If one were to compare this episode to "Stick" due to the fact that both feature extended flashbacks that illuminate the past of a major character, this episode felt much more integrated than the other. We do get to see how Matt becomes the brutal fighter that he is from Stick's training, but the story in the present just doesn't fit with what is shown in the flashbacks. Here, the show goes all in on what makes Wilson Fisk tick.  






It's much more compelling than what Matt goes through because Fisk's current philosophy is actually a result of a slow degradation of his morals. And this pays off the lack of movement on Ben, Karen, and Foggy's ongoing crusade to bring the truth about Union Allied Construction, and Fisk along with it, out in the open. They gain a valuable ally in the crusade, and he vows to work within the law to its fullest extent, though he does find out by the end how far Fisk's power extends and how much his guiding philosophy as a hero will be tested.



When Fisk mentioned on his date with Vanessa in "World On Fire" that he wears the diamond cufflinks for his father, I knew he was going to have severe daddy issues. I had hoped that those cufflinks were for a deceased girlfriend or someone else. The abusive father trope is rather well-worn, especially in this genre. If this is indeed existing in the same universe as the Avengers, I'd cite the numerous issues that go on between Loki, Thor, and Odin as something of a template for the ultimate father-never-loved-me-enough psychological damage. 



The neat twist to that here is that Fisk started out scrawny and afraid, not big and fearsome as he is today. His father Bill worked as a local politician in the day, though that was probably a position given to him through patronage to the ruling crime boss at the time: Mr. Rigoletto. Bill owes Rigoletto money, as they almost always do, and that causes a lot of stress at home. Bill is not an especially nice guy. He worries that his son is getting soft and has a general disposition towards being a bully. To him, in order to survive, one must let those weaker than him know it and submit to his will. This is largely how Fisk operates in the present time. His childhood was ugly, and the years of verbal and physical abuse take their toll. That mentality culminates with the sudden murder of Bill and subsequent dismemberment.







Vladimir had mentioned earlier that he thinks the reason Fisk doesn't want anyone to say his name out loud is so that people will then know he's just a man. No better than anyone else. That's largely confirmed here. Fisk has remade himself in the intervening years, rising up to a power position. He wears the fancy clothes and dines at the most exclusive of restaurants. But he is largely an ordinary man dressed up as a thug. 



He enjoys ordinary things like an egg breakfast or sleeping with his girlfriend. He kow-tows to both Nobu and Madame Gao, though one is rightfully mad at him and the other rather dotes on him. Gao's position of unquestioned respect would seem to be the ideal position that Fisk is striving for. He may be running the operation in question, but one look at him exposes the fact that he doesn't really like to get his hands dirty. He isn't willing to do the gritty things that would "get (his) house in order" like Madame Gao advises.







These are weaknesses in Fisk's armor that Matt can exploit, if only he could somehow get to the same level. He does get into it when Foggy and Karen reveal what they've been keeping from him all this time. They want to use their admittedly very circumstantial evidence to try and bring Fisk down a notch. The show finally integrates the two similar desires between our heroes. It's a laudable goal. It just isn't feasible as of right now. Bodies keep dropping, and Hell's Kitchen still doesn't trust the Masked Man on account of visual evidence manipulated to make him look like a cop killer and mad bomber. 



Fisk holds the high hand right now, and he's making his big bet to take the house. Urich looked to be writing the expose that was supposed to poke at Fisk's weaknesses. Instead, Fisk makes the pre-emptive strike to come out as a crusader against the Masked Man. It's to be expected, simply because Fisk can do such a thing sitting from his higher position as the villain. Matt better get something big on Fisk soon, or this is one fight he's likely to lose.