Marvel’s Daredevil might have a backstory problem. It’s either introduced efficiently, like the slow reveal of the Punisher’s tragic past, or clumsily, as is the case with Elektra and “Kinbaku.” Some of this is a pacing issue as well; Frank Castle had been off the screen for about thirty seconds before Matt came home to find Elektra waiting in his apartment. After that the show slammed on the brakes for “Kinbaku,” which, while competent and intermittently engaging, was a step backwards for the show.
The episode effectively draws a line of demarcation between the show’s plots. The Punisher is gone, it seems to say, now here is Elektra. Maybe it’s because Daredevil only had to deal with one villain last season, so some slack should be cut to the showrunners, but I am decidedly not a fan of how Elektra is introduced.
Don’t get me wrong: Elektra is a cool character, and Daredevil could use more kickass women, but there’s something off about her. From a characterization standpoint, I mean. A lot of Elektra seems lazy. Or, if not lazy, not up to the standards of this show. Vincent D’Onofrio and Jon Bernthal both did phenomenal work with their characters, and Elodie Yung, at least in this introductory episode, doesn’t quite match either of them.
The biggest problem with Elektra isn’t even that she’s a Greek character (her last name is Natchios) with an inexplicable French accent. No, it’s that she’s more or less a collection of “tough girl” cliches, way too close to Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a performance that has not aged well, to count as an original portrayal. Would you believe that Elektra drinks expensive tequila, neat? Or that she randomly steals Ferraris and breaks fancy glassware? Or that she’s turned on by fighting? What if I told you she eats cheese off the point of a knife, or she can pull a Sherlock Holmes act on Matt, giving him his life story just by looking at his shoes? Oh, and she’s also very rich, but bored.
Don’t get me wrong, Yung does fine work. It doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty flawless physically, but she’s not just a pretty face. She’s playful, mysterious, and aggressive, and does a good job with the physicality that the role calls for. I don’t blame her for the character; I think the show just doesn’t have as good a grasp on Elektra as it needs to in order to keep up the momentum it lost after the Punisher went to jail.
And as I mentioned, the backstory here is incredibly clumsy. Daredevil tries to compress months of Matt and Elektra dating into occasional flashbacks, which work about half the time. Having Matt say “We belong together” is too on the nose, and only serves to highlight how rushed this whole plotline is. By far the most interesting part is when the two of them break into a house which turns out to be that of Roscoe Sweeney, the man who killed Matt’s father. Matt beats Roscoe but can’t bring himself to kill him, effectively ending his and Elektra’s relationship. Seeing this scene, it makes sense why Matt wants her out of his life. Her very presence threatens to bring out the darkness within him. That’s a hard thing to portray visually, I’ll grant, but Daredevil takes steps to externalize it by forcing the two of them to fight off a hoard of Yakuza together. (And it’s a very nice moment when Elektra matter-of-factly reveals Matt’s Daredevil costume in a duffel bag, showing that she knew all along.)
The biggest problem with “Kinbaku” is that it’s a rushed episode that still manages to feel like a narrative stall. There are five separate plots going on here – Matt and Elektra flashback, Matt and Elektra present-day, Matt and Karen going on a date, Karen investigating the Punisher, and Foggy trying to get the firm out from under the DA’s microscope. The most successful of these plots is Karen’s digging into the Punisher, probably because Deborah Ann Woll is so damn likable, and after a one-episode absence, Daredevil sorely misses Frank Castle.
Daredevil is an incredibly smart, well-done show, but it’s not perfect. Elektra as a character is vital to Matt Murdock’s development, so it’s a smart idea (and an inevitability, if we’re being honest) to include her in the proceedings. Here’s hoping that the show handles her better from now on.
A Few Thoughts
- I loved the splash of color in the Indian restaurant. Such a nice way to break up the usual moody color palette.
- “I don’t need a lecture, or I will take those coffees back.”
- We’re reaching the part of the season where Elden Henson gets a firmer grip on Foggy Nelson. This happened last season too. Foggy is a thankless role in an ensemble of Daredevils and Punishers, and Henson does a good job with it, but it always takes him a few episodes to tone it down.
- The title refers to a form of Japanese rope bondage, which is…tantalizing, I’ll say.
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