Daredevil Season 2, Episode 5 "Kinbaku" (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[TheFantasticJoe]

I may be misremembering the episode and confusing flashbacks with present day, so please correct me if I'm wrong on this:

I'm not too fond of the idea that Elektra's father was already dead by the time she met Matt, since her father's death is very closely tied to her origin. It would be like if the new Spider-Man reboot made it so Uncle Ben had died when Peter was too young to remember.

That being said, I'm not done with the season so I have no idea if her father comes into play at all.

 

[JOE]

Anyone notice the BMW across the street when Elektra is revving the Ferrari engine? Definitely newer than 06'. #WorstShowEver

 

[TeeKay]

Elektra is hot goddamn. Good episode. It set up episode 6 nicely.

 

[Ms. Marvel]

Sorry if this sounds like a silly question, I'm not exactly sure how all of matt's super senses work...but how does he notice elektra's attractiveness out of all the women in the room without his sight?

 

[TheVileOne]

Well he can sort of see things. He's not completely blind. When Foggy was giving him the finger, he understood what he was doing.

With the radar sense plus other senses he was probably able to paint a good mental picture.

Or maybe he's just like Riddick and he can "smell beautiful.'

 

[Lencho01]

I liked getting to see their history and why Matt acts like he hates Elektra.

Am I the only one that thinks the way they made Cox look younger in the opening scene was really convincing? Was great!

There was a word I was trying to figure out and couldn't in my notes. Turns out, that word was "shaved." I have to agree they do a very good job of making him look younger and it seems it is accomplished through fairly simple means.

 

[samsnee]

The flirting by way of boxing ring puts the Affleck/Garner flirting by way of playground fight scene to shame. Granted this whole series does, but this one especially so.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Sorry if this sounds like a silly question, I'm not exactly sure how all of matt's super senses work...but how does he notice elektra's attractiveness out of all the women in the room without his sight?

They go into it briefly in season 1. All of his other senses are heightened to such a degree that every point of data comes together to form a mental picture that he "sees". I'm sure there's a screenshot from that episode online that shows what he ''sees''.

 

[Mike Murdock]

It's not quite sensitive to see faces (generally as shown) but he can tell when it's turning heads in a room, so it gives him some idea of attractiveness.

 

[Web-Head]

Awesome episode, Elodie Yung is

There was a big error in continuity though.

Spoiler

It said 10 years ago, so Matt/Foggy would've been 18-19? Which is fine, but I remember their meeting in S1 happened in law school. I went back to S1 Nelson v Murdock to double check and when Foggy registered for classes, it said Fall 2010.

I didn't think 10 years seemed right.

 

[Spider-Who?]

It's not quite sensitive to see faces (generally as shown) but he can tell when it's turning heads in a room, so it gives him some idea of attractiveness.

In season 1 when they showed what his vision looked like, Claire's face was plenty clear.

 

[Smilodon]

I've always liked how this show did flashbacks. All those, "Get up, Matt" moments as well as the college flashbacks, so it was very cool to see the college days of Matt again.

The flirting in the boxing ring was so well done, the chemistry between Charlie and Elodie is palpable, and it's such a great contrast to other characters such as Karen and Frank.

I love Elektra as a character, prefer her to the Punisher. Don't know how her character will end up but I'd love to see an Elektra spinoff. Just give me more ninja movies!

 

[DrCosmic]

Sorry if this sounds like a silly question, I'm not exactly sure how all of matt's super senses work...but how does he notice elektra's attractiveness out of all the women in the room without his sight?

This is one of my favorite elements. I felt like he was attracted to the way she sounds. Her heart beat, the sound she makes when she drinks, the way she plays music on the glass. Those where the things the camera focused on, not her face or her body as a seeing person would, so I followed the camera to show me what Matt was focusing on.

Spoiler

Knowing that she could have done this purposefully, making beautiful sounds to attract a hyper sensitive blind man makes it all the crazier.

