One thing that actually jumped out at me in s01e11 was how Matt and Fisk's storylines mirror each other so closely as they both deal with the ways their ideals and chosen path isolate them and drive away the people they love. The beautiful thing for me though was that in that scenario, Foggy was pretty explicitly paralleling Vanessa. Fisk is terrified of Vanessa dying because of the poisoning that he believed was targeting him (and I suppose in a sense it was). Matt is devastated at the prospect of losing Foggy after Foggy finds out the truth about his double life. For both characters, it's the possibility of losing them that forces Matt and Fisk to really think about the cost of the choices they're making. It ups the stakes for them. It's such a clear and obvious parallel that I have trouble believing it was accidental, which ngl delights me.
Not to hijack your prompt but in that episode I was actually struck by how Wesley was most closely paralleled by Claire? They both function as a support person (which is not to say that they don't have their own agendas but.) They are the people Matt and Fisk open up to, reveal their vulnerabilities to and ask for help. They encourage Matt and Fisk not to shut out human connection. There's even a significant moment for each where Matt and Fisk thank them for everything they do.
I just thought it was pretty interesting that Claire is Matt's canon love interest, but in this one case she was obviously set up as a foil to Fisk's 2IC and friend, while Vanessa is Fisk's love interest, who plays the same role as Matt's best friend and business partner. Not that I think it's meaningful, beyond the show recognizing that different people fulfill different needs in a person's life in different ways, but it's still neat.
ANYWAY all of that said I definitely get where you're coming from with the Karen parallels too. This was just something I noticed and I needed to babble. For like 500 words lmao.
Re: wesley/fisk/vanessa vs. foggy/matt/karen parallels
Not to hijack your prompt but in that episode I was actually struck by how Wesley was most closely paralleled by Claire? They both function as a support person (which is not to say that they don't have their own agendas but.) They are the people Matt and Fisk open up to, reveal their vulnerabilities to and ask for help. They encourage Matt and Fisk not to shut out human connection. There's even a significant moment for each where Matt and Fisk thank them for everything they do.
I just thought it was pretty interesting that Claire is Matt's canon love interest, but in this one case she was obviously set up as a foil to Fisk's 2IC and friend, while Vanessa is Fisk's love interest, who plays the same role as Matt's best friend and business partner. Not that I think it's meaningful, beyond the show recognizing that different people fulfill different needs in a person's life in different ways, but it's still neat.
ANYWAY all of that said I definitely get where you're coming from with the Karen parallels too. This was just something I noticed and I needed to babble. For like 500 words lmao.