3 Episodes in and there's no slowing down for Daredevil season 2. From what I've heard, episode 3 is a high point for this season and I can't disagree so far but I hope the quality continues as 'New York's Finest may very well be the best episode in the series to date. Punisher continues to be a force to be reckoned with and easily the best character this show has had. This episode took the complicated dynamic between Daredevil and Punisher to the next level.
After the cliffhanger from the last episode, we found Daredevil chained up to a poll on a rooftop by Punisher himself, and that's where he stayed for nearly the entire length of the episode. What followed was incredible writing to perfectly exemplify the psyches of Murdock and Castle. Their morals are as different as Batman and Superman so I loved seeing that come to the forefront this week. It's quite often the quieter episodes that further the plot along rather than the high octane action set piece episodes.
The best part about this episode though was the fact that we got an equal amount of both. I was just as intrigued in the conversations Castle and Murdock had on the rooftop as I was invested in the long take fight sequence down the stairwells at the end. I don't know yet if I like it better than the long take fight scene in "Cut Man" last season, but it's just as impressive.
Foggy stepped his game up again as he calmed down a hospital fight between two gang members. By the way, that is quite the hospital full of injured victims. Rosario Dawson reprised her role as Claire Temple. I'm sure this wasn't the only time she will be on this season, but there wasn't really any need for her to be in the episode except to fill time, so it kind of took away from the conflict on the rooftop. I almost wish the entire episode took place up there as even Karen didn't get a whole lot to do in the episode as she further investigated Punisher's whereabouts.
In all, this was probably the best episode of the series to date. The morals of Castle and Murdock came to a head this week and it ended with Grotto's death. The final long take fight was just as incredible as the dialogue between the two characters on the roof. This is great filmmaking at its finest.
+Morals clash
+Incredible end fight
+Nothing was held back
+A third fight between Punisher and Daredevil
+Direction and writing
-Claire and Foggy's side story wasn't as captivating
9.5/10
