"The Path of the Righteous" is the eleventh episode of Marvel's Daredevil.
Ben and Karen's investigation leads them closer to the secret of Fisk's past and draws unwanted attention. Matt questions his mission and seeks solace in the church.
Tropes:
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Karen strokes Matt's bruised cheek, then quickly backs off. Claire does the same before saying goodbye to him.
- After Action Patch Up: Although it leads to the usual flirting, there's no Relationship Upgrade with Claire deciding to leave instead.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!:
- Melvin Potter was coerced into working for Fisk under the threat that his friend Betsy would be harmed.
- Wesley tries the same on Karen after she proves to be Defiant to the End, threatening to kill Urich, Foggy, and Matt. She kills him instead.Karen Page: I'd rather die first!
James Wesley: But you won't be the first to die, Miss Page, no... No, I think Mr. Urich will have that honor, then we'll go to your place of employment to see to Mr. Nelson and Mr. Murdock; after that your friends, family, everyone you ever cared about, and when you have no tears left to shed, then ... then we'll come for you, Ms. Page.
- Ask a Stupid Question...:Matt Murdock: Do you know who I am? What I do?
Father Lantom: I'm not stupid, Matthew, I know what you do. How you do it... - The "Be Careful!" Speech: Matt to Karen after finding out she's been snooping around in Fisk's past. Karen replies that he might start following his own advice.
- Bedmate Reveal: A variation; Foggy wakes up in bed alone, then Marci enters the bedroom fully dressed because she's Not Staying for Breakfast.
- Bleed 'Em and Weep: Karen breaks down crying after repeatedly shooting Wesley with his own gun.
- Bulletproof Vest: Claire again suggests to Matt that he wear body armor. Having seen Fisk's lightweight body armor firsthand, Matt decides to find out who made it for him.
- Call-Back: As Wesley notes, they'd tried to bribe Karen into silence after the Union Allied fiasco.James Wesley: You know, funny story: after the Union Allied article, I inquired as to whether you needed further attention. The feeling was you'd already done whatever damage you could, so it wasn't necessary. You were a nobody, a very small cog in the machine. So, an offer was made through a third party. A legal agreement, one you signed in exchange for a reasonable amount of money. Well...reasonable to you. You were supposed to go away, Miss Page. Fade back into wherever people like you fade. But you made a choice, and that choice has brought you here on this night, at this particular moment in time. Perhaps that's the way it was always gonna be. Perhaps we're destined to follow a path none of us can see, only vaguely sense, as it takes our hand, guiding us towards the inevitable.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Karen hints that she has some...unpleasant experience that involved firearms right before she empties Wesley's gun into him.James Wesley: Do you really think I would put a loaded gun on the table where you could reach it?
Karen Page: I don't know. Do you really think this is the first time I've shot someone? - Death Seeker: One of the reasons that Claire leaves Matt is because she knows he will inevitably get killed, because there will always be another 'Fisk' to fight.
- Defiant to the End: Wesley has Karen at his mercy, and tells her he is going make the problems she has caused for him and Fisk "go away."Karen Page: If you're going to kill me ... just do it. I'm sick of listening to your bullshit.
James Wesley: [impressed laugh] I'm not here to kill you, Miss Page. I'm here to offer you a job. - Have You Told Anyone Else?: Karen makes the decision to kill Wesley the second he reveals he has yet to inform Fisk about her seeing his mother.James Wesley: My employer...sorry, old habits....Mr. Fisk, as I said, loves his mother. He would be extremely disturbed if he knew you'd found her. Even more so that you've been to see her.
Karen Page: You haven't told him?
James Wesley: He's preoccupied with more important matters, so I've taken it upon myself to address the situation. - The Heart: Wesley specifically cites Karen's ability to inspire others is the reason why she's so dangerous. She quickly proves that Good Is Not Soft.
- Implied Death Threat: One that backfires when Karen snatches the gun off the table.
- Irony:
- It Has Been an Honor: Played for laughs when Wesley sends Leland to Madame Gao to confirm that they have her support for when they move on those responsible for the poisoning. When Leland worries what will happen to him if Gao is the one responsible, Wesley quips that in that case it's been an honor working with him.
- It Works Better with Bullets: A twist on the trope. Wesley knows the gun Karen grabs is loaded, but he tries to convince her that it is empty. However, Karen's response to tell him "Do you really think this is the first time I've ever shot someone?" clearly indicating that she can feel the weight of a loaded magazine in the weapon, and shoots him.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: "Ms. Page— (Karen shoots Wesley to death)"
- Last-Name Basis: Fisk's mother is in his cellphone as "M. Vistain". When Wesley calls her to find out what's going on, we learn that Wesley's first name is James.
- Layman's Terms: When Wesley offers Karen a "job."Karen Page: So, after all of this, I'm supposed to, what...be your secretary?
James Wesley: The position I have in mind is a little more ... involved. You've proven yourself resourceful, tenacious, with a commendable ability to convince others that your way is the right one, the way that needs to be followed, pursued despite the obvious repercussions such actions may incur.
Karen Page: [bitter laugh] Is that even English?
James Wesley: Ah, simply stated ... you're going to convince Mr. Urich that everything is fine ... that you were wrong, that Wilson Fisk is a good man ... a man this city needs. And then you're going to spread the gospel to everyone you've infected with your negative point of view. - Kinda Busy Here: Played for drama. Wesley is distracted from intimidating Karen when his phone picks up an incoming call from Fisk (who is calling to find out what he's up to), giving Karen the chance to snatch his gun off the table and kill him with it.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Karen calls Ben to tell him that Nelson and Murdock may be falling apart, and Ben tells her "this is around the part where the stories get interesting."
