#daredevil meta

the rabbit in a snowstorm painting being recreated with the blood trickling down her — blood that wilson spilled in both cases.

that scene mirroring foggy's last moments, with karen and fisk both begging for an ambulance as they loom over them. the staging of their bodies, and with vanessa and foggy both being targeted for their greatest strengths — for vanessa, her mind and for foggy, his heart.

I’m sorry Matt “reader of Thurgood Matshall since age nine” Murdock is suddenly not dissenting from the indifference, apathy, fear and disgust at the height of his legal naivety? Matt who individually chose to leave big law to avoid this exact shit and had Foggy straying along after him with protest? Matt, the guy who took Healy’s case because he was a person, took Frank’s case because he was a person, took KAREN’S case because she was a person was ever not going to advocate for his client, a person, who didn’t deserve to die by doing the basics of his fucking job that he pursued for exactly that reason? Matt who values human life above all and always has??

Matt, who went back for Vladimir Ranskahov, the human trafficker, needed a Foggy ghost to tell him to go back for Bullseye?

Foggy, the guy who was fully on board for going after a cancer patient for telling his doctor information about the corporation that gave him the cancer, you know, maybe, at *this exact time*? Foggy who became a lawyer for the money? Foggy who “gets distracted by the zeroes”? Foggy who relies on his “bleeding heart partner” to make moral decisions for him, who wasn’t interested in defending Healy, or Frank, or KAREN until Matt stepped in? Until he took control of his own decisions in season 3?

THAT Matt needed THAT Foggy to guide him morally on such a clear cut case of let’s not doom a human being to death for some petty shit?

Like I’m not saying Foggy is a bad person, I’d say he's quite a good person who would want to help the guy like he did in the flashback given the situation, but the thought that any part of Matt would resist that decision is not just terrible terrible characterization, but would, in fact be characteristic of Foggy the most of anyone in the trio. They are literally stapling Foggy’s flaws onto Matt in the name of juxtaposing Foggy’s good qualities, which Matt not only shares, but has historically brought out in Foggy.

And it’s just so so extra fucking bullshit because there was always this layer of moral ableism on Foggy’s part, the way he saw Matt as so pure and felt so betrayed by him for not being all Tiny Tim wounded duck like he wanted him to be instead of an actual human being with dimension and moral complexity, and now. now not only are we erasing all these glaring fucking character flaws in the abled character, we’re also shifting them onto to the disabled character himself while transferring out his good qualities. Gross.

Fucking gross.

Matt can have an internal compass that doesn’t waver AND readily stray from the path that compass points to — they’re not actually mutually exclusive and this is, in fact, a core tenet of the entire Netflix series. The disabled guy does not need the abled guy to tell him how to have the morals he’s had since before he hit double digits, and especially when that involves erasing literal years of established character development, nuance, and dynamics in favor of complete nonsense. Foggy’s role was never Matt’s morality pet, he was always always his anchor to being a part of the neighborhood Matt would otherwise disappear into to protect. He’s grounding, not a guide.

Fembot and Austin Powers

The word has existed since the 1970s with The Bionic Woman, but it was definitely brought back to the mainstream because of the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. And in that movie the fembots are sexualized robots, women with long blonde hair who are scantily dressed, seduce Austin, and shoot men with guns in their breasts.

Could it be a reference to something else, something not related to this satirical movie from the 90s? That's certainly always possible, but Foggy is the pop culture king of tv Daredevil. He sings a song from The Pirates of Penzance, he references Top Gun's Maverick and Goose, he mimics Yoda to make Matt laugh. He calls Jessica Super Joan Jett, he mentions Beyonce and Digital Underground to Luke, he recognizes Ghostface Killah by sight. He's one of the only NMCU characters to mention an Avenger by name! Foggy is the go-to guy for pop culture references, so it's fitting for something from his past to be rooted in a movie.

So why this movie? Foggy knows Lionel "Ray" McCoy from childhood, they grew up in the same building. Foggy was best friends with Ray's younger brother Connor. They had living room sleepovers. The timeline is hazy (per usual for DD), but Foggy's description to Matt implies he was present both before and after Suzanne McCoy's death when her son Connor was in the eighth grade (age 13 or 14). A movie series with installments ranging from 1997 to 2002 is perfectly in line with that time.

