Daredevil - Stick

"Stick" introduces an important character from Matt Murdock's (Charlie Cox) past whose introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe raises questions the series either can't or isn't willing to answer at this point. Although I've enjoyed Daredevil the more I watch the show the less it feels a part of the same universe as the various Marvel films and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Stick," both the character and the episode, is a good example of this as Stick (Scott Glenn) doesn't fit within the rules the previous Marvel Cinematic films and series have set-up. Stick can't be a mutant, he obviously isn't an Inhuman, and unless he's a product of the Super-Soldier program or a some variation his abilities cannot be accounted for in the shared world that still has yet to introduce mysticism as an aspect of this shared universe.

While the flashbacks of the episode show examples of the blind master teaching a young Matt Murdock (Skylar Gaertner) to uses his enhanced senses (without explaining how Stick, without the special chemical eye-bath Matt received, has them as well) and to fight, the present-day storyline involves the old teacher asking his student's help in locating a weapon to be used against the city. Of course he forgets to tell Matt that A) the weapon is in the form of a small child and B) Stick plans to kill him. As it has done in previous episodes Daredevil continues to jump over important scenes when it suits it to do so. Since it happens again in "Stick" we only have the old man's word that the boy codenamed Black Sky (Bonale Fambrini) was killed without any evidence to corroborate his story or any information about what the threat really was.

Along with not offering any explanation for Stick's abilities the episode also doesn't show any curiosity from Matt about the only other blind person alive who is also a master martial artist with enhanced senses. The boy has no questions about how Stick is able to do what he does (because I guess in the Marvel Cinematic Universe children are neither curious nor inquisitive) simply accepting that there could be someone else like him in the world. The episode's B-story finally brings Foggy (Elden Henson) in on Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and Ben's (Vondie Curtis-Hall) investigation into what's really going on in the city, putting them in danger but also placing them in position to be valuable to help take down Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) later in the series.