last second to collect the evidence before they move.
Matt: They’ve got the evidence. You just laid it out yourself. This is a good arrest, Foggy. We should already be reading about this in the papers. There’s something not right about this case. I can feel it.
Foggy (smirks at Matt and stops walking around): You can feel it? All right, I’m just gonna say this once and we can move on. You don’t necessarily show the best judgment when beautiful women are involved, Matt.
Matt: How would I even know if she’s a beautiful woman?
Foggy: I don’t know. It’s kind of spooky, actually. But if there’s a stunning woman with questionable character in the room, Matt Murdock’s gonna find her and Foggy Nelson is gonna suffer.
Matt (laughs): All right, I don’t disagree with anything you’re saying.
Foggy: Thank you.
Matt: But I need you to back me, anyway.
Foggy (pumps his fists while holding the baseball for seconds): Mmm. All right. Fine. Let’s start with the obvious, then. If she didn’t do it, who did? We’re dead in the water if we don’t give them an alternative.
Matt: Agreed.
Foggy (resumes his walk-around while throwing the baseball): We need to take another run at our client; (stops and thinks for a while)..she may not be guilty, Matt, but that doesn’t mean Miss Page is telling the truth.
Holding Cell at the Police Department
Karen Page is asleep when a guard suddenly covers her mouth. Karen wakes up, trying to scream and she struggles with the guard. She gets up while seated on the bed, still struggling to be free from the hold of her ‘soon to be murderer’ but the guard takes the sheet on the bed, places it around her neck and pulls it from his end, trying to suffocate her. Karen still struggles with him, moving from left to right until she is steady because the guard has pulled the sheet around her neck with enough force that Karen’s life is being drained. This guard is Clyde Farnum, the man whose daughter was threatened earlier.
Clyde: I’m sorry. I’m…I’m sorry.
Karen immediately raises her right hand from behind and manages to stick her fingers in his eye. Clyde exclaims in pain. Karen also pushes him to the wall with her back; finally free of Clyde’s clutches of death, she coughs and screams for help!
The Next Morning (Police Department)
Matt and Foggy are speaking indistinctly when two detectives (Detective Hoffman and Detective Blake) walk in (the same detectives that allowed them to speak with Karen earlier). The four men take their seats, ready for a conversation.
Matt: I’m gonna make this easy, detectives. Get the ADA in here to release Miss Page and we’ll recommend to our charming, media-friendly client that she not plaster the airwaves with how she was nearly killed in your custody.
Foggy: And I’ll agree to not make cooing noises for the rest of this meeting when I think of the civil suit that we have on our hands.
Blake: How do you know they’re not charging her?
Matt: Besides the fact that you were required to do so four hours ago, if you were gonna do it at all?
Foggy: That’s an excellent question. Along with how the security cameras on Miss Page’s detention area went on the fritz right before the assault.
The two detectives look at Matt and Foggy sternly.
Matt: Yeah, we’d like to speak to Mr. Farnum about that, as well as what…
Hoffman: Get in line. He’ll be arraigned in the morning.
Matt: Get my client released. Don’t make me ask again.
Detective Hoffman leans towards his partner and says a few words in a low voice.
Blake: I’ll call the ADA; (to Matt)..but you take that tone with me again, I don’t care if you’re blind, I’ll kick the shit out of you.
Foggy: Really? We’re going there?
The detectives leave.
Foggy (scoffs): That was pleasant.
Matt: It doesn’t make any sense. ADA had everything they needed. Unless they had too much.
Foggy: What? What am I missing?
Matt: Maybe someone else was in her apartment that night. Maybe they have evidence.
Foggy: That’s Brady material. They’d have to turn that over.
Matt: Only if she were charged. She hangs herself in her cell, this all goes away.
Foggy (sighs): Let’s get her some clothes and get the hell out of here.
Evening. Nelson and Murdock (Law Office of Matt and Foggy)
Foggy (gives Karen a cup of tea): Couldn’t find any milk. I hope it’s okay.
