The spotlight of Marvel’s Daredevil shifts for “Shadows in the Glass”, as we get an in depth look at Wilson Fisk, past and present. The episode offers look at his humble beginnings in Hell’s Kitchen and an action that changed him forever. By extension Fisk’s many business associates are also all prominently displayed this episode.
Fisk consults with each one in a series of increasingly dramatic and tense conversations. These ‘battles’, if you will, create an intriguing parabole between Fisk and Daredevil. Only the weapons in Fisk’s battles are words, or more accurately, threats. Which are exchanged in a manner akin to Daredevils acrobatic punches and kicks. Fisk isn’t always the one on top during these exchanges, in fact Madame Gao comes on very strong this episode. The first real indication that she’s playing a much bigger game, she’s operating on a level above the others in a position we can only speculate at.
At multiple crucial junctions over the course of the episode we’re treated to glimpses of Fisk’s past. The story of a sad, meek little boy raised under the bootheel of an abusive alcoholic father, whose word is law above all else. Even Fisk’s poor mother, who is routinely on the receiving end of domestic abuse. It all become so immediately apparent where Fisks issues stem from. In a twisted attempt at nurturing Fisk’s father forces him to stare at their bare stucco wall for hours, only with the instructions: “think of the man you want to be.” If that’s not enough to lay on an impressionable and frightened child then the relentless beating of his mother immediately following cements his status as, deeply troubled. The horrifics don’t end there, in fact that’s barely the beginning. It puts a morbid importance behind Fisks infatuation with the “Rabbit in a Snow Storm” painting he bought earlier in the season. Especially since he hangs it in his bedroom, creating a potentially inescapable nightmare or possibly a source of strength.
Matt and crew take a backseat this episode with the only real substantial development being Ben Urich’s introduction to Daredevil. They establish a working relationship that we’ll see continued through the rest of the series.
We’ve finally been given a look into the head of our villain and just like all great villains he’s a tragic and sympathetic character. A deeply troubled man who’s constantly haunted by his dreadful past. A man who’s finally found a woman who loves him and that he himself can love. He wants to usher in a prosperous future for the city he was raised in, he truly believes he’s doing what’s right and that’s what makes him so terrifying.