Marvel's Daredevil

Potential juror number 17, please state your name.

Richard Day.

Can you state for the court any preexisting opinion, any at all,

that you may hold for the defendant, Frank Castle?

You mean the Punisher? I think he's an animal...

a sick, twisted, venal...

Hero. That's what we should be calling him.

Doing the things the cops won't do, Frank Castle is a...

A grotesque insult to the Second Amendment,

a fascist without the authority. If you ask me,

people like Frank Castle ought to be...

Applauded for putting all the thieves

and muggers and rapists in the morgue, where they belong.

Let those bastards feel scared walking down the street for a change.

It's Son of Sam all over again.

It's Bernie Goetz...

It's like the only thing protecting us is Frank.

I just moved my family to New York, and now we're moving out.

If anyone can kill anyone in this town... where does the insanity end?

Counselors, over 400 potential jurors have come through this courtroom.

So I should tell you,

if you can't agree to move forward with the 12 men and women selected,

I will make this trial a living hell for all of you.

Your Honor, New York hasn't seen a trial this divisive and this public in years.

Finding an impartial jury is not easy.

Everybody has an opinion about Frank Castle.

It's New York, Mr. Nelson. Everybody has an opinion about everything.

Ms. Reyes, is the prosecution satisfied with its jury panel?

- Yes, Your Honor. - And the defense, Mr. Nelson?

- Uh, yes, Your Honor, we are. - Thank Christ.

The trial of The People of New York v. Frank Castle

is now in session.

If I get my hands on the worthless intern who organized these files...

Oh, I'm sure that intern's just following the DA's orders.

It's not officially sabotage,

- just sets it back. - It's a cheap trick.

We got bigger problems. Like, locking a defense.

- M'Naghten Rule's still our best bet. - What's that?

- Uh, the, uh, insanity plea. - Whoa, whoa, guys...

We need to buy a "not guilty" verdict.

My high school debate team could prove that Castle did it.

We need an affirmative defense.

Yeah, yeah, I get that, but I'm not so sure Frank is insane.

I'm no doctor, but I'd say he's at least driven past Crazy Town.

- Foggy, I'm serious. - She has a point.

I mean, insanity only has a 0.12% acquittal rate in New York.

Reyes is just gonna call in

some expert shrink witness to blow our case apart.

- What case? - Look, what if we...

push for a mistrial? We get more time.

We talk about the DNR and the suits and Reyes' involvement.

We get her kicked off the case.

She wouldn't see it coming.

If we go down that road now, we gotta prove, in a court of law,

that the government willfully hid evidence of the Punisher ambush,

and that Reyes was involved.

- Well, I was there and you were there. - We're not exactly impartial, okay?

And either way, we need an opening statement tomorrow.

I can open with PTSD as a mitigating factor,

focus on Castle's time at war.

So you think the war is what made Frank what he is?

Our only goal is to reduce the charges and set precedent.

Castle made a lot of enemies, all right?

If he goes into general population, he's as good as dead.

We need to get him somewhere safe, where he can get help, and...

citing PTSD could do that.

I mean, none of us know what Castle saw over there...

but research suggests that... PTSD can be triggered by new stressors.

Like losing your family.

I need to get to work on the opening statement,

but we need to be sure Castle will get on board with this.

Uh, I'll try.

I mean, Frank made it pretty clear he's willing to talk to me, at least,

just as long as I'm alone.

- Are you sure you wanna do that? - Well, I wanna help.

We have a better shot at getting him to talk if I go.

I'll grab the list of questions I was working on.

Okay.

Karen...

You know you don't have to do this by yourself.

It's okay. Castle doesn't scare me.

- Maybe he should. - I can take care of myself.

I know... but I'd be saying it to Foggy.

- Or a Navy SEAL. -

Just watch your back.

Promise.

Here you go. Just do me a favor, stick to the script.

Okay.

- Wish me luck. - Good luck.

- Grow up so fast, don't they? -

- Hi, Frank. - Ma'am.

