Tropes:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade:
- Subverted with the sword that the Hand ninja uses to try to remove Turk's tracker. Rather than cleanly slice it off, the Hand ninja instead begins to saw off his ankle. Thank God Matt arrives in time.
- Played straight with Stick's katana, which he uses to cut off Nobu's head with one swing.
- After Action Patch Up: Downplayed; Matt cleans Stick's injuries, but only after duct-taping him to a chair. Elektra later brings him a sandwich.
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Fridge Logic: Hooooow's he gonna eat that sandwich?
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- All of Them: The Hand identifies twenty 'targets' to draw out Daredevil, later revealed to be people he has saved in the past. Nobu tells his underling to snatch all of them.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Matt confesses his love for Elektra in all but name when he says he's willing to run away with her, abandoning his duty to protect Hell's Kitchen.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Matt lives in a world of superhumans, aliens and gods and still brushes off the story about the Black Sky as nonsense. Justified as he's arguing against the idea that All Myths Are True; just because the Hand and the Chaste believe in Black Sky, doesn't mean that everything they say about her is true.
- An Arm and a Leg: Averted with Turk. The Hand are cutting off his leg at the ankle after the tracker on it is found, but Daredevil interrupts them.
- Bait-and-Switch: Nobu has just been thrown off a roof, seemingly dead until he does an Eye Awaken and begins to dramatically rise once again. Any viewer would instantly assume that he will remain a threat for the next season... which is shut down by Stick stabbing him through the chest.Stick: And this time, you piece of shit... (Slices off Nobu's head) Stay down.
- Barrier-Busting Blow: A couple of Hand ninjas smash through the wall and haul Elektra back through the hole.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: Although he survives (and gets killed by Stick, see Off with His Head! below) Matt throws Nobu off the building fully intending to kill him after the latter kills Elektra.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Not even death detracts from Elektra's good looks when the Hand exhume her corpse at the end of the episode.
- Big Damn Heroes: The Punisher shows up and lends Matt a hand with his sniper rifle in dealing with The Hand.
- Bittersweet Ending: Frank blows up his house and moves on, Karen and Foggy have new, fulfilling jobs, Nobu is defeated, and Stick and Matt are finally on good terms. At the same time, Elektra dies in Matt's arms, Nelson and Murdock (the friendship as well as the firm) is in shambles, and the Hand are still in play and are resurrecting Elektra.
- Blood Knight: Matt realizes that he needs the whole vigilante act to feel complete.
- Bus Full of Innocents: The people snatched as The Bait for Daredevil are first shown on a bus on its way to the obligatory Abandoned Warehouse. Though it's open to question whether Turk counts as innocent.
- Call-Back: During the job interview, Jeri Hogarth says that "If the past few months are any indication, my firm is going to need a very resourceful attorney." While this may be just referring to the Punisher matter, Jeri is almost certainly also referring to the entire Kilgrave saga, since HC&B represented many of Kilgrave's victims.
- The Cameo: Jeri Hogarth from Jessica Jones makes an appearance at the beginning of the episode to offer Foggy a job at her firm.
- The Cavalry: When Matt goes after Nobu alone in the final battle, Frank reveals himself when he starts sniping the ninja Mooks to keep them off Matt's back and let him continue on.
- Character Death: Highly unlikely to be permanent, but like in the comics and movie, Elektra dies after being impaled with her own sai. The difference this time is that it's Nobu instead of Bullseye.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Matt's new grappling line becomes useful in defeating Nobu.
- The disc marked "Micro" becomes relevant in the first season of The Punisher (2017).
- Chekhov's Gunman: The caretaker from "New York's Finest" is the hostage executed by the Hand for being troublesome.
- Cliffhanger: Matt reveals to Karen that he's Daredevil, and the Hand are shown to have stolen Elektra's body and sealed her in their urn. Cue the end credits.
- Composite Character: Nobu takes Bullseye's role in killing Elektra.
- Costume Evolution: Elektra gets a protective costume just before the climactic battle, thanks to Melvin. Meanwhile, Punisher takes a bulletproof vest from the Colonel and incorporates his famous skull emblem into the design. Matt also gets his iconic billy clubs.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Elektra gets stabbed by Nobu instead of Matt, leading to her death.
- Disney Villain Death: Subverted Trope. Matt tries to throw Nobu off of the building to kill him, but he survives the fall. Not long after that, though...
- Don't Create a Martyr: Matt's unwillingness to kill Nobu is justified under this trope, as it would be better to discredit him in the eyes of his followers by having him rot in prison instead of dying in combat. Ironically Matt and Stick end up killing him anyway.
- Dramatic Irony: During their dinner, Jeri Hogarth brings up people with abilities, describing them as "people with complexities". Foggy says she has no idea, not realizing that Hogarth's firm just dealt with Kilgrave, and that she has been dealing with Jessica Jones for years. Hogarth smiles smugly at that.
- Funny Background Event: At the end of the episode at Josie's bar, a New Jersey Devils game can be seen on the TV in the background.
