After seven years off the air, Marvel’s all time best TV series is finally back! That’s right, we’re talking Daredevil: Born Again the highly anticipated sequel series to the beloved Netflix era series that is not only the best Marvel TV show, but one of the best TV shows ever made. So how does this new Disney+ series stack up to the hallmark show in its first two episodes? Let’s find out!
In the two episode premiere, Matt Murdock is forced into a personal crisis when Wilson Fisk returns, while a man arrested for killing a cop may be more than he appears. Fisk and Vanessa are forced to confront personal issues, while Matt meet someone new.
Nelson, Murdock and Page | Episode one, “Heaven’s Half Hour,” begins as Matt (Charlie Cox), Foggy (Elden Henson) and Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) exiting their law offices- Nelson, Murdock and Page!!!- and heading to Josie’s bar to celebrate a cop named Cherry’s (Clark Johnson) retirement party, as they watch the White Tiger beating up robbers on the news. Foggy is flirted with by a fellow lawyer named Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) before he gets a call from someone who says there’s someone downstairs in his apartment, which Matt overhears. Foggy explains that he’s hiding a witness named Benny at his apartment and didn’t tell Matt because he didn’t want to give him an excuse.
Naturally, Matt goes to the apartment as Daredevil while Foggy keeps calling Benny, but Benny tells Foggy that he gave up his location to the man who attacked him. Foggy is then shot through the chest by none other than Rex (Wilson Bethel) who is now Bullseye and attempts to kill Karen, but Daredevil fights him off through the bar and up the stairs to the rooftop above- all in one shot, natch- but as Daredevil fights Bullseye, he hears Foggy’s heartbeat stop down below. Furious and devastated, Daredevil throws Bullseye off the roof, much to Karen’s horror below, but somehow he survives. Cherry arrives at the rooftop to see Matt without his mask, which he throws off the roof. And that’s just the first scene.
Justice | One year later, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) is overseeing a meeting of various mob bosses, when Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) arrives, much to her shock. He announces to her that he has the signatures necessary to back his run for mayor of New York City. Elsewhere, Matt arrives at his law office, which he’s sharing with McDuffie, who asks if he’s heard from Karen, to which Matt’s answer is no. Matt then takes the stand at Dex’s trial, but stops when Karen enters the courtroom. He continues testifying against Dex and thankfully, the court sentences him to multiple life sentences. Afterwards, Matt tries to talk to Karen, who mentions that she’s now living in San Francisco, but she leaves him with a broken horn from Daredevil’s helmet before walking out.
Back at home, Matt hears Fisk announcing his candidacy on TV, while Fisk meets with his campaign managers, including Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini), who is so excited that Fisk is running for mayor, he drops a rare MCU F Bomb. The next day, Matt meets a client named Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), only for her to announce that she’s a therapist and Matt was set up with her by McDuffie. Despite the ambush, Matt and Heather hit it off, even though he doesn’t say so to McDuffie. Once Matt gets back to the office, he meets Cherry to discuss Fisk’s campaign, which Cherry says is legally sound.
Fisk Can Fix It | As Fisk is leaving a building, he is met outside by Matt and the two go to a diner to talk. The two of them actually have a friendly conversation and even laugh a few times when Fisk brings up what transpired in Echo. Fisk admits that he had nothing to do with Foggy’s murder and tries to convince Matt that he is truly looking out for the city. He asks Matt why he stopped being Daredevil and Matt said that he lost the privilege after Foggy’s death. Once again, Matt promises that if Fisk steps out of line, he will be there. Fisk fires back and says that if Matt becomes Daredevil again, there will be consequences.
That night, Matt and Heather go out to dinner, but Matt overhears a radio saying that Fisk has been elected mayor. As Fisk’s camp celebrates, he privately says to Vanessa that he knows about someone named Adam, but promises not to kill him. As Fisk gives his victory speech, Heather kisses Matt goodnight. Matt walks home through a crowd of pro-Fisk protesters, but ignores cries for help, ending episode one.
Vigilantes | Episode two, “Optics,” begins with a man (Kamar De Los Reyes) walking through the subway when he sees two guys beating another guy up and fights them, throwing one guy in front of an oncoming subway train. The other man pulls out and NYPD badge and arrests him on the spot. Fisk is arranged multiple meetings with New York’s top officials and is advised by his campaign manager to include Vanessa in his affairs, to which Fisk says the two of them have work to do. While at the police station, Matt overhears the man from the subway, whose name is Hector Ayala, being beaten in the interrogation room and when Matt asks if he willingly killed the cop, he hears Hector’s heartbeat accelerate, but still agrees to represent him.
Personal Questions | As Fisk is being driven to his first meeting, the traffic is held up by a hole in the road, but Fisk steps out of the car and orders the construction crew to fill the hole, which a group of bystanders record on their phones. Matt and Kirsten head to court for Hector’s arraignment, which ends very quickly when the D.A., Hochberg (John Benjamin Hickey), arrives and immediately calls for Hector to be held without bail. At Fisk’s office, a reporter named BB Urich (Genneya Walton), who happens to be Ben Urich’s niece, gets access to an interview with Fisk via Blake and she tells him that the police commissioner is preparing to resign. The interview ends quickly when BB asks about Vanessa, but after she leaves, Fisk says that they can use her.
Heather is approached at a signing for her self help book by a young man who says that he needs help and she gives him her email before another man asks for her autograph in creepy fashion. Fisk arrives to the funeral of the cop Hector killed and the police commissioner (Michael Gaston) tells him off and says that he will make sure Fisk’s term as mayor doesn’t last long. Kirsten and Cherry meet with Hector’s wife, Soledad (Ashley Marie Ortiz), but while they brief her, Cherry finds the White Tiger costume in a box under their bed, which he relays to Matt.
Just a Lawyer | The police commissioner goes to see Fisk to officially resign, but Fisk shows him a photo of his illegitimate son, forcing him to stay on. Matt convinces the head prosecutor not to bring up the White Tiger persona in court, after which Cherry informs him that he can’t track down the man who Hector saved on the subway. This forces Matt to follow the cop who arrested Hector home, but he gets a call from Heather who says they can’t make their date. But it turns out the reason for this is that she’s hosting a therapy session for Fisk and Vanessa!
Matt overhears a call from the cop in his apartment that tells him to go find the witness and kill him. Matt calls Cherry and asks him to get the witness out and Matt gets to his apartment first and ushers the witness out to Cherry. Matt stays behind as the cops storm in and try to kill him, but he beats the crap out of them and lets out a primal scream.
Daredevil: Born Again streams new episodes Tuesdays on Disney+.
A native of Boise, Idaho, Bradley is a hardcore entertainment junkie whose interest span many different genres. Favorite shows include: The Originals, Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Silicon Valley and Powers.