Matt: We have tea now?
Foggy: I stole it from the financial office next door.
Matt (to Karen): How are you holding up?
Karen: Better. Thanks for getting me out.
Foggy: Don’t thank us yet. Just because they released you doesn’t mean they won’t eventually bring charges.
Matt: Which means it’s crucial you don’t speak to anyone other than the two of us about what happened.
Karen: I don’t have anyone to talk to, anyway.
Matt: Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?
Karen: My apartment’s not far.
Foggy: You can’t go back there.
Matt: Miss Page, our immediate priority is to keep you safe. And in order to do that, we’re gonna need to have a frank discussion.
Karen (nods in agreement): Okay.
Matt: Do you know who’s trying to kill you?
Karen (looks down): No.
Matt: Do you know why they’re trying to kill you?
Karen looks up and stays paused for some seconds.
Karen: Yes.
Matt, Foggy and Karen head to the conference room for a more formal discussion.
Karen: I, uh, work…worked in the financial department at Union Allied. They’re overseeing the bulk of the government contracts for the West Side reconstruction.
Foggy: I’ve seen their signs all over Hell’s Kitchen.
Karen: The last two years have transformed the business. There are new owners, new grants, new contracts.
Matt: Yeah, the world watched half of New York get destroyed. That’s a lot of sympathy.
Karen: And Union Allied benefited from every dollar of it. I was the secretary for the Chief Accountant. And one of my jobs was to coordinate the pension claims for the company. About a week ago, I was emailed a file called “Pension Master”. It must have been meant for my boss, but I made the mistake of opening it.
Matt: I’m guessing it wasn’t the pension fund.
Karen (shakes her head): It wasn’t the size of the pension fund. I couldn’t believe the numbers. But it was still being designated as company pension. And it was constantly adjusted. Money coming in and money going out.
Foggy: Going where?
Karen: I don’t know. It was coded routing numbers, but we’re talking a lot of money.
Matt: What did you do with the file?
Karen: Well, I told my boss, Mr. McClintock about it, and he laughed it off. He said that it was a theoretical model that they were screwing around with. I knew something was wrong. I just...I thought it was just him, you know? Embezzling or whatever?
Matt: So, how did Daniel Fisher figure into this?
Karen: Danny worked in the legal department. And I didn’t know him very well. But he was nice, so I asked him to meet me after work. I don’t know how they knew. They must have people watching me. They must have people everywhere. All I did was ask him for a drink. And I start to tell him about what I found and things got blurry. Like I was drugged. And the next thing I know, I wake up…back in my apartment, covered in blood. They killed him…because of me; (crying)..and he had a family, a little boy; (gets up)..I need to get out of here, I’m sorry.
Foggy (gets up): We can’t advice that, Miss Page.
Karen: No, you don’t understand. Either you’re with them or you’re not. And if you’re with them, then I’m dead already. And if you’re not, then I cannot have anybody else die because of me (still crying).
Matt: We can protect ourselves, Miss Page.
Karen: No, you can’t. Not from them.
Foggy: Miss Page…
Karen: No.
Foggy: We can’t let you go home.
Karen: Please, just…
Karen covers her face with her hands while Foggy hugs her.
Matt: She can stay with me. Just for tonight, until we figure something out. I’ll keep you safe, Karen.
Matt’s apartment
Matt: I don’t have much in the way of food, but there’s a Thai place on the corner. If we order now, it should get here by the time I make up the bedroom for you.
Karen: It’s a little dark in here.
Matt: I never…Uh, light switch is on the wall to your left.
Karen switches on the light.
Matt: So, uh, want some food?
Karen: Uh, no, I’m not…Would you have a shirt I could borrow, maybe? This one’s a little wet, and I’m a Hellions fan.
Matt: Then don’t tell Foggy. Let me grab something for you.
Karen: And really, I can’t put you out of your bedroom. I’ll be just fine on the couch.
Matt: From what I understand about my living room, that might not be true.
