created for television by: Dario Scardapane, Matt Corman, Chris Ord
showrunner: Dario Scardapane
Since the original Daredevil show on Netflix ended in 2018, Daredevil: Born Again was something that I, like many fans of the original Netflix show, had hoped for but remained unsure of ever getting. When Season 1 finally debuted last year I was able to watch two episodes before tuning out due to the demands of the real world. I meant to get back to it but then Disney Plus lapsed, and it would be a while before I reupped it.
Well, having bulldozed through the remaining episodes of Season 1 and all of Season 2 in a week, I have this to say: nice save, Marvel.
Yes, DBA S1 quite violently kicks off with a shocking death at the hands of notorious assassin Bullseye (Wilson Bethe) and Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) getting his vengeance by throwing Bullseye off a roof, four stories to the pavement. Years later, Matt has gone full time in legal practice, having retired his superhero alter ego and is shocked to discover that his old nemesis Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) has not only managed to stay out of jail after the events of Season 3 but is actually running for Mayor of New York. Fisk wins, much to the chagrin of people who know who he really is. Of course, a leopard will never change its spots, and the newly-elected Mayor Fisk trains his sights on vigilantes, forming a task force full of cops with anger and disciplinary issues and giving them carte blanche to solve the "vigilante problem." The emergency of a new serial killer, the gruesome Muse who drains his victims' blood and paints with it, complicates things further for Matt, who has sworn off being Daredevil but cannot continue to the cry for help to deal with this killer, even with the Anti-Vigilante Task Force keen to claim vigilante scalps. It doesn't help that apart from targeting vigilantes, Fisk has other, more sinister plans that might even have something to do with why Foggy was killed in the first place.
In Season 2, Matt stumbles on Fisk's plans to smuggle guns through his Red Hook property, which protected from scrutiny by a little known, archaic charter, and has to brainstorm with Karen to stop him, all while Fisk and his bloodthirsty Anti-Vigilante Task Force are gunning for them both. Will they run out of time, or will they be able to turn the tables on the once-and-forever Kingpin of Crime?
To be clear, the Netflix Daredevil series which ran for three seasons was far from perfect. Season 1 was sublime, Season 2 was a hot mess, and Season 3, while a conspicuous improvement, still didn't quite match the magic that Steven S. DeKnight and Drew Goddard had woven with that magical first season. But overall it was a really satisfying adaptation, especially when compared to the disastrous 2003 movie. It was a really high bar for Born Again to clear, so to my mind, so it was almost inevitable that it would fall short. That said, by the send of Season 2 they had really reestablished the quality for which this series was well-known when it bowed out in 2018.
There's a lot I like about this series, including some new characters introduced. I didn't quite care for Dr. Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), the therapist who goes from Matt's frustrated girlfriend in Season 1 to full-on antagonist in Season 2, with a still bigger role planned for Season 3, but I liked the other new characters like Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) the ultimate Fisk yes man with a surprisingly moving story arc, Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevara), Fisk's Chief of Staff, Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki James), Matt's new law partner, Cherry (Clark Johnson) an ex-cop who helps Matt and Kirsten out with as their investigator, BB Urich (Genneya Walton) the niece of the late Ben Urich who's followed in his footsteps as a guerrilla journalist, and Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan) as Fisk's deadly right hand. Of course, it was a treat to Cox return as the character for which he will undoubtedly be best remembered, and D'Onofrio as his nemesis. It was also nice seeing old favorites from the old series like Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page and Wilson Bethel as Bullseye, even though they sat out most of Season 1. I admit to being mildly disturbed that at one point I was actually cheering Bullseye on (there is a context for it). There's a nice walk-on from Jon Berthnal as the Punisher but it is regrettably brief, and quite clearly just as setup for his one-shot special Punisher: One Last Kill, which in turn will lay the groundwork for his appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The writing and character work take a while to find their footing, but the acting, particularly from Cox and D'Onofrio is very much on point all throughout both seasons, as is the incredible fight choreography, though wonky swinging CGI makes an unfortunate (but thankfully, rare) appearance. This is still a Marvel production, after all, so action is very much a cornerstone of the storytelling, though, it does veer into the silly fairly often, between Wilson Fisk's superhuman strength and Matt Murdock's apparent ability to shrug off gunshot wounds as if he were Wolverine or Deadpool.
More than just fisticuffs, though, Daredevil: Born Again hit close to home for me with its disturbing themes on gross abuse of authority, which as outlandish as some of the storytelling can be, is actually one of the more plausible aspects of the series. If the first season back in 2015 contained a story like this, with Kingpin basically taking over New York with a violent good squad, I would have dismissed the writing as utterly implausible, but unfortunately, these days, it feels all too real.
Overall, Marvel have, to my mind at least, successfully transitioned Daredevil into the larger MCU (where he was supposed to be in the first place, given that the very first season referenced the alien attach from the Avengers), which was the main mission, and have expanded on the character's lore in pretty memorable fashion. The setup for Season 3, which is currently being filmed, is pretty darned tantalizing, and I've certainly enjoyed this series enough to say for sure that I will definitely be back for more in 2027.
8.5/10
