[89/100] What’s this? Every story thread in a Netflix Defenders show hitting? Our cup runneth over! I liked basically every character’s story here, and felt like we got good moments out of each of them, which is a rarity. I will take it! The closest thing to a weak spot is, ironically, Daredevil himself. It’s been a long time since I watched the earlier seasons of this show, but “Please” is a reminder that, god bless him, Charlie Cox wasn’t great in the role. He’s not bad, but when he’s surrounded by so many other performers who make it look effortless, and is then compelled to deliver portentous monologues about losing his faith, it doesn’t rise above “fine.” All that said, his story is interesting. For someone whose faith is so central to his character, a rarity among superheroes, the notion of him choosing to reject God because of what he lost is a fascinating new direction for the character. I assume the point is that, eventually, he sees grace and beauty again and finds his way back to the light. But the notion of him having had his spirit crushed, and choosing to go on as a vigilante despite that, with whatever lack of limitations that may entail, helps make his lingering pain, both mental and physical, from the events of *The Defenders* more meaningful. (Side note: While I continue to enjoy the scenes between him and Sister Maggie, I really hope the twist there is not that she turns out to be his mother. Maybe I’m just once-burned, twice-shy after the cheesy twist to that effect in s2 of *Jessica Jones*, but “long last family member returns” is such a soap opera twist, and I really hope Sister Maggie’s loaded mention of having had some time away from the Church in her youth is not setup for a reveal that she shacked up with Matt’s dad during her lost weekend.) Plus hey, we got another cool Daredevil fight! While not quite an unbroken hallway throwdown, the long takes as Daredevil stalks and beats up the would-be kidnappers beneath the dry cleaner is a breath of fresh air for anyone tired of seeing dust-ups chopped up to hell in the editing bay. And beyond that, Matt doing real detective work, neutralizing the bad guys before siccing the cops on them, and alerting the victims in time for them to be identified, is good meat and potatoes Daredevil stuff. Speaking of which, this is a good episode for Karen as well. Her scene with the heiress who was attacked is a good one,and a reminder that Deborah Ann Woll continues to be one of the Defenders-verse’s secret weapons. She is the right blend of respectful but forceful with the heiress, relating her own experiences in a way that allows her to connect in a way not every journalist might. The fact that she leads her to believe Matt might be back emerges naturally from that. IT also continues to put her at odds with Foggy. The show does good work with the two of them, evincing the sense of two people who care about one another but are processing a major loss differently. Their contrary views on Matt’s fate, and the crap that will undoubtedly hit the fan when Matt does in fact make himself known again, is riveting. Foggy’s family dilemma is a little more stock, but dramatized and performed well enough that you hardly notice. As cliched as the “Maybe I should give up my big city law job and run the family business” is, there’s genuine warmth at the Nelson daily reunion that helps cover for it. The mix of pride, regret, hope, and commiseration that washes over you at family gatherings is palpable here, and that carries a lot of the weight. Granted, this is more Hallmark movie material than superhero material, but Elden Henson plays it well, and the show left me intrigued as to where they're going with all of this. That just leaves the cops and robbers side of things, and I’m pleased with how all that's progressing. In two episodes, Ray already feels like an indispensable part of the cast. His frustration at potentially being sidelined on the Fisk detail, his successful fight to be given the shot, and his argument to a skeptical chief and DA that accommodating Fisk saves lives and makes people safer all come off as earned, sympathetic wins for the guy. You just know he’s going to be compromised by Fisk at some point, but for now, he’s arguably the easiest character to root for, and it’s heartening to see him succeed. Fisk is in a good place too. You wonder how much is orchestrated, but his confrontation with a fellow inmate in the weightroom and subsequent demand for his own private containment unit for safety makes sense whether or not it’s all part of a scheme. And speaking of cheesy monologues, Fisk’s speech about love being the only true prison is one of those ponderous, writerly bits of oratory that could provoke eye-rolls, but Vincent D’Onofrio is such a good performer that he can not only pull it off, but make it sound unduly profound. Of course, we need more action, and the flipped FBI transport with Albanian gangsters shooting up the joint is appropriately tense and thrilling. The director’s choice to keep us situated with Fisk inside the upturned car adds to the suspense and terror of it all, and it also allows the show to introduce its new player in style. I gotta admit, when we saw a bulleted badass methodically taking out the various mooks without breaking a sweat, and having no hesitation when the gangsters are pleading for their lives, I really thought we were going to see Punisher. But I guess he has his own show to contend with now. So instead, we meet a new FBI-affiliated Punisher Lite. It’s a hell of an entrance! I gotta give him that. Overall, this is the rare scenario where every character’s story hits, even if not every scene does. That's encouraging as *Daredevil* s3 moves past its setup and launches in earnest.