A hungover Karen wakes up, goes to the bathroom, and takes some aspirin. She looks at herself in the mirror and remembers her conversation with Foggy the night before.
As she drinks, Karen tells Foggy that she threw the gun she used to kill Wesley in the river. She says that Wesley threatened to kill Matt and Foggy, and wants him to tell her that she's a bad person. Foggy says that he can't say that because she's not, and explains that his friend went through something terrible and he didn't know. He tells her that it was self-defense, and Karen says that she shot Wesley seven times because she wanted him dead.
Karen hears someone enter her apartment. She grabs the toilet lid as a weapon, and finds Matt coming in his vigilante outfit coming in through the window. Karen tells him that he needs to pay her back for his rent and walks off, and Matt removes his mask. He explains that he's been staying at the chapel and he can't protect anyone from Fisk, even himself. Matt invites Karen to yell at him if she wants, and she talks about her neighbor, Mr. Larssen. He was always there to help people, and didn't think he needed to talk about anything after his wife died. Karen asks Matt what he needs from her. Matt explains that Fisk staged the attack on himself in prison to trick the FBI to move him to the hotel, and got the lifer Jasper Evans to walk out of the prison even though on the books it says that he's in solitary. He figures that with Karen's help he can find Jasper, and then when the Bulletin publishes the story Fisk will go back to prison. Matt admits that he came to Karen because he needed her help, and asks if she'll help. Karen refuse, tells him to pay the rent, and walks out of the kitchen.
Dex lies in his bed, twisting and turning as he remembers talking to Julie. He finally gets up and goes to his closet, and gets the tapes of his sessions with Mercer and listens to them.
At the hotel, the staff bring in better furniture, paintings, clothing, and wine glasses for Fisk. He puts on an expensive white suit and goes to the balcony to look down on the staff there to help him.
Karen arrives at the Bulletin and attends Mitchell's staff meeting. As Mitchell talks, Karen uses her laptop to bring up the file on Jasper. Later, she meets with Foggy and tells him what Matt asked. Foggy advises her to write the article on the condition that Matt turns himself in. He figures that if Matt gives the FBI Jasper then they're all clear, and Foggy can negotiate his friend's surrender. Karen agrees but says that she's not willing to forgive Matt and he shouldn't. Foggy admits that Matt has been a shitty friend but it's hurting him. He notes that Matt could have gone to any reporter but he went to her. Foggy refuses to bail on Matt no matter what he's done and jokingly asks if what he's saying is too much. Karen asks him if he knows where Matt grew up.
Dex goes to the monitor room at the hotel, and Agent Alvarez points out that he's too hours early and looks terrible from lack of sleep. He claims that the neighbors kept him up while he sees Fisk on the monitors and remembers Julie rejecting him. Alvarez snaps him out of it and says that it's time to feed Fisk, and Dex says that he'll do it while Alvarez gets him some coffee. Once she leaves, Dex shuts off the monitors.
The agent goes into the penthouse with the food and tells Fisk that he isn't going to fall for Fisk getting Julie hired at the hotel bar. Dex insists that Julie doesn't mean anything to him, and says that Fisk doesn't know anything about him. Fisk just stares at him, and Dex slaps away the tray of food. After a moment, Fisk says that when he was 12 he beat his father's skull in with a hammer. He talks about how inexperienced he was up to the point of the murder, and says that the feeling is similar to what Dex felt. Fisk says that Dex was taught to hide beneath many fictions so the world would tolerate him. Dex accuses him of destroying what he and Julie had, and Fisk says that if it was honest then he couldn't have destroyed it. He tells Dex that Julie didn't understand Dex and neither would society if they knew the real him, and society punishes people like them. Shaking his head, Dex walks out.
Back in the monitor room, Dex watches Fisk and remembers what Fisk said to him. Alvarez returns with coffee and shows him a Bulletin headline saying that the FBI are investigating Dex.
Karen goes to the chapel and approaches Maggie. She whispers that she's looking for Matt and explains that he came looking for her that morning and asked for her help. Maggie claims that he isn't there, and as Karen goes Maggie reads a line from her story about Daredevil. They agree that Daredevil is a complicated man, and Maggie says that she's been reading Karen's stories trying to get some insight into the vigilante. The sister figures that Karen is tired of saving Matt from himself, and says that Matt was a tough one as a kid. Maggie describes what Matt went through as a child after losing Jack: he was fine during the day but plagued by nightmares. She held Matt's hand until he fell back to sleep, and one night he called for help and Maggie couldn't go to him. After that Matt shut everyone out, and Maggie admits that she abandoned him. She tells Karen that when someone pushes them away, they have to find the strength to hold on tighter.
Tammy and Winn meet with Dex and put him on paid leave, and Dex hands over his badge and gun. He walks out and everyone stares at him. Ray comes into the office and they talk privately, and Dex explains what is happening to him. Dex says that he needs the job and there has to be something Ray can do, and Ray assures him that he has nothing to worry about.