Karen spots a nice view from Matt’s window; she moves closer to look at it.
Karen: Holy shit!
Matt: Went up a year ago. I’m told the co-op nearly rioted, some oversight from the developer’s agreement. Upside is, nobody wanted it, and I got a corner apartment at a hell of a discount (hands a shirt to her)
Karen: Thanks…Can I ask a personal question?
Matt: I haven’t always been blind.
Karen: I guess that’s what everyone wants to know.
Matt: That or, “how do you comb your hair?”
Karen: How do you comb your hair?
Matt (smiles): Honestly, you hope for the best (gives her a cup of water).
Karen: Thank you.
Matt: You wanna sit?
Karen (nods and sits down): Yeah. How did it happen?
Matt (sits down as well): Car accident. When I was nine.
Karen: Must have been rough.
Matt: No. I made it through.
Karen: Do you remember what it was like…to see?
Matt: Yes, I remember.
Karen: I can’t imagine what that must be like.
Matt: You know, I’m supposed to say I don’t miss it; (takes off his glasses)..that’s what they teach you in trauma recovery. Define yourself by what you have, value the differences, make no apologies for what you lack. And it’s all true, for the most part…but it doesn’t change the fact that I, I’d give anything to see the sky one more time. Do you mind if I ask you some questions now?
Karen nods and then notices Matt is silent.
Karen: Uh…Go ahead.
Matt (smiles): You just nodded, right?
Karen (smiles): Uh, yeah.
Matt: Okay. Here’s what I don’t understand; (gets up)..I’m the man in charge of the pension funds and I find out one of my secretaries has discovered my illicit activity. To make matters worse, she’s now telling people about said activity. Which, obviously, I can’t have. So, I decide to take action. But why don’t I kill you?
Karen: They tried.
Matt: Yeah, the second time. In the jail. But the first time, they left you alive. Why? What were they trying to do? Frame you? Now, the second time, maybe that’s a change of plan; (sits down)..something doesn’t go their way, something sloppy at the crime scene. Two lawyers show up out of the blue before their people can get to you. So, they figure, okay, maybe Karen hangs herself in her cell, and this thing gets swept under the rug. But the first time…the first time, they’re not trying to kill you. They’re trying to discredit you. They’re trying to scare you. And the only reason that they would do that…is if you have something that they want. So, I’ve been trying to think about what that could be, and the only thing I’ve come up with…is the Union Allied pension file.
At this point, Karen is completely silent, just looking at Matt as he’s piecing all the facts together. Her heartbeat (which Matt listens to) is beating faster than normal and isn’t steady and then here comes the question…
Matt: Did you keep the file, Karen?
Karen: No. As soon as I asked my boss about it, he took it away from me. The IT guys, they came and they wiped the computers; (her heartbeat still unsteady)…Believe me, a part of me wishes I’d made a copy for myself, but I guess I’m just not that smart.
Matt (smiles): Ah, well, it was just a thought.
Union Allied Construction
Five people (four men, two of which are brothers and an old Chinese woman) are in one of the top floors of the building, waiting for someone. One of the men, namely, Leland Owlsley speaks up.
Leland: It’s freezing this high up. Next time, we’re meeting at Per Se. I’ll domesticate you boys yet (referring to the brothers - Vladimir and Anatoly).
Vladimir: This would be a balmy day in Samara, Leland.
Leland: Yes, it’s perfect Chechnyans-kidnap-a-preschool weather, Vladimir; (turns and notices the fourth man, Nobu, who seems unfazed by the cold weather)..Can you at least pretend to be cold? It’s unsettling.
The old woman, Madame Gao, laughs and speaks in Chinese. Leland looks at her in ignorance and smiles weirdly.
Leland: Anyone here speak Chinese?
No response…
Leland: Nobu?
Anatoly: The man is Japanese.
Leland: I know. I know. I just thought that…Forget it.
Nobu turns around at the sound of an elevator reaching its position, a man steps out and walks calmly towards the five people who had been waiting for him.