- Good Feels Good: Elektra as she Died in Your Arms Tonight, though she also asks if it always hurts like this. Matt replies that it does.
- Grappling-Hook Gun: As mentioned above, Matt finally gets a grappling line built into his baton.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Despite never having worked with anything remotely like it before, Matt is an Instant Expert in the new and more complex features of his new baton. Meaning, beyond simply the "stick I hit people with" parts.
- Heroic Second Wind: At first, Daredevil and Elektra can't defeat Nobu despite it being two-on-one, but after Elektra is killed and the Punisher shows up to snipe the Mooks, Matt finally manages to defeat Nobu on his own.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: During their fight, Matt uses Nobu's signature spinning aerial kick against him. He returns the favor with Matt's uppercut a few seconds later.
- Internal Reveal: Matt tells Karen he is Daredevil in the last seconds of the episode.
- Ironic Echo: The exchange when Matt gets to Karen and the hostages and makes sure she's okay is practically an inverse of their exchange from Karen helping Matt get dressed for Grotto's funeral.
- Kick the Dog: The Hand threaten Brett's mother to get the confidential police files on Daredevil, Boom, Headshot! a Defiant Captive, and are willing to cut off Turk's foot instead of just cutting off the ankle strap holding his monitor.
- Let the Past Burn: Frank burns down his old house in the end.
- Lonely Funeral: Matt, Stick and the gravedigger are the only one's at Elektra's funeral. The gravedigger is later shown dead next to her exhumed grave.
- Mythology Gag:
- Elektra's red burial shroud resembles her comics costume.
- Frank grabs a disc labeled "Micro" before destroying his house, referring to his hacker ally David Lieberman (who was already referenced on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a member of Skye's old group).
- Off with His Head!: Stick is the one to decapitate Nobu.
- The Real Heroes: According to the article Karen is writing, just surviving in Hell's Kitchen makes you one.
- Really 700 Years Old: Elektra says that Nobu is believed to have survived several human lifetimes.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: The Hand ninjas, and both Matt and Elektra, all wear black and red.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Castle is shown reading a newspaper headline about his own 'death' in the harbor explosion.
- The Reveal: That huge urn that Nobu has been protecting is used as a sarcophagus for Elektra's body.
- Sequel Hook: The Hand are still around, and they have dug up Elektra's body and placed it in the sarcophagus. The Punisher is still out there, setting up his own series, and we never found out what happened in Afghanistan, and he has something on a disc in his home that he takes with him when he leaves.
- Significant Haircut: Foggy switches to a more 'corporate' slicked-back look for his interview with Jeri Hogarth.
- So Last Season: Matt has a much easier time fighting Nobu now that he is more experienced, has better gear and weapons, and knows how to focus his senses better in order to fight the Hand. Then again, he still loses first (even with the help of Elektra) and only wins after flying into a rage when Elektra is killed.
- It's possible Nobu might still have the edge in hand-to-hand combat, but thanks to Matt's armor, he can't land the debilitating blows that gave him the upper hand last time. That gives Matt (with Elektra's help) enough time to wear Nobu down. Then again, Nobu has his own set of weaponry to give him an edge. By the time Daredevil catches his Heroic Second Wind, however, he defeats Nobu fair and square.
- Stunned Silence: Karen does the Stunned Amazement kind as Matt produces his Daredevil mask from a paper bag.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Frank Castle takes out all of Nobu's men with his sniper rifle, then lets Matt fight Nobu by himself.
- Tracking Device: Turk is under house arrest, but he's worked out how to deactivate his leg monitor. Karen convinces him to turn it on so the authorities will know where they are.
- Unflinching Walk:
- Frank casually walks out of his exploding house after setting it on fire.
- Matt pulls a brief one after Frank starts sniping Hand ninjas around him.
- Understatement: Hogarth calling people like Daredevil, the Punisher, and Jessica Jones "people with complexities".
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Frank didn't find odd seeing Matt fighting with ninjas. Granted, with alien invasions, Norse Gods being real, and a man becoming a giant green monster when angry; a bunch of ninjas is far from being the weirdest thing in this setting.
- Weirdness Magnet: Brett Mahoney finally notes Karen's tendency to get involved in things, after Reyes's assassination, the shooting at her apartment, and the boat bombing. "Is there any shitstorm you're not a part of?"
- Wham Line: Matt telling Karen his identity as Daredevil. Doubles as a cliffhanger for the season.Matt: I have something that I need you to see.
(Shows Daredevil's mask to Karen)
Matt: I'm Daredevil. - What Happened to the Mouse?: So, what exactly can a Black Sky do? And why were the Hand digging so deep in Midlands Center, again? What were the kids being pumped for, if the Hand didn't want to kill Elektra? Did Reyes' corruption and conspiracy ever get exposed or did Karen not write about it? (Though The Defenders shows both the purpose of the Black Sky and why the Hand were digging at Midlands Center).