But why "fembot" when Austin Powers has a really mean and obvious character name targeting weight that is primed for the taking (Fat Bastard)? The choice of "fembot" raises some really interesting possible interpretations.

Foggy and Ray's First Scene

On my first watch of the episode, it struck me immediately as if it were a homphobic slur. I literally had to pause the tv, stand up, and pace for a second around the coffee table before I could sit back down and press play again. It isn't a slur of course and it softened intensity the more they said it. It’s a goofy and childish thing to call him, especially as adults.

Elden's performance in these flashback scenes is quite nuanced. He plays it very complicated. You can frequently see there are several thoughts happening all at once in Foggy’s brain.

When Ray first asks "Foggy the Fembot?" Foggy looks incredulous. He glances first at Matt, perhaps embarrassed Matt's going to witness this encounter, then asks "Ray?", "Isn't your name Ray?". And you can practically see himself wondering if this is actually happening.

Ray confirms his name is Lionel, because "you think I'd go by Lionel in that neighborhood?". It's ironic he's saying this to a guy who goes by Foggy no matter the neighborhood. It's cruel that he bullied Foggy by calling him "fembot" in the same neighborhood he was too insecure to go by Lionel in. They lived in the same building, remember.

Next Lionel makes the most overt suggestion to the sexual undertones of "fembot". He says "You know Fembot here used to clean my sneakers, didn't you?". He says this with a blink and miss it lick of the lips, with a hint of pursed lips. Foggy stares into the distant ground, face carefully blank, not looking at Ray or at Matt. Ray's rude additude towards Matt's blindness snaps him out of this frozen moment and he redirects the conversation to Connor.

Now, you can take this as far and as serious as you want to take it. "Clean my sneakers" isn't slang for anything specific as far as I can tell. And Ray doesn't just call him "fembot", he mocks all authority Foggy has ("You Mr Nelson? Is that supposed to be you?"). But this entire scene, Foggy stumbles over his words and through cut-off sentences when in the hallway he was rattling off case details with ease. The legal aspects are the only time he speaks with confidence, boosted by Matt's subtle encouragement. Otherwise he can barely look at Ray, gazing away in discomfort. This cuts deep for Foggy.

Just compare it to the how he acts around Mr. Levine. Mr Levine calls the duo “fuckos” and Foggy still tries to address him as Jeff, then later is openly mocking “Mr. Levine Thank You”. He's not afraid of that guy one bit. And when Matt repeats “Foggy the Fembot” twice, both times Foggy half chuckles, like he knows it’s childish and stupid and appreciates that Matt does too.

Foggy and Connor

Foggy's relationship with Connor is an undercurrent through all of the flashback scenes. He clumsily explains to Matt that "We- uh- used to... hang out. Me and his brother. We were best friends." He's off kilter describing that relationship. When he asks after Connor, wanting to know what happened to him, he looks uncomfortable when told Connor had "knocked up the first chick he could."

During Foggy's discussion with Matt in their office he reveals the details of the McCoy homelife. He likely even witnessed some of it. Remember, he'd sleep over. He saw how much the mother, Suzanne, drank. He describes the father vaguely: "he was not a good guy". I think it's telling that Foggy mentions her by name and him not. Foggy continues, “Connor was younger. Lionel took the brunt of it. I - I didn’t like him.”

That last sentence, go watch how it’s said and the face Foggy makes. He chokes it out, stumbles over his words, furrows his brow. Did Foggy even mean to say it? It doesn't add to his argument. So why did he say it? Who is “him”, hiding in the subtext? Lionel? The dad? …maybe even Connor?

Ray clearly bullied Foggy. He was obviously jealous of the friendship between his brother and Foggy. In the later scene, when Ray says “I never really had a friend like that”, Foggy replies with a knowing “I know”. And that bullying took the form (at least in part) of calling him "fembot", during the pre-teen and teenage period of their life. And now as an adult, calling him that old mean nickname with a deliberately suggestive gesture.

Ray makes Foggy stumble over his words, as we saw earlier. But so does talking about Connor. Why was Foggy halting when he told Matt he and Connor were best friends? Foggy's often free with affection, this should be the easy part to describe. But Ray has context Matt doesn't, context Foggy isn't prepared for Matt to know.

I didn't like Ray because he hurt me.

I didn't like the dad because he was a bad man.

I didn't like Connor, I didn't have a crush on him, please stop bullying me.