Leland: Oh, please tell me he’s right behind you.
Man: Unfortunately, my employer is attending to other matters.
This man’s name is James Wesley, usually referred to as ‘Wesley’. He was the same person who threatened Clyde Farnum’s daughter earlier and who asked Clyde to kill Karen.
Wesley: He apologizes to you in particular, Madame Gao.
Madame Gao nods in agreement while Anatoly and Vladimir are displeased.
Vladimir (to Wesley): We do not deal with lap dogs. Tell Mister…
Wesley (gives Vladimir a grim look): We don’t say his name.
Anatoly: Woof, woof.
Vladimir and Anatoly walk off.
Wesley: He would like to know why you’re short on the cargo totals.
Vladimir and Anatoly stop walking.
Vladimir: There was a problem on the docks.
Anatoly: Barrett and our men were attacked. Some moodak in a black mask.
Leland (scoffs): And you bought that?
Vladimir (in Russian): What? (he and Anatoly walks towards Leland in anger)
Leland: Okay, calm down. Fine, we’ll go with the man-in-black story.
Vladimir: Our men would not lie.
Leland: I said I’m on board. I’m glad to hear there’s some new blood running around out there. Heroes and their consequences are why we have our current opportunities (raises his hands up and smiles). Now, can we review the latest numbers and…
Wesley: Tell me more about this man.
Anatoly: Took Barrett and our guys out while they were loading the container.
Madame Gao speaks in Chinese and turns to Wesley, beckoning him to translate.
Wesley (smiles): She wants to know if this man stole the shipment for himself.
Vladimir: No. He let the women go.
Wesley: He took out your men. How?
Vladimir: Caught them by surprise. Beat them. With his bare hands (demonstrates by showing them his hands).
Wesley: Four men with his bare hands?
Anatoly: That is what we were told.
Wesley: Perhaps you should have been there yourself.
Leland: Again, I have to ask, why do we care? Every time one of these guys punches someone through a building, our margins go up 3%. We should be celebrating.
Wesley: This is different. My employer will be…displeased we’re being inconvenienced by a lone vigilante.
Vladimir: Then he should tell me to my face.
Wesley: This is on you. Deal with it, quietly.
Anatoly (smirks): We must be quiet, yes. We would not want another Union Allied situation, would we? Big, loud, lot of questions.
Nobu and Madame Gao turn towards Wesley for a response.
Wesley: We’re handling it.
Vladimir: Like you keep saying you’re handling Prohaszka?
Wesley: We’re in the process of negotiating with Mr. Prohaszka.
Anatoly: Negotiating? Maybe we handle our problem same way. Sit down with this man in black, break bread.
Leland: I think what Anatoly is trying to say is that it would be in our best interests for Union Allied to be tidied up as expeditiously as possible.
Wesley: As I said…we’re handling it.
Same evening. Matt’s apartment.
Karen sneaks out of Matt’s apartment while Matt is asleep on the couch, although he wakes up after she leaves. It’s raining, so Karen wore a hoodie before leaving. She heads towards her own apartment. Karen gently walks in and stops when she sees the blood of Daniel Fisher on the floor. She moves towards another direction as if to say “no time for regrets now, just get what you came here for and leave”. She goes to the bathroom, uses the toilet as a stool to climb on and then picks a flash drive she had hid in a corner of the ceiling. She walks out in relief, ready to leave, when a man suddenly attacks her from behind. This man is “Mr Rance” (the person who was in the live feed Wesley used to threaten Clyde and who was ordered to kill Clyde’s daughter if Clyde didn’t follow Wesley’s instructions). He pushes her to the wall, making the flash drive drop to the floor, he picks it, keeps it in his pocket and then brings out a knife, moving closer to Karen with only one intent.