Um, we've been, uh, looking over similar cases...

legal precedents, and, uh...

we... we think it would help to bring forth someone from your past...

maybe from your... your military unit, someone who could, uh...

speak to the nature of your service.

- What's that got to do with anything? - Um... it's a character witness.

Uh, we put someone on the stand who... who knows you well.

Uh, can... can speak to what you've been through.

PTSD, huh?

We think it would greatly help with your defense.

Don't do that. It's an insult.

Lots of veterans experience it.

I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about them.

It's an insult to them, people who are actually going through it.

I know what you wanna do, you wanna sit here and label me

just another case of some crazy-ass combat vet who lost his mind, huh?

Maybe that'll appeal to some shitbag jury in some shitbag court.

It wasn't on a battlefield.

That's not when my life went to shit.

Now, ma'am, I believe that you told me that you were gonna find me answers.

That's what you said to me. Do you have anything for me or not?

- Not that easy. - That what you want?

- You want things to be easy? - You are on trial

for multiple homicides and you don't have a defense strategy in place.

You don't cooperate with us,

it doesn't matter if I help you figure out who killed your family,

you will never see justice.

All you will do, the rest of your life, is rot in a goddamn jail cell!

Colonel Ray Schoonover. My old CO.

Let's forget the PTSD defense, but if you want a character witness,

the colonel, he will do.

Thank you.

Now, ma'am, do you have anything for me or not?

Maybe I just ought to go back and rot in my goddamn jail cell?

Yeah. Yeah, I did some digging.

All right, there are huge moving parts and they do not want to be seen.

I've already looked at all of those. I've done it a hundred times.

Sure...

but you haven't done it with me.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

- Imagine, if you will... -

- - Yeah, this is Matt.

- I found a lead. - Hold on.

Elektra, I can't do this right now.

The guy who encoded that ledger of ours?

Some pervy NYU professor,

master cryptographer who teaches Asian studies.

- I'm gonna go beat the cipher out of him. -

- Yeah. - You wanna come?

- Hey. - Hey.

You check out these Dogs of Hell depos?

Might as well have been written in crayon.

I think we could poke some holes in these.

That's great. Yeah. Just, uh, give me a minute.

The most important case we've ever handled starts in the morning.

I can't go with you.

- Can't or won't? - Can't.

My life doesn't stop every time you call.

This may be our one chance to translate this ledger

before the Yakuza adjust their plans and we lose all the progress we've made.

You're infuriating.

Tell me in person. Two hours. Barclay and Church.

I know I'm into some sick shit, but next time, I swear,

all I wanna do is eat moo goo gai pan off your bodies.

All day.

- We're not Chinese. - Whatever, it's all hot to me.

What?

He's a repulsive asshole.

A repulsive asshole who pays well.

I can't tell any of you apart, but I guarantee...

I know all your tongues better than you do.

So... be nice.

Get out.

Hey, honey, I'm home.

And you've been awfully naughty.

You're gonna wanna stay real still.

What the hell do you want from me?

- You were hired by the Yakuza. - I don't know what you're talking about.

You encrypted files for them.

Money must be good.

Not many professors can afford garish, high-rise flats

and a revolving door of prostitutes.

What do you want me to do?

What you do best, Philip. Translate.

But this time for us.

They will kill me if I tell you anything.

And if you don't, we'll make you beg for killing.

- -

Thirty stories up, Philip.

You'd make a mighty good mess.

More liquid than solid, I'd imagine.

- What do you say, Professor? - Come on, please...

- -

Please... please.

- I'll pay you, I'll do anything. - Once more.

- -

I can't. I can't, they'll kill me.

- It's gonna break. -

Okay! Okay, shit!

- Stop! I'll do it! I'll do it! -

I'll help you.

- -

All right, be a pet and tell us how to read this last page.

They wanted a code that couldn't be hacked.

- -

I put the Japanese alphabet...

through a cipher.