Foggy and Ray's Final Scene

At the end of the first scene, the only time Foggy is able to truly face Ray is when Ray describes his death sentence should he go to prison. Foggy is no longer distracted by the humiliation ritual, he's laser focused. This turns the table for the final scene.

Something I found really interesting is that Ray only calls Foggy "fembot" in front of Matt. When Foggy goes to his apartment, he calls him Foggy. While at the jail his parting words were “Good to see you Fembot”, in Matt’s presence. That entire conversation in the apartment, he only calls him Foggy.

Now Foggy has the upper hand, not Ray. They stand in the very same apartment from childhood, the one where Suzanne drank herself to death and the McCoy dad did "bad guy" things. Where Connor and Foggy camped in sleeping bags with flashlights, best friends, Ray wishing he could join in. Now it's Ray who stumbles over his words. But Foggy doesn't belittle Ray, he watches him talk with compassion.

He helps him get out of this place and tells him he is worthy of his brother. They have tears in their eyes. Ray gently ushers Foggy out of the apartment.

Conclusion: Why "Fembot"?

Everything is painted in innuendo, all so ambiguous that there are many ways to interpret it. Maybe Ray is just a plain bully, repeating childish wrongs. But here is where I acknowledge that this little tale is playing as backdrop against the Matt-Bullseye drama. Bullseye, who committed the most grievous offense, changing Matt intrinsically. This certainly feels more serious than just name-calling.

I keep going back to that initial instinctual reaction I had: that it felt like a slur had been used. I look at Foggy and Connor, the things said and unsaid, text and subtext. Look at those pictures of the fembots again. Look at how Foggy reacts to it. Foggy, who had long blond hair as a teenager. Who went to theater camp. Who greeted his new college roommate by calling him a "really, really good-looking guy". Who jokes with his best friend about kisses and marriage. Who is free with affection and hugs.

Matt catches whatever it was fucking inches from his face and Foggy Nelson doesn't even have the gall to even look at Matt. He's not surprised, he's not bewildered.

In my experience, characters who take on the voice of reason tend to also be the straight man (in the comedy definition) and also a party pooper towards the more reckless or rowdy characters in a situation.

Similarly, I'm sure we've all had the experience of beloved characters being reduced to comic relief in adaptations of our favorite media and how frustrating the erasure of meaningful character depth can be (don't get me started on Jesper in the SaB show, Kit I love you but the writers did not do you justice).

I've noticed many authors struggle to reconcile charismatic or silly characters with darker moments- I do wonder if this has anything to do with the so-called irony epidemic on the internet right now where everything has to be a joke. It has always bothered me when characters I care about are either never present during serious scenes or act uncharacteristically immature and remain unable to read the room in heavy moments.

Neither of these are a problem when it comes to Foggy because he's treated as a character and not a trope. He is to his core a genuine person who cares about his friends and wants to do the right thing. The fact that he is so easygoing is actually a boon to his career as a lawyer because it disarms his legal opponents and allows him to catch them off guard. He also is great at diffusing tension and de-escalating high-stress situations.

He's likeable and fun, but it never detracts from his determination or the gravity with which he treats his work. He's more responsible and better at communicating than Matt, and he's less impulsive and more cautious than Karen. He's very emotionally intelligent and reads people arguably better than Matt can- listening to all the heartbeats in the world won't measure up to understanding and appealing to a person's inner nature as Foggy demonstrates his ability to do time and time again. He can hit people where it hurts with only his words.

This is not to mention his thorough integrity and refusal to budge on his morals. He advises Karen again and again to not go outside of the law as much as it may help her investigation. He insists on being the bigger person and still finds it in himself to forgive Matt every time he fucks up while also not hiding his feelings of hurt and betrayal. He learns that Matt is going to kill Fisk and despite all the harm Fisk has caused and how much it may benefit society to see him gone, he still reports it to the police because he knows that Matt taking a life will fundamentally change him in a way he can never recover from.

And I am forever grateful that he was spared the fate of being reduced to a walking database of quips that so many MCU characters seem to meet.

I think this gif sums it up nicely:

i really think there’s something so lovely about seeing matt’s character. like he is a guy who puts himself in the line of danger, who doesn’t walk away but walks in, who is kind but firm with the people around him, who is smart and clever and creative. and he makes a friend!! (yusuf ily)