Daredevil Episode 1: Into The Ring Recap

“Into The Ring” begins decades in the past, as Jack Murdock races frantically through the streets of Hell’s Kitchen. He stops at the scene of an accident, of which his son, Matt is at the center. Matt lies on the street, screaming. Industrial barrels, leaking chemicals, surround Matt. A man nearby says that Matt pushed him out of the way of a runaway truck carrying those barrels. Matt saved the man’s life, but the chemicals spilled onto his face. Matt screams that he can’t see as ambulance sirens grow in the background.

Time jumps to the present, where Matt confesses to a priest in a church. He talks about his father Jack, describing his ability as a fighter—both as a professional boxer, and as a man. According to Matt, his grandmother was a devout Catholic who would warn people against the Murdock men, who “have the devil in them.” Matt continues describing his father, explaining how Battlin’ Jack Murdock would subdue his opponents in the ring. The priest asks Matt what sins he’s actually committed. Matt says nothing—yet, but he’s also not asking forgiveness for what he’s “about to do.” The priest asks him what he’s about to do.

The scene shifts to an empty lot in Hell’s Kitchen, at night. Several men try forcing girls into a van for human trafficking. Suddenly, Daredevil enters the scene and brutally assaults the kidnappers. A man tries shooting Daredevil, but Daredevil dodges the fire. He vanishes, but suddenly throws one of his billy clubs to knock the thug out. Matt tells the girls to run, then savagely beats the final kidnapper in the face.

The next morning, Matt wakes up to a phone call from Foggy Nelson. Foggy tells him to meet him with the real estate agent as soon as possible. Foggy then meets a New York City Police Officer named Brett, who Foggy’s known since he was a child. He gives the cop a bag of money for his mother, in exchange for leads on cases.

Foggy then meets Matt with the real estate agent in the potential new offices of Matt and Foggy’s law firm: Nelson and Murdock. The agent says that the building was barely damaged by the Chitauri invasion from the Avengers, referring to it as “The Incident.” Matt says that he’ll take the office, but Foggy protests, citing the high cost. The two debate, but Matt wins. Welcome to the new offices of Nelson and Murdock.

Across town, Karen page hols a bloody knife over a dead man. The cops burst into the room, but Karen cries that she didn’t kill the man.

Later, Brett calls Foggy and tips him off that Karen is being held in police custody for the homicide. Foggy and Matt go to meet her in the NYPD office, where they introduce themselves. They say that they’re there to offer her legal assistance. They say that Karen is the only suspect in the murder of a man named Daniel Fisher. Karen asks why they’re helping her, and they admit that they’re new lawyers desperately seeking clients. Karen would be their first client. Karen says that she worked with Fisher and was friends with him. Earlier that night, they met up for a few drinks at a bar. Karen says she then blacked out and woke up with the bloody knife in her hand. Hearing her steady heartbeat, Matt knows that she isn’t lying.

The next morning, Wilson Fisk’s right hand man, Wesley, meets with a man in a New York City Park and tells him to pay a debt to the Kingpin. The man tries walking away, but Wesley says that he will kill the man’s daughter unless he pays. But since the man has no money, he will have to repay Wilson Fisk via a “special favor.”

Across town, Matt and Foggy pour over Karen’s case. Matt wonders why the police haven’t formally pressed charges, citing that there’s something fishy with the case. Matt thinks she’s innocent, but Foggy remains unconvinced. They agree to take the case anyway.

Over in Karen’s holding cell, a jail guard tries killing Karen. Karen is able to save herself though, and cries for help. Matt and Foggy then arrive, and bargain for Karen’s release in exchange for not pressing charges against the crooked prison guard. Matt tries piecing everything together, thinking that the guard was trying to stage Karen’s death as suicide to seal her supposed guilt.

Matt and Foggy then take Karen to the offices of Nelson and Murdock. Karen says she knows why the guard tried to kill her. Karen says that she worked in the offices of Union Allied, a property developer that was working to restore New York’s West Side. She was the secretary for the company’s chief accountant, where she’d coordinate the company’s pension claims. A week ago, she accidentally opened an e-mail meant for her boss. In the e-mail, Karen accidentally sees that the company is receiving far too much money than it should. She surmises that Union Allied is embezzling money.

Karen brought the embezzlement claims to her boss, but he laughed it off. She then brought the numbers to Daniel Fisher, who worked in the company’s legal department, which is where she then asked him for a drink. She recalls passing out and then waking up with Fisher’s dead body and the bloody knife. Karen bursts into tears, but Matt promises to take care of her.

Matt takes Karen to his apartment. He offers Karen a clean t-shirt, and Karen asks him what it’s like to be blind. Matt recalls how he became blind, when he was nine. He says he remembers what it was like to see, and admits that he misses his sight.

Matt runs through Karen’s story with her again, asking Karen why her boss tried framing her for murder instead of just killing her initially. He posits that Karen must have something they want—specifically, a file containing all of Union Allied’s embezzlement information. He asks Karen if she still has the file. Karen says no, but her rapid heartbeat reveals that she’s lying.

Across the city, a group of men from Union Allied meet with a woman named Madame Gao. Wesley comes to meet them, saying that the Wilson Fisk couldn’t make it himself. He asks the men why they’re short on their supply from the dock job. They blame Daredevil’s interference, describing how the vigilante beat the men and set the captive girls free. Gao wants to know if Daredevil took the nearby money for himself, but the men say he didn’t. Wesley says that Kingpin will be angry to know that a new vigilante is disrupting his operations, and will “handle it.”

Across town, Karen leaves Matt’s apartment and walks back to her apartment—the scene of Fisher’s murder. She sees the blood stains still in the carpet. She enters the room and recovers the Union Allied file with the incriminating evidence. But she’s not alone. Another man enters the room and knocks Karen out, taking the file. He draws a knife and is about to kill her, but Daredevil enters. The two struggle in an-equally matched fight, but the assailant pushes Matt out the window. Falling onto the street below, Matt struggles to pick himself up.

Daredevil’s mind races to a memory in the past, where Jack Murdock orders Matt to keep studying. He tells Matt that he has to keep studying so that he’ll receive a solid education and not end up a brawler, like himself.

Jack’s words push Matt to keep fighting. The assailant approaches Daredevil, and they keep brawling on the street. Daredevil is finally able to subdue the man, but is exhausted. With the file in hand, Daredevil takes it to the police. With Union Allied’s scheme made public via an expose in the newspaper, Wesley finds a scapegoat to keep Wilson Fisk clean. Fisk instructs Wesley to keep tabs on Karen, along with Matt and Foggy.

Across town, Matt, Foggy, and Karen celebrate Karen’s innocence. There, Matt and Foggy decide to hire Karen as Nelson and Murdock’s official secretary. Later, Matt enters an old gym. He starts training on a punching bag, perfecting his fighting skills.

In another building, a man from Union Allied drains Wilson Fisk’s incriminating accounts, while Fisk’s other goons kill off anyone who could connect Union Allied to Fisk.

In another building, a room filled with blind people package cocaine for shipment. A man nearby looks over blueprints for New York City, which has Japanese characters scrawled across the blocks of Hell’s Kitchen. Apparently, the Kitchen is being targeted for something.

Later that night, Matt dons his black suit and stands atop a building. With his advanced hearing, he hears another kidnapping take place, and springs into action.