Unexpectedly, someone opens the door and rushes towards Rance who notices this and instantly turns around, flinging his knife as a first attack towards this person. Rance’s opponent on the other hand doesn’t seem fazed, he rather grabs Rance and slams him on a wooden table which breaks into pieces. It’s the man in black, dressed in his black outfit and the black eyeless mask. Immediately, Rance uses the knife again to attack the man in black, who dodges it as well as some knee strikes. The man in black switches the fight in his own context from defensive to offensive by punching Rance severally while dodging his knife attacks. Rance proves to be a different kind of fighter compared to the four ruffians taken out by the man in black at the docks when he manages to cut the man in black's arm, who responds with his wave of punches. Rance improvises with a kick, still using his beloved knife, to which the man in black counters to by using his knees and evading the movements of the knife. Karen watches in surprise as the two men are now on the floor, still fighting. They get up and the man in black instantly pushes his opponent to the wall, dodging another knife attack and using his opponent as a support while moving quickly on the window and the wall in a 180-degree fashion to grab Rance from behind. Rance struggles with his hold and the struggle leads to both of them falling out from the window, landing on obstacles on the way down to the nearby surroundings in the rain.
Flashback
A young Matt Murdock is asleep on the table when his father (Jack Murdock) walks in.
Jack (wakes him up): Hey. Let’s go, finish up.
Matt: I’m tired, Dad.
Jack (grabs some ice from the fridge): Hey, I don’t want you to end up like your old man; (places the ice to his injured right eye)..I never studied. Look where it got me.
Jack drops the ice, picks up his son’s left hand and places it on his face.
Matt moves closer by placing both hands on his Dad’s face. Blood drips to the table from Jack's injured face.
Jack: Come on, Matty. Get to work.
Present Day
The man in black slowly rises up from the floor and hears his opponent (Rance), walking down the stairs, coming towards him in anger. He launches a knee strike to which the man in black responds to by hitting his knee, pushing him aside and landing three quick punches to his face. Rance turns and grabs the man in black, slamming him to the floor, holding his neck fiercely. The man in black hits Rance’s two hands and pushes him off. The two men quickly get on their knees and continue to fight in the rain; this time, Rance is successful in the wave of punches, he also kicks his opponent and grabs his beloved knife. Both of them are on their feet now, tired from the fall but still fighting; the man in black dodges Rance’s attacks and punches him, one at a time (with his right hand and then his left hand). Rance keeps trying to attack with the knife and this time, the man in black flips to another direction like a ninja. Rance directs the knife again with his right hand towards his opponent who responds by pushing it away from him, the knife falls and Rance quickly grabs it with his left hand before it hits the floor, trying to slice his opponent’s stomach open; which the man in black responds to by quickly adjusting his body position as though he knew of the instant switch. The man in black also bends down to dodge a third attack and then grabs Rance by his left hand and pulls him towards the opposite direction, landing Rance on the floor and successfully breaking his wrist. The two men get up, with Rance now holding the knife in his right hand as his left wrist is broken. The man in black hears the salient clash of a chain on a metal structure beside him and quickly uses it when Rance launches the latest attack with his knife. He ties the chain around Rance; delivering punches, knee strikes and one final kick with his right leg that knocks Rance out. Karen is outside, looking at the man in black in confusion as he rises up to pick the flash drive in Rance’s pocket.
Karen: Who…What the hell?
Man in black: I’ll get this into the right hands.
Karen: No, you can’t. You can’t take it to the police. You can’t trust anyone.
Man in black: Then we tell everyone.
The man in black takes the knocked out Rance and drops him at the steps of the New York Bulletin (one of the media outlets in the city), with an envelope where ‘EDITOR’ is clearly written.
Next Morning
Wesley, in a moving car, looks at the New York Bulletin headline tagged as “UNION ALLIED CORRUPTION SCANDAL”.
Wesley: DNA evidence will put Rance at the murder scene. B and E gone sideways; his records altered in support. Mr. Farnum’s bail has been arranged for through the usual channels. Leland’s to cover our exposure on the financials and McClintock (Karen’s former boss) takes the fall for Union Allied.
Wesley is having a phone call with someone else, giving him a report of the latest events.
