Daredevil enters the end game with episode 11 “Reunion.” An all around strong episode, despite starting in a space common to some of my least favorite episodes. “Reunion” is held together by the the continued excellent work by director of photography Christopher LaVasseur that helps establish a visual language for one of the best scenes in the series.
1. In the Aftermath
Unsurprisingly “Reunion” follows the same basic structure of prior episodes and begins right in the aftermath of the previous one. This time, however, how that lack of space was represented cinematographically that reinforced the overall tension of the episode is the best Daredevil has done this season (maybe Marvel-Netflix in general.)
The episode begins with a nice tracking sequence of Sister Maggie, out for a stroll. Slowly as she approaches the church screams, wails, grunting, slowly begin to percolate the audio track until it boils over. How the sounds of the twin Daredevil fighting mix with the sudden onset of screaming from the crowd is some excellent sound mixing. This brief minute and change sequence ends with a pov cut showing DexDevil exiting the building. In the prior episode it was noted that they gave him a Halloween like sudden disappearance, he is banged up so he doesn’t quite have that Shape like gait, but the lighting and cinematography help give him that feel. That would’ve been a great final shot to cut out to the credits, the episode had been properly teased, and returning to the episode with the car scene between Nadeem and Dex.
That opening minute and change is “Reunion” in a nutshell in terms of tone and arc. There is a low hum of background noise, slowly growing louder and louder, threatening to, and eventually, disrupting the appearance of order and control on the situation. That is the arc Nadeem goes through by the end he can no longer be a party to the Kingpin. The formal qualities of the teaser are most directly grafted on to Dex, who finds himself wailing in a police van after failing his boss. It happens to Kingpin, in reverse the noise helps mask his evil but he is undone by the quiet persistence of old Jewish woman.
Christopher LaVasseur use of handheld cameras in this episode helps some of the cutting around the scene at the church feel more natural as well.
2. Kingpin Triumphant, Except at Art Collecting
An earlier episode “Revelations,” was a great representation of the Kingpin’s power. How he is freely able to move and maneuver people like pawns. That type of power, and its presentation, is contrasted with how he was represented in season 1. In “Reunion” that subtle display of power is given a more swaggering display as he gives the press conference speech from the trailers. LaVasseur shoots his walk from his tower at an extreme low angle, Vincent D’onofrio bulk is magnified even more, the slow-motion places him and his courtiers in rhythm with the series theme music. The low angles continue as he gives his speech, even when they cut to behind him his bulk continues to be emphasized. Even if the sudden dismissal of charges is a bit out of left field (it seems like the sort of c-plot thread they should’ve backgrounded verbally) in the context of the episode all it does is reinforce how much the Kingpin as won.
Appearance are deceiving, it’s part of Kingpin’s power set, because in the his next scene he is given his greatest setback.
All those basic presentation techniques that imply power and control are taken away from him and given to Esther Falb, played by the excellent Lesley Ann Warren. Part of the power of the Kingpin is his ability to infect and compromise those around him and he cannot do that to her. Esther Falb’s family was the original owners of Rabbit in a Snowstorm before it was taken away from them by the Nazis. That experience lets her see Kingpin for what he really is and she won’t play his game or be corrupted by him.
As they converse about the painting, what it means to them, Fisk despite being in the extreme foreground is out of focus. His body takes up a third of the screen but the focus places Falb in the position of power and appears to be the larger body. When the episode does cut to a close up on Fisk, with D’onofrio doing a fantastic job capturing the feeling of helplessness and confusion over why it isn’t working, there is the slightest bit of a high angle perspective which shrinks him and implies weakness.
Continued belowTheir conversation is a pretty standard shot-reverse-shot, but there is one long shot of them (the featured image of this post) at the start of their chat that illustrates the dynamics of what is to come. He is on the edge of his seat, desperate, the position of how people normally talk to him as they beg. Esther Falb meanwhile is laid back, relaxed, in the power position.
The scene between Fisk and Falb is one of the best in the series. Unlike the theatricality and seat of the pants planning of Matt and his Amazing Friends, it shows exactly how you deal with Fisk, you say “no.” If you want to read further on the scene I’d recommend “Wilson Fisk is a True Villain Because He is Incapable of Appreciating Art” by Emily Asher-Perrin. The headline is a bit bombastic, however, it gets at the broken narcissism at the core of the character.
3. Reunion
It only took them until a Dark Knight of the Soul sequence in the show, but we finally got our trio back together. It is an earned moment. Cox apparently sells Matt’s new found understanding about how much of an ass he has been to his friends. Karen got to work through her issues with Matt earlier in the episode. For Foggy things are much quicker but that’s Foggy. I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to pull it off but coming after the previous scene with Falb the episode more than earns it. Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, and Elden Henson, have a nice screen presence together and it’s nice to see them all back together.
Is their plan a little bit like that “Profit” meme from South Park? Yes, but that’s pretty much standard operating procedure for the Avocados at Law.
4. Foggy’s Brother and Fraud
Before getting a call to help bail them out of the situation, Foggy has to deal with how Kingpin has corrupted his family. Theo delivers a message from Mr. Fisk, an apology for daring to slander his good name. Theo tries to throw some of the blame for this mess on Foggy, his dream of class mobility and pissing off the countries greatest mob boss is what got them in this mess. Which to a degree is true, but that doesn’t change the fact Theo entered into that agreement knowing it was fraudulent. Giving into bad circumstances dose not absolve a person from poor action.
5. Loyalty is a One Way Street
This episode starts out looking like Kingpin has won it all, but slowly the cracks begin to appear and light starts to cut through. After being handed a major loss, Fisk resorts to his baser tendencies and violently murders the random dude next to him. The moment echoes that time he decapitated that dude with a car door in the first season. Only this time, we see it: the blood slowly soaking through the jacket, all the violence, the petulant, juvenile, rage. The scene with the car door was there to show him as having violent intent and ability, it made him fearsome and, kinda cool, as he wiped the blood off his face. All this scene does is reinforce how limited he is when things do not go his way. How loyalty is a one way street that goes to him and never comes back.
