Warning: This recap contains spoilers for the Daredevil episode “Regrets Only.” Leave the ring and find a fight away from this page if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

“Regrets Only” opened with a fight to show us just how well Matt and Elektra can work together, but aside from it and another scuffle, it was a more quiet Daredevil episode that finally got back to Frank. Elektra made the threat of the Yakuza a little more clear and asked for Matt to partner with her in order to fight them, and things went downhill from there.

Elektra is clearly bad news. Matt laid down rules and was insistent upon boundaries and said Elektra had to leave Hell’s Kitchen as soon as the Yakuza were taken care of. If you’ve ever had feelings about someone who wasn’t necessarily good for you, it was easy to put yourself in Matt’s shoes during his and Elektra’s diner conversation–well, to a degree. You’ve probably never had to work with an ex to take down an organized crime syndicate. Maybe? Hopefully not?

The most interesting part of Elektra’s arrival was how quickly she started to screw up Matt’s life. Her presence and need for assistance screwed with Matt and Foggy, Matt and Karen, and Matt’s work. Nelson and Murdock decided to get bold and take on the captured and hospitalized Frank Castle as a client–mostly due to Karen’s urging, even if it was Matt’s suggestion. Karen knew Reyes was covering up what happened with Frank’s family and wasn’t okay with it. Reyes tried to foil them, but Matt actually got to show his lawyerly chops and shut her down. Frank accepted them as his representation.

This is when Matt, Karen, and Foggy should have put their heads down to go to work, right? Right. Except only Karen and Foggy combed through paperwork trying to find an angle to put on Frank’s case that wouldn’t end up with him receiving the death penalty. Matt found himself “abducted” to a gala by Elektra. This is where you can start to see Matt has a choice. Sure, Elektra could threaten him and maybe injure him, but Matt has an ability to say no. He could have jumped out of the limo and gone back to help Karen and Foggy. Instead, he made himself believe he had no other choice than to help Elektra. He has so much baggage from their relationship. I want to slap him into thinking straight.

Matt and Elektra attended a schmancy party in order to steal a ledger. It wasn’t terribly exciting but it was an intriguing parallel to the fancy event where he and Elektra first met. It’s years later, but they’re in awfully similar roles. And while Matt pretended to be annoyed about having to be there, he had fun. He can spout whatever we wants about preferring the more comfortable life but being around Elektra has appeal to him.

The brightest spot of “Regrets Only” had nothing to do with elaborate fights with the Yakuza. Instead, it was about a quiet conversation between Karen and Frank. Karen was the one who realized something was amiss with Frank’s file. She was the one who broke into Frank’s old home. Frank recognized her gumption, as it were, and singled her out as his confidant of sorts. Episode four humanized Punisher, but Frank sharing his fear of losing his memories of his family pushed it further. Having a touch of sympathy for him doesn’t erase all the crimes he’s committed, but the feeling of pity is strong enough for you to root for Nelson and Murdock to keep Frank alive and that’s what’s necessary at this point. They set up a monster with the first two episodes, and now it’s about showing how it happened. It’s weird to say it, but Frank isn’t malicious–not exactly.

Deborah Ann Woll was particularly great in the scenes with Jon Bernthal. She was understated and exuded a smooth mix of trust and fear as Karen. Remember, Karen was still nervous Frank somehow knew about what she did to Wesley.

Foggy came through with a solution to not only keep Frank out of jail but to get him a single lifetime sentence with the possibility of parole. They couldn’t have dreamed a better deal for the vigilante; not when the evidence against him was significant and irrefutable. They got Frank to agree to pleading guilty in order to get the deal, but come on. Did you think it would be so easy? Frank wanted to see justice for Reyes. He plead not guilty. After being assured she had a deal, Reyes didn’t take the news well.

While I like having another thread going besides Frank and his many issues, I don’t find myself interested in the Yakuza–or whatever the Yakuza actually ends up being. Not yet. It loosely ties to Frank and his clean up Hell’s Kitchen mission, but the way they’re tying it in is muddying the waters. Some of this is affected by me not being a fan of Elektra (the character, not the actress), but the picture isn’t coming together in the smoothest way.

Favorite quotes:

• “You can’t mask that ass. I’d know it anywhere.” – Elektra
• “Why are you fancy?” – Foggy

Did you enjoy a bit of a break from the action? Were you surprised by Frank’s not guilty plea? Talk to me in the comments.

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IMAGES: Netflix, malisseicons