Man (over the phone): We can’t have McClintock speaking to the authorities.
Wesley: Pills. He overdosed less than an hour ago. The remaining concerns will be attended to shortly.
Man: Rance was a professional. How was he subdued?
Wesley: I’m looking into it. What about the girl (referring to Karen)? Should I make the appropriate arrangements for her, along with the others?
Man: No. Everything she knows is already in the papers. Her lawyers, Nelson and Murdock?
Wesley: Ambulance chasers. They’re clean.
Man: Start a file. They may be of use.
Wesley: Understood.
Nelson and Murdock (Law office of Matt and Foggy)
Karen (bringing a dish): Here you go. So, I know it’s not much in the way of repayment. But it is my grandmother’s recipe and she made me promise only to serve it to my future husband.
Matt and Foggy smile.
Karen: You know, it’s like, filled with virtue or something.
Matt: I thought I detected a whiff of virtue in there.
Foggy: Not that I’m complaining, but you really should be thanking the nut in the mask.
Karen: He’s not a nut. I mean, he’s a little weird, maybe…
Matt: We’re just glad you’re okay.
Foggy: Hear, hear!
Karen (serving Matt and Foggy): Well, if it weren’t for you two, I’d still be in that cell.
Matt: Hmm. Job’s easy when your client’s innocent. All you did was tell the truth.
Karen: Yeah, but you listened.
Foggy (jokingly): Oh, and don’t get us wrong, we’re still gonna bill you. Just as soon as we figure out how to make bills.
Matt laughs…
Karen: I did notice that you could use some help around here. And I owe you. Maybe I could clean the place up a bit.
Matt: Is this place messy?
Foggy: Our firm is very prestigious and discerning, Miss Page. Do you have any prior experience hiding electric cords up in ceiling tiles? (laughs)
Karen (smiles): Uh, no, but…I’ll work for free.
Matt: Yeah, you’re hired.
Foggy: You just got hired!
They all laugh while enjoying Karen’s grandma’s recipe.
Fogwell’s Gym (A training location for boxers)
Matt walks in with a bag and pays an attendant.
Matt (to the attendant): You can leave the lights off.
Matt drops his walking stick and his bag and takes off his glasses. He wraps some white sheets around his hands and begins to hit a punching bag. He keeps hitting the bag repeatedly, doing some training in boxing, like his Dad.
In different locations
Leland Owlsley, a financial manager smiles as he transfers different funds from one account to another.
Tracy (Clyde’s daughter) is about to do her laundry like she told her Dad she would. She suddenly drops her laundry and screams when she sees her Dad in his guard uniform, dead from a gunshot, blood splattered on the wall and the gun in his hand.
Rance on the other hand has been hanged in his holding cell.
Madame Gao (the old Chinese woman) moves around, watching several blind people make different forms of crack as well as stamping a mysterious label on it.
Nobu (the Japanese man Leland kept teasing in the meeting) reveals the geographical layout of Hell’s Kitchen, New York with a specific portion marked on paper to his associates.
Turk Barrett (one of the ruffians taken out by the man in black at the docks) is checking out some guns from other criminals. He has a bandage on his nose, from the beating he got from the man in black. He looks at one of the guns, cocks it and smiles.
Anatoly comes out of a van and moves towards another car, he opens it and drags the man outside. He and two other Russian criminals beat the man up as his son watches from the car. The son looks up to see Vladimir who smiles, opens the side door of the car and grabs the boy.
Boy: Ahh! Daddy! Daddy!
Man: No! Please, that’s my son.
Boy: No! Daddy!
Anatoly, Vladimir and the Russian criminals get into the van and drive off, leaving the beaten father of the boy they just kidnapped on the road.
On a roof
The man in black stands with his mask not fully covering his eyes, listening to various things (conversations between people, noise from traffic etc). Then he hears the words “Daddy! Help!”. He covers his eyes with his mask and moves out into the night.
End of episode.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it?
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I need to watch this again😭
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