Week 66: Regrets Only, Semper Fidelis

Regrets Only: Here's another season-padding episode that sets up other episodes to come without accomplishing much on its own. Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios's heist of the (not) Yakuza building is the centerpiece of the episode and it's fun, though one wonders how Stan Gibson went undiscovered for so long when Matt left him right in the middle of the men's room floor. It's nice to see Brett Mahoney climbing the ranks, except that patrol officers do not become detectives; they're totally unrelated career tracks that require different training. (That would be like a hospital suddenly promoting a nurse to be a doctor.) Frank Castle suddenly reneging on his plea agreement and screwing Foggy Nelson is a classic Frank Castle asshole move; at least the show managed not to make a "no good deed goes unpunished" joke. Karen Page's connection with Castle was handled very well by two actors who have worked hard to layer their performances, and yet another reminder that Karen is the true hero of this series. I find it very hard to believe that Foggy would not insist on knowing who Matt's wealthy client is. (7/10)

Semper Fidelis: This is a frustrating episode because I just don't buy the sequence of events. I don't believe that Matt would torture an informant, nor that he would fall in love with Elektra again, nor that he would suddenly become unprofessional on such an important day for his law firm, nor that he would take these hints about the Yakuza channeling funds into some undefined project as proof that something terribly wrong is going to happen to New York City if it's not stopped at all costs (talk about a leap!), nor that Matt would still not have told Foggy about Elektra and his side work until that moment in the men's room. The mile-deep hole at the end is clearly the most unrealistic element in the episode for a variety of logistical reasons, but as a symbol of the other problems, it's perfect. I liked some other parts of the episode, including Dr. Tepper's surprise reveal in court, Elektra and Matt discovering that the railyard was a trap, the character development generously afforded to an informant who only appears in a single scene, the voir dire montage and Bernie Goetz reference, and most of all, Karen and Matt realizing that they disagree about Castle philosophically and that it's bound to come between them; the show would do better to stick to material like that. (5/10)

I'm curious as to your thoughts on how Nelson & Murdock go about defending Castle, and how else they might have done it. To me, a layperson who has never studied law, it seems that PTSD is indeed the wrong defense, because Castle was not confused while on his assassination spree. If I were Nelson or Murdock, I'd try a two-tiered argument instead. First, I'd expose D.A. Reyes's misdeeds by presenting evidence of her lying, falsifying records, coercing false statements, and so on, in part because she's a corrupt politician who deserves exposure. Then, I'd argue—with *very* careful wording—that Castle's actions were good and morally justifiable, even though I personally don't believe that. From the voir dire montage, it seemed like some of the jurors were already inclined to see things Castle's way. The prosecution would try to argue that vigilante homicides are inherently wrong and unjustifiable, but they'd have lost the moral high ground after evidence of their corruption; could anyone really think that Samantha Reyes has standing to condemn Castle? Under the extremely difficult circumstances that prevent better options, I wonder if that defense would be enough to convince a jury or at least result in a hung jury. I have no idea if mistrials allow for a new plea to be entered, but getting Castle back into the original plea deal would clearly be best.

Regrets Only:
Scott, I see your point about patrol officers not becoming Detectives, but that's not to say that he couldn't have switched paths... but your point does stand that it wouldn't happen by a simple means of promotion in such a short timespan.

It was nice to see the history of Matt and Elektra, though. It puts some more context into their relationship and how she understands what he is capable of (and vice versa).

Semper Fidelis:
If this show were to continue into multiple seasons, will there be a "Foggy gets pissed because Matt kept a secret from him" in all of them? That's not to say that Foggy shouldn't be pissed at Matt's perceived betrayal, but damn... we did this last season already.

To you question about how to defend Castle -- I have no idea. But I think Karen will have a big part to play in it, particularly from your thought of arguing that Castle's actions are morally justifiable. I think they can still get around to that.

Or, Castle will just break out of prison and live on the run acting as a vigilante in his own spin-off series. Just a thought.

Good point about the retread of the Foggy-getting-pissed-about-a-secret plot from season 1. I hadn't thought of that! I haven't seen season 3, so I do wonder if it will repeat; it seems like Foggy's nature to be taken advantage of. If Matt demonstrated better judgment, Foggy might not have such strong objections to being asked to trust him.