That night, Karen parks on a street and looks at a photo of Jasper. She then takes out her gun and goes into a nearby building. A teenager comes out and Karen tells him that she's looking for a couple of teeners. She pays him $80 and the teenager gives her the drugs. Karen goes into the crash room and sees Jasper's mother watching TV. Jasper realizes that Karen is looking for him and orders everyone out. A man attacks her, and Daredevil arrives and takes on the man, knocks out his allies including the teenager, and throws Jasper to the floor. Karen figures that Daredevil knew she would come, and says that she'll help him but after that she needs him to turn himself in to help Foggy and her. He agrees and jokingly says that if the FBI knows his secret identity, they might lock him up next to Fisk. Karen says that they'll take Jasper to the Bulletin to get Jasper's statement in front of witnesses, including Mitchell.
Daredevil wakes Jasper up and tells him the deal, and Jasper says that if he talks then Fisk will kill his son: the teenager, Elton. Jasper warns that if he goes back inside then Elton will share a cell with him. Karen says that either he talks or she'll print the story and claim that Jasper told her the facts anyway.
The next day, Foggy meets with Ray and says that he's representing Matt. He explains that Matt contacted him and is willing to submit to questioning, and he'll hand over Matt after Ray listens to Jasper and is convinced of Matt's innocence.
In the chapel basement, Matt is getting dressed when Maggie comes in with clean socks for him. He jokes with her, much to Maggie's surprise, and figures that it has something to do with Karen's visit. Matt says that he's meeting Karen and that she knows that he's Daredevil, but they're just friends. Maggie is happy to see Matt reconnecting, and Matt says that Karen is just helping him one last time. He tells the sister that he's turning himself into the FBI and is going to clear his name. Maggie wonders why it matters if Matt clears his name if he's leaving his old life behind. Matt says that there are other people involved, and Maggie points out that they're his friends before leaving.
Ray goes to Tammy's office, and she tells him that the EAD approved his promotion. He tells her about Foggy's offer and how Fisk has been playing them, and says that Jasper is missing from solitary at the prison. Tammy figures that it's a bluff and Ray hesitantly agrees.
In his apartment, Dex looks at the photo of the suicide hotline group with the knife in it. He sits down and takes out a gun, and remembers Julie rejecting him. As Dex puts the gun under his jaw, his phone rings. It's Fisk, who says that his mother passed away in prison and she left him a shoebox of keepsakes that Fisk gave her when he was young. He tells Dex that the hammer he used to kill his father is in the box, and his mother kept it because she was proud of Fisk. Fisk says that he wants someone to accept Dex without shame, and has sent him an opportunity to become his true self. He promises that if Dex accepts it, he will never abandon Dex like everyone else in his life. Felix arrives at Dex's door and invites Dex to come with him.
Foggy meets with Matt in the Bulletin lobby and Matt gives him a new wallet to replace the one that he stole. His friend says that he trusts Ray.
Karen takes Jasper to the Bulletin and introduces him to Mitchell. Jasper says that Fisk made him do it.
Foggy calls Ray to the FBI office. He gets a squad of agents, and Tammy tells him to get Matt and find out what's going on.
Karen gets Jasper ready to give his statement on tape. She goes over to Mitchell, who says that he owes her an apology for telling her to back off the story.
Matt hears screaming.
As Karen and Mitchell take Jasper's statement, the lights go out in the building.
Matt tells Foggy to find Karen and get her out.
The reporters are discussing the power outage when a costumed figure comes in and starts killing them. It's Dex, in a Daredevil costume, and Karen peers out the door and then shuts it and gets her gun.
Foggy arrives in the bull pen and finds the reporters dead, and the disguised Dex standing over the bodies. Dex throws his own staff at Foggy, and Daredevil arrives and catches it. Daredevil and his counterpart circle each other, and Foggy runs into the conference room.
Daredevil asks who Dex is, and Dex says that he's Daredevil. They attack each other and fight, and Dex bounces his staff off the floor and into Daredevil's face. Dex renews his attack, using the office equipment as weapons. Daredevil ducks into the shadows but Dex keeps coming, ricocheting a keepsake baseball off the wall and hitting Daredevil despite his cover. Daredevil finally manages to get close enough to engage Dex in hand-to-hand, negating his range advantage. Dex manages to throw a pair of scissors into Daredevil's shoulder and then kicks him unconscious.
Police sirens sounds in the distance. Dex kicks through the conference room door and disarms Karen. Foggy punches him, and Dex shrugs off the blows, knocks him out, and kills Mitchell. He then picks up Karen's gun and shoots Jasper in the head. Dex tells Karen that it's nice to see her again and walks out.
Ray and his agents enter the building and sees the people running out, and goes up the stairs.
Daredevil wakes up and Karen finds him. She says that Foggy is okay and Dex killed Jasper.
The agents come up the stairs and find Dex. He attacks them and easily takes them out, and then runs down the stairs before Ray can get a clear shot at him. Ray runs into the bullpen and sees the corpses as the generator comes back on.
Daredevil limps out through the printing room and avoids the FBI agents looking for him. He pulls the scissors out of his shoulder and moves on.
Ray finds Karen in the conference room and she looks over at Jasper's body. Another agent arrives and Ray says that it was Daredevil.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 28, 2018