This episode had plenty of the action we’ve come to expect. Halfway through the series, the rhythm of this show is apparent. We have (relatively) calmer episodes that build up to a series of foreshocks leading to a climax, then back again. It makes me wonder what I can expect from the final episode of this season – and if my heart is ready for it. I’m thrilled we’ll have more Daredevil next year.

We see a headline that reads, “The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen,” and Foggy, adorable as ever, declares that he wants to punch the masked man. Everyone’s still blaming the chaos on Daredevil. Foggy tells Matt that he’s worried about Karen and suspects she’s hiding something. He’s quite the perceptive one. Matt appears distracted, and somewhat apathetic. How much longer will he be able to live these two lives? Also, is he getting any sleep?

Daredevil surprises Leland, an accountant who works for Fisk, in a parking garage. As they scuffle, Daredevil is distracted by a noise. We then have a flashback to an orphanage. A nun is asking a man for help, telling him that Matt is in pain. The man is blind, and through a conversation on a park bench, we learn even more about Matt’s keen senses. The old man tells Matt these are “gifts,” and we see how his tremendous hearing and smell supply him with an immense amount of information about others around him.

The man is Stick. He trained Matt to use his gifts, and also how to fight. He’s been gone for twenty years, something Matt obviously resents. Stick claims he’s in New York to save him and Hell’s Kitchen. He attempts to continue his training with Matt, telling him to cut all ties to the people close to him in order to protect them. Stick also does this sweet bottle cap popping trick that I’d like to learn. I wouldn’t mind if he taught me how to crush bones too.

Karen and Urich continue to meet and work to put the pieces together. Urich knows that the Japanese mafia and the Russians and Union Allied are all connected, he just doesn’t know how. The recent events are all connected, but there are still too many missing parts for Ben to run with a story. He continues to warn Karen, specifically about Daredevil this time. He tells her to run if she sees the man in the mask.

Karen’s risking a lot with her involvement in all of this, but she wants justice, and I don’t think anything’s going to stand in her way. I love her determination. She proves once more that she can put up a fight, and she’s about as stubborn as me when it comes to asking for help from others. Foggy steps in at a most opportune time, and she has little choice but to let him lend a hand. Following this, it’s clear she has absolute trust in Foggy. I’m glad she has someone to confide in.

Back to Daredevil and Stick’s reunion. Daredevil may be violent as hell, but he has yet to kill anyone. Stick, on the other hand, is a proponent of killing, telling Daredevil to “kill or be killed,” which is reminiscent of Vladimir’s earlier advice. Is all this leading to Daredevil becoming a killing machine, or further emphasizing how he goes against the grain and maintains a no-kill policy?

Stick and Daredevil team up at the docks. They’re awaiting the arrival of the “Black Sky.” We see a shipping container open and, inside of it, a small child. This entire scenario baffles me, and if I go into any more detail, this will no longer be spoiler-free. Anyway, neither Daredevil nor Stick approve of how the other handled the situation. A smackdown ensues, with Stick proving that age is nothing but a number, though Daredevil does retaliate. Ah, family reunions.

The action between the two is both unbelievable and unbelievably awesome. Through a series of flashbacks, we see how a young Matt Murdock bonded with his mentor, which is what led to Stick’s two-decade absence. A line that burned was Stick telling Daredevil, “I needed a soldier, you wanted a father.” I mean, ouch. Their walk down memory lane ends with Daredevil telling Stick to get out of his city.

Stick then meets with a mysterious man, someone who knows Matt Murdock. We’re left to wonder, who is this guy? What’s he planning? How does Fisk play into all of this? Between the flashbacks and introduction of “the war” Stick refers to, episode seven is setting us up for bigger things to come.

Watch along with me! Daredevil is streaming now on Netflix.

Side note: I was curious why each time the Daredevil title sequence comes on, I think of Hannibal. So I finally went and watched Hannibal’s today (man, it’s been too long!). I clearly see why I was reminded of the show, all that red drippiness. Who else is waiting in anticipation for June 4th?