“Cut Man”
Written by Drew Goddard Directed by Phil Abraham The Story After failing to rescue the kidnapped boy at the end of the first episode, Matt gets found, beaten and unconscious, in a dumpster by a couple of tenants in the neighboring apartment building. One is a nurse. She patches him up. She knows he’s the same guy who’s been beating up criminals. She helps him get the information he needs to find the boy. He goes to where the Russians are keeping him and beats the crap out of every single man there, over the course of a six-minute, single-shot fight scene. This storyline in the present is intercut with flashbacks to Matt’s childhood, when his father made money by throwing his boxing matches, until one night he didn’t, for which his “benefactors” had him shot. Also, Foggy and Karen spend the night barhopping so that Karen won’t be so terrified anymore. The show’s doing a lot with fathers and sons so far. There’s Matt’s relationship with his dad, and now this little boy getting taken away from his own father. That was definintely a deliberate parallel. Another parallel, though not to the father/son thing, is Claire patching Matt up the way Matt patched Jack up after his boxing matches. I think the purpose of that one is that Matt can’t be a one-man army. He needs help sometimes. Not just medically, but he also needs someone who knows the truth about him, so he doesn’t end up trapped too deep inside his own head. And then Foggy is sort of emotionally patching Karen up after all her brushes with death. Things I Liked
Things I Didn’t
The Characters I’m not sure what to make of Matt telling the Russian that he’s hurting him partly because he enjoys it. Was he telling the truth, or was he just saying it to freak the guy out more? I kind of think he does enjoy hurting men who are unapologetic violent criminals. But he feels guilty about that. Also, I really like the parallel between him and the little boy he helps. Matt, too, was a boy who was ripped away from his father by criminals. He’s not going to let that happen to another kid if he can help it. The Russians couldn’t have known how effective that kid would be as bait…or how badly it would backfire. Karen has every reason to be paranoid and terrified. She could easily have resented Foggy’s overtures (literally, what with the singing) of friendship, but she allowed herself to be cheered up. I really like their friendship. I even teetered on the verge of shipping them. Foggy is so good at being a reassuring presence. He refuses to let Karen be paralyzed by fear, and he fights fear with fun. I feel like hanging out with Matt would make you feel safe, but hanging out with Foggy would make you feel like there’s nothing to worry about in the first place. He knows everyone in Hell’s Kitchen and seems to have a grudgingly affable rapport with all of them, which is adorable. Claire helped Matt because she already knew who he was! I’m not sure I caught that line the first time I saw it. It’s really interesting how even though you can’t see Claire’s face during the interrogation, you can tell she’s getting more and more furious with the Russian. Matt didn’t even ask her for help beating info out of him more effectively; she volunteered specific medical knowledge of how to hurt him. Dang. Overall Rating 5/5
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The Watcher's Diary
In this blog, I'll be reviewing, analyzing, and generally fangirling over excellent television. Exhibit A: the Whedonverse. Archives
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