I actually don't like Elodie's Elektra all that much. The adrenaline junkie bit is a bit overplayed and simplistic to me. I felt there was room for more nuance, as someone said, with her father's death and so on.

 

[Sundancer]

They go into it briefly in season 1. All of his other senses are heightened to such a degree that every point of data comes together to form a mental picture that he "sees". I'm sure there's a screenshot from that episode online that shows what he ''sees''.

Ep. World on Fire


Where does the title of this episode come from?

 

[Dark Raven]

Elektra is hot but also seems a bit of a *****. I'm not sure I'd like someone like her in real life. There's a sort of coldness about her which comes with the assassin territory I guess.

She does seem a bit crazy. I never got that she was quite like this in the comics. She's definitely more villainous here whereas Garner's Elektra was essentially more heroic. Not that I liked Garner's portrayal.

 

[TheVision]

Pretty bored by this episode. Watching people flirt and "act erotic" always puts the brakes on the thrills in shows like these. Also, Elektra is very *****y.

 

[Dark Raven]

The way she speaks sounds very *****y and insincere. Every word that comes out of her mouth oozes that kind of vibe. I may not have radar sense, but the moment she were to open her mouth I would get a feeling she's bad news. Matt seemed somewhat blind to that though.

Also, apparently Kinbaku is some kind of Japanese rope bondage. Maybe the title is metaphorical, because it can't just refer to Roscoe Sweeney being tied up at the end.

 

[TheVision]

^^ Good catch! I didnt know that Kinbaku meant that.

 

[Dark Raven]

Maybe it refers to Matt being somehow entwined and entrapped by Elektra, even after all these years.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Yeesh, that knife to the cheese on the belly was overdoing it with their idea of fun.
I'm impressed at how Matt punched Sweeny, he was going real easy on him.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Wow... I am finding some of the reactions to Elektra here a bit perplexing. She was always a femme fatale badgirl in the comics. But... I do also get it a bit. If you are going to spend time with a character, like HOURS and HOURS, we tend to want to "like" them.

As for the episode itself:

Spoiler

I thought Yung impressed immediately as Elektra. Obviously that ring reveal of Matt's abilities was so much bettr than the 2003 film meeting, and just point out the mistake of casting Garner who evokes none of the exotic, mysterious vibe Elektra in my mind should have. As the episode wore on you could see that this is a woman with a terrible dark side. I can't particularly say she is all that sympathetic really, but then again, I've never had too much sympathy for Elektra in the comics, any version really. And this is the thing, here I still have no sympathy for her but I find the characterization already more interesting. In all honesty, Elektra as a comic character for myself was usually bland, a bit of a badgirl cipher. Here even though it's clear she's got a screw loose and probably always has, she's at least very entertaining and you get the strange attraction Matt has for sure.

Other things that struck me about the episode was the way they seem to be headed with Karen. I really love how proactive Page is in this season. As a person that knows the original character from the comics, this is great but also makes me uneasy. Those that know the history will get me. Although familiar with the Miller run I ask people with a better memory than I... Was Karen always from Vermont? Or was that a shout out to Miller himself, whom I believe was born in that state?

Now, onto the two things that felt awkward this episode, and they are minor in the grand scheme:

I liked how out of nowhere Elektra delivered Sweeney to Matt. Great swerve I did not see coming... But unfortunately the actor that plays Sweeney ain't nothing to right home about in the part. For this show that was just WAY too broad. It's like a minor character from a Raimi Spidey film suddenly showed up. Adding to that was the way Matt's beating on him looked. It looked pretty fake to me and the way Cox threw those punches just came off odd. Indeed a nitpick and a minor one at that but that doesn't change that I noticed them.

Great cliffhanger ending. Always nice to start a new DD episode with action.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I was initially disappointed when I realised Punisher wasn't in this episode, but I needn't have worried. Yung as Elektra made up for that and was awesome in the role, and sexy as hell.