The Daredevil story took a very unexpected twist at the end of episode nine. The tenth part has the somewhat ominous title of, “Nelson v. Murdock.” Foggy is very upset after learning Matt’s secret, and questions everything about their friendship. I think Elden Henson has been doing a great job as Foggy all along, but he really shines in these scenes with Matt.

There are several flashbacks to college, tracing Matt and Foggy’s friendship. One significant thing that happens in these is the mention of Matt’s “Greek girlfriend.” This is almost guaranteed to be Elektra, a fan favorite and major love interest of Matt/Daredevil’s in the comics. As an interesting side note, one of Matt’s other serious loves in the comics is Black Widow.  I doubt we’ll actually see her in season two, or even beyond, but it would be an amazing crossover.

Foggy is so shaken by this revelation that he pushes hard on Matt. All of Foggy’s doubts about the masked man are expressed again, even wondering if Matt really was behind the explosions that devastated Hell’s Kitchen and killing the cops that Kingpin has blamed him for. There is some degree of hope, as Foggy screens a call from Karen, keeping Matt’s secret, at least for now.

While this plays out, the opposition isn’t sitting idle. Madame Gao and Fisk have a meeting. Fisk has stopped pretending to not understand her Mandarin, and they talk without anyone else being part of the conversation. Gao has a lot of concerns about how Fisk is handling things, and tells him so. Gao has always seemed to be able to speak to Fisk differently than the other members of their criminal coalition. Her advice to Fisk leaves him confused as she walks away from him. There is a depth to these characters you usually don’t see in the bad guys in a superhero story, and it’s part of what makes this series so good.

Crusading reporter Ben Urich also gets a fair amount of screen time. His wife, Doris, is getting worse, her illness taking more and more of a toll. It’s heartbreaking when she gives him such good advice, shows such depth of love, and then forgets the entire conversation in a moment. Cranking the tension up even higher on Urich is the fact that his insurance is running out, and he’s got very few choices.

Foggy, restless, goes through Matt’s apartment, finding the footlocker where Matt stores his Daredevil gear. They talk about where he got all of it, and this is where the writers give another small modern update to the origin that works. Classically, Matt made his own costume, which really raises a lot of questions about a blind man doing it, no matter how much his other senses are enhanced. In this verison, Matt says he got it all on the Internet, which really makes a lot more sense. It’s a change I can support.

After a few more flashback scenes, Karen makes her way to the office and is startled when Urich walks out of their coffee area. He has, understandably, given in to pressure from all sides. He gives Karen all his notes, including the odd choice of the marked cards. He also tells her that the office was unlocked and that they need to be more careful. Really, does any business in New York leave the doors unlocked, especially when they are doing battle with a major criminal figure? Karen and he talk about his wife, and she suggests a place he might want to take a look at.

Much of the episode shows Foggy struggling to reconcile what he has learned about Daredevil with his many years of friendship with Matt. Foggy is mad, and even cruel, with some of his questions. Matt is patient, explaining his motivations and how his powers work. It’s exposition of a sort, but it doesn’t come across as an info-dump, which is not always easy to do. There are also more flashbacks of Foggy and Matt at earlier jobs and their plans to go into business together. The scene at Leeman-Zachs does mention Roxxon, a major evil corporation in the comics that has also appeared in the Agent Carter show.

Karen’s “good deed” showing Urich the facility upstate turns out to be anything but. They have a serious conversation about how ill Doris is before Karen springs her surprise. She very deliberately picked this place. They interview a particular resident there, which will have many repercussions for everyone involved.

In another major scene, Fisk is hosting a party. He claims he still wants his privacy, but his quest to change the city requires him to be more public. Fisk, Vanessa, and Owlsley are all there. Fisk is hobnobbing with the rich and powerful when he gets an ugly surprise. His little party is going to be remembered a long time, that much is certain.

After a lot of talk about Matt’s motivations and his early origins as a crimefighter, Foggy is far from convinced. He rages against Matt’s choices, and compares him to Fisk. Matt hates this comparison, but there’s some truth to it. Finally, Foggy storms off, leaving Matt in pain and bleeding. The last scene doesn’t hold out a lot of hope for their partnership.

What I liked: There was more acting than action this episode and that worked well. Gao is a mysterious character who we keep getting more hints about, and I like the slow build. The Matt/Foggy scenes were really well done. The events at Fisk’s party were shocking, and are going to change a lot. Karen and Ben Urich’s trip is going to change a lot of things.

What I didn’t: They weren’t badly done at all, but I’m not sure we needed the flashback scenes. We already knew that Matt and Foggy have been friends for a long time and that they met in college. They have done such a fine job of building their past by inference that I’m not sure we had to see any of this. Also, the bit about the door of the office being unlocked was just an odd choice. It seemed like it hinted at something that never quite happened.

I’ll give this one a high 4.5 out of 5. It was a great piece of a great series.