Daredevil: Born Again – With Interest review S1 E5
With Interest was a much-needed cool down episode after a hellaciously intense first four episodes.
In the case of Born Again a cool down episode does not mean a lame, weaker episode. With Interest is the most fun installment of the season even as it has one of the most brutal fight scenes of the series.
Matt is at a bank trying to get a loan to expand the firm. And in a ‘wacky’ coincidence the banker he’s working with is Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapur), who you might remember better as Kamala Khan’s daddy. Some are going to write this appearance off as a forced bit of connectivity, but this is exactly what made reading Marvel Comics so fun for decades. That sense that these mostly New York City-based characters can randomly run into each other in any title. And sure, Matt deciding now to go to the bank doesn’t seem like the most pressing use of his time, it’s not absurd either.
Yusuf is happy to talk about Kamala and in an unrelated event, also is thrilled to show off his Funko POP of Ms. Marvel to Matt. One of the strengths of the Ms. Marvel show was Kamala’s terrific supporting cast, including her parents. It’s a nice touch to see Yusuf interacting with other MCU characters in his profession just like Matt Murdock did when he appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The bad news for Matt is the bank won’t approve his loan request, but it’s even worse for Yusuf as a group of underlings working for the Irish underboss decide now is the ideal time to make their own withdrawal. Decked out in different colored masks, the crew quickly subdues the bank security and rounds up the hostages to shut down any communication.
With Interest leans more into a standard heist formula if that formula involved a blind vigilante. Matt overhears the robbery about to get underway and gets back into the bank just in time.
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The gang’s leader, Devlin (Cillian O’Sullivan), is pretty funny essentially playing the Clive Owen role from Inside Man with his banter with the hostages and police negotiator Angie Kim (Ruibo Qian). He gets some of the best lines in With Interest like saying “You’re just a regular Charles Dickens character, aren’t you?” when he sees that Matt is blind. And there was something randomly funny about Devlin tasking Det. Kim with making him laugh in order to buy more time to keep the hostages safe. It was too bad Kim only got to tell him one joke.
Eventually, Matt is able to get isolated with a guard so he can take him down and save Yusuf. While he’s very chatty, Yusuf is only the acting bank manager and doesn’t have access to the vault and the safety deposit boxes within.
The stairwell fight scene is one of the more creative in the season as Matt has to pummel the bank robber while ensuring he doesn’t make a sound. With Interest also manages the strong balancing act of having a more playful Matt Murdock without undercutting any of the very serious and intense drama from the previous four episodes.
When Yusuf asks exactly what kind of lawyer he is, Matt cheekily responds “A really good one.” Matt finds what the gang was looking for — an orange diamond — and proposes a trade in order to keep the hostages safe. Matt also hears the SWAT team preparing to storm the bank and knows his time is running out. In the confusion, Devlin gets the diamond and runs off while disguised as a cop. He hands the diamond to one of the hostages — the inside woman in this case — and makes his escape.
Too bad he didn’t keep an eye on his fellow robber wearing the red mask. Matt takes him down and snatches his mask to keep his identity safe before heading after Devlin. For anyone worried With Interest was too soft with just the solid quiet fight scene, this battle pays off the wait with a brutal Raid-style sequence ending when Matt breaks Devlin’s leg. Ouch.
The woman casually makes her way out of the bank only to discover she doesn’t have a diamond at all, but rather one of the candies at Yusuf’s desk. Matt pulled a switcheroo and placed the diamond in the candy jar, which Yusuf happens to spot after Matt tries a candy on his way out.
There was a welcome charm to With Interest that made for a very entertaining, self-contained episode. For those who needed a bit more intensity in Born Again installments, this was a smart one to pair with another episode, but it stands on its own just fine as well. They don’t need to all be life and death scenarios.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Photo Credit: Disney
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