- Manchild: On discovering the Man in Black in his workshop, Melvin Potter attacks him in a rage and Matt has serious trouble subduing him. When he does, however, Melvin just breaks down sobbing that he's not supposed to be here, and Matt belatedly realises he's just a mentally-disabled man who has been coerced into doing Fisk's bidding.
- Money Is Not Power: Fisk discovers that his influence and clout in the city don't make him exempt from hospital procedures, as he finds when the doctor stops him from entering the ER and he tries to throw his weight around.Wilson Fisk: Don't you know who I am?!
Doctor: It doesn't matter! Just fill out the paperwork. - Mythology Gag:
- Among the items in Melvin Potter's workshop is a poster for Revenge of the Gladiator and a half-designed logo, both of which reference Potter's comic identity as the Gladiator. And he throws a rotating saw blade at Daredevil in reference to the Gladiator's weapons.
- He also mentions a girl named Betsy, whom he cares about. In the comics, Betsy Beatty was a therapist/social worker who had Melvin as a patient. She helped him abandon his life of crime, when they fell in love and got married. She'll later appear in person in season 3.
- The staging of Wesley's death, with Karen holding a loaded gun, is like a comics panel where Karen drew a gun on Bullseye and fired. Only Bullseye was telling the truth when he said the gun wasn't loaded.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Wesley doesn't anyone where he's going when he goes out to kidnap and threaten Karen, and he even tells her this. Thus, when Karen takes his gun away from him and kills him with it, it means that any knowledge he has on what she knew of Fisk's secrets dies with him, leaving her off the hook with Fisk.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In order to protect Fisk from further upset, Wesley goes alone to deal with the problem of Karen and Ben snooping around Fisk's mother, without telling anyone what he's up to. It ends up getting him killed, ironically because of a split-second distraction caused by Fisk calling him at the wrong moment.
- No, You: Karen isn't happy about Matt's Blatant Lies about what happened to him, but when she tries to call him on it, he just shoots back that she lied to him the last time she stayed in his apartment.
- Pay Evil unto Evil:
- Karen shoots Wesley.
- Father Lantom speculates that God created Satan so that fear of him would spur people towards righteousness. As he knows Matt is the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, his meaning is obvious.
- Prayer Is a Last Resort: Averted by Fisk who thinks it would be meaningless without the belief behind it. Instead he promises a comatose Vanessa that he will have vengeance on those responsible.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Karen doesn't believe the story about Matt being injured in a car accident, suspecting that he was beaten up by Fisk's men. Which is true—but Fisk beat Matt up because he's the Man in the Mask, not because he's a lawyer nosing around Fisk's criminal activities.
- Secret-Keeper
- Despite his anger over Matt keeping his vigilante activities secret, Foggy still chooses not to tell Karen why they're not longer on speaking terms.
- Father Lantom reveals to Matt that he's figured out about Matt being the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, despite Matt not actually confessing directly.
- Sex for Solace: Foggy ends up in Marci's bed, though her brusque lack of sympathy the morning after doesn't help him feel better. Matt drops a hint that he'd like to reestablish relationships with Claire as well, but she already knows that won't go anywhere and leaves town, though not without letting him know she'll always be there if he needs to be patched up.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Claire decides to leave town for a while.
- Shirtless Scene: Matt gets a couple of them: one where Claire is stitching him up and another where he's meditating. Claire comments that, if he's going to make her stitch him up, at least she gets to see him shirtless.
- Shout-Out: The title is one to Pulp Fiction. The line is also referenced on a tombstone's engraving in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- Undying Loyalty: Wesley has this for Fisk in spades.Wilson Fisk: We don't always get what we want. Not in this world.
James Wesley: Some people deserve to. - Villain Ball: Wesley threatens Karen, then leaves a gun sitting within arm's reach of her. Even though he denies being that stupid, he actually has loaded the gun (or forgotten to unload it).
- Villain with Good Publicity: Invoked when Ben Urich counters Karen's belief that they have a smoking gun on Fisk because he murdered his father and lied about that, and the fact his mother is still alive, to the press. Ben notes that Fisk could easily spin the story the other way and garner himself even more good PR. Fisk could rightly say his father was an abusive man and he killed him protecting his mother (which is in fact what actually happened). They did dispose of his remains and bury the truth, but his mother had been through so much pain, they just wanted it to go away. Yes, he lied, but he did it to protect his beloved mother.
- Wham Line:James Wesley: Do you really think I would put a loaded gun on the table where you could reach it?
Karen Page: I don't know. [in a low growl] Do you really think this is the first time I've shot someone?
James Wesley: [begins to stand] Miss Page— [Karen shoots him in the right shoulder, knocking him back into his chair. As he stares at her in shock, she empties six more bullets into his chest, killing him instantly] - What the Hell, Hero?:
- Ben calls out Karen for lying to him to get him to accompany her to visit Fisk's mother. However her actions do succeed in getting him back on the case.
- Karen in turn is not impressed with Foggy and Matt falling out, particularly because both refuse to tell her why.
- White Shirt of Death: After shooting Wesley in the shoulder, Karen empties the gun into his chest, leaving a bunch of bloody bullet holes in his white dress shirt.
