- Murdock makes a near fatal error while trying to save a kidnapped boy, and finds an unlikely ally when he needs saving himself.
- Note: Italicized text denotes flashbacks.
In the dumpster outside an apartment building, a young man named Santino finds Matt beaten to within an inch of his life. He fetches Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), a nurse who lives in the building, and together they carry Matt up to Claire's apartment so she can tend to his wounds. Matt comes to long enough to stop Claire from calling an ambulance, claiming his attackers will kill innocent people in order to get to him.
A young pre-accident Matt watches his father fight on TV, and despite being the favorite, Battlin' Jack is TKO'd by his opponent. Matt waits up for his father and helps patch up his wounds, even having his first drink of whiskey to keep his hands steady while he works. Jack produces an envelope full of cash to cover the rent, but when Matt asks where it came from, he simply says "sometimes, even when you get knocked down you can still win."
At Nelson & Murdock, Foggy and Karen are working late to get the office organized, with Karen trying and failing to hide her amusement at Foggy's terrible singing. Foggy wonders why Karen is staying at the office rather than having a life, and when she reluctantly admits that she doesn't want to return to her apartment, Foggy suggests they go out drinking instead, and they call Matt to see if he wants to join them.
Matt wakes up in the hospital after his accident, and promptly freaks over about the fact that he is both blind and all of his other senses are going into overload, but Jack is there to help him. Simultaneously, in the present day, Matt wakes, he avoids questions about who he is and how he ended up in the dumpster. Claire christens him "Mike" and explains that she's patched a stab wound, but there are still broken ribs and a concussion that need tending to. Minutes later, one of the broken ribs collapses a lung, but Claire is able to help him. When pressed for answers, Matt explains that while tracking the boy that the Russians kidnapped, he walked into a trap and barely escaped with his life. As they talk, Matt's senses tip him off to a Russian searching the building.
Matt is learning braille at Fogwell's Gym while Jack trains. They converse about his ability to learn the alphabet so easily. The bonding is interrupted when two gangsters, Silke (Peter Gerety) and Roscoe Sweeney (Kevin Nagle), show up. They tell Jack that he'll get a chance to fight Carl "the Crusher" Creel. But there's a catch: Jack must have his ass go down in the fifth round. Jack initially turns the fight down, but Roscoe reminds him that he's got a blind son to take care of, an obvious death threat, and eventually Jack agrees to throw the fight.
The Russian comes to Claire's door claiming to be "Detective Foster" of the 55th Precinct. He sees through her lies and leaves to inform his superiors, but Matt knocks him out with a fire extinguisher.
Foggy and Karen wind up at Josie's, a Hell's Kitchen bar where the customers look a lot meaner than they really are. After some good-natured banter, Karen admits that between Daniel Fisher's bloodstains and memories of almost being murdered, she can't return to her apartment, and fears for her life wherever she is. Foggy resolves to stay up all night with her. As they walk home, they're within a few blocks of Claire's building, where Matt has tied up the Russian, Semyon, and prepares to interrogate him, though Claire is still skeptical about the whole situation. When asked why she helped Matt, Claire admits that during her shifts in the ER, she's heard stories about a vigilante in a black mask who's been running around Hell's Kitchen saving people from gangs and violence, and while she wants to believe Matt is a force for good, his treatment of "Foster" suggests otherwise.
Matt's braille reading is coming along, and Jack has new gear for his fight against Creel, including a red robe inscribed with "Battlin' Jack Murdock." Matt's comments about how Murdocks "always get back up" inspire Jack to contact his bookie. He asks the bookie to change the bet he made on the fight to a knockout win instead of a loss, and he orders that as soon as the fight's over, all the winnings should be placed in a trust for Matt. After, Jack calls his wife and leaves her a voicemail message, asking her to take care of Matt if something happens to him.
In the present, Foggy and Karen's drunken night continues, including a stop at Matt's apartment to try and drag him along, and Karen wholeheartedly thanks Foggy for his efforts.
On Claire's rooftop, Semyon wakes and is interrogated. Claire's disapproval evaporates when he admits the Russians only kidnapped the boy to lure out the masked vigilante. When Matt dangles him off the edge of the roof supposedly because he "enjoys it" Semyon cracks and gives the boy's location, but Matt drops him off the rooftop anyway ... right into the dumpster. Claire freaks about this, but after a quick listen, Matt ensures her that Semyon is still alive, albeit heavily injured. After encouraging Claire to leave her apartment for a while in case the Russians come for her, and finding out how to get in touch in case he needs medical help in the future, Matt sets off.
Jack gives his all in the fight against Creel and, with Matt listening on the TV at their apartment, wins by knockout. Afterwards, Jack hurriedly tries to escape the boxing arena, pausing only to listen as the crowd cheers his name, but later Matt hears a gunshot with his super-senses and races to a nearby alley, cordoned off by the cops, in which lies Jack's body, shot in the head.
Matt finds the Russian hideout and, despite his injuries, defeats all ten of the Russian gangsters present in a protracted fight. Barely able to stand, he takes off his mask before freeing the boy and carrying him out.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content