In episode one of the revival, fans were fed some nostalgia for the original series with Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, and Karen Page spending time with friends at Josie’s Bar. This wholesome scene is quickly turned on its head when Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter’s Bullseye kills Nelson, leaving Murdock and Page to pick up the pieces of their lives without their dearest friend. One year later, Murdock is law partners with former prosecutor Kirsten McDuffie and hasn’t spoken to Page in months.
On the other hand, Wilson Fisk has returned from his almost deadly injury and has been elected mayor of New York City. The platform he ran on is one of anger towards vigilantes and a nearly obsessive love of the city. It is also revealed that Vanessa, his wife, had grown distant during his time away and was running the crime syndicate independently.
The most crucial scene of the first episode is Murdock and Fisk’s first meeting in years, which takes place in a diner. They come to a solemn understanding over Nelson’s death while threatening the other to uphold their promises—for Fisk to steer away from crime and for Murdock never to don the iconic red suit again.
There will be spoilers from here on out for “Optics.”
Mayor Wilson Fisk
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 2 starts on an eerie New Year’s Eve, where newly elected Mayor Wilson Fisk shares a video with his constitutes, sharing his plans to bring about a new age of law and order to New York City, where vigilantes like Spiderman, The Punisher and Daredevil are banished from the streets. Fans of the new politician are seen cheering in Times Square as his face covers the big screens, while others seem weary and worried.
These sentiments are continued in video clips shown throughout the episode, similar to what was seen in episode one. Many New Yorkers tire of vigilantes and criminals ruling their streets and searching for a better way. It shows how much trust they have lost in the heroes meant to protect them and have chosen to entrust their safety to Fisk, which is heartbreaking for fans of the original show.
There is, however, some resistance to Fisk’s reign. As he gets settled into his new mayoral desk, he is met with a list of meetings with city commissioners and leaders—all who dislike Fisk due to his years of crime. In true Kingpin fashion, he takes a moment to monologue about his abusive and controlling father, who only respected former Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Sheila Rivera, a member of his staff, reminds Fisk of the importance of presenting a united front with the city’s leaders, like the Police Commissioner and District Attorney, as well as his wife Vanessa, who has not been seen as supportive of his new status. This is brought to his attention again by a young journalist, BB Urich, who reminds the former crime boss that if he loses control of the police, he will lose control of the city. It is also revealed that BB is the niece of Ben Urich, a journalist who helped uncover Fisk’s criminal activities in the original show and was eventually killed by him. While BB Urich’s stance on the new mayor is unclear, the video clips of New Yorkers continuously shown are accredited to her.
While daunting, these struggles with authority don’t seem to concern the new mayor, who makes a remarkable appearance at a sinkhole on a local highway, where he demands workers fix the issue and speaks to onlookers about solving the city’s problems. This demanding behaviour is not shocking to those who have seen Fisk in action. Still, his eagerness to help is quickly tested after an argument with Police Commissioner Gallo. Gallo antagonises the mayor, swearing to have him removed from leadership and calling him Kingpin. This seems to be the breaking point for Fisk and his first step towards his old notorious ways.
When Gallo comes to hand in his resignation letter, Fisk threatens him coyly, showing a picture of his illegitimate child in Philadelphia. After forcing Gallo to remain in his position, the mayor reminds him that he will not grant any requests like increased Police Academy class sizes or higher wages. It was also noticeable that he had new bruises on his knuckles, a sign of a recent fight. The Kingpin is back.
Finally, the episode leaves Fisk off at couple therapy with Vanessa. The therapist leading this discussion is none other than Heather Glenn, Murdock’s new love interest, who was seen earlier in the episode hosting a signing for her latest book.
The White Tiger
Meanwhile, over a hundred blocks north of the iconic Ball Drop, Hector Ayala, played by the late Kamar de los Reyes, is seen heading down to the subway carrying flowers when he sees two men harassing someone. Being a good Samaritan, Ayala tries to intervene and gets into a physical fight with the men. In the middle of the dramatic scene, the original victim runs off before one of the attackers falls into the tracks and is hit by an oncoming train. The other man then identifies himself as a New York Police Officer and arrests Ayala for killing a cop.
Viewers see Hector again when Murdock overhears the police forcing a false confession from Ayala, claiming he attacked the men on the subway unprovoked. Using his indescribable hearing, Murdock realises Ayala is both innocent and hiding something and decides to take his pro bono case against his partner’s wishes. The arraignment is a fool’s errand, with the judge automatically denying bail and dozens of police officers showing up to support the prosecution.
Murdock knows the only way to win this case is if they find the runaway victim, and he sends Cherry, a former police officer turned private investigator, to investigate. While talking to Soledad, Hector Ayala’s wife, Cherry finds a chest containing the mystical amulet and recognisable white suit of The White Tiger, an iconic Marvel comics vigilante. The camera also pans quickly over an image of a young girl, who comic fans assume is Ava Ayala, Hector’s daughter and future warrior of the amulet.
Murdock is, of course, angry with Ayala’s apparent deception and visits him at Rikers Island prison to call him out on it. The White Tiger rattles the former vigilante, saying, “Someone’s gotta protect the streets. People are going missing. No one seems to care. It’s not like Daredevil’s around anymore.” This former and current vigilante dynamic will be fascinating as the season progresses.
Although still annoyed by his client’s heroic tendencies, Murdock is able to strike the vigilantism from the record and not allow the prosecution to utilise it against Ayala. Seeing the hero in a courtroom setting is always a treat for fans, and this episode does not disappoint, with Murdock leaving the judge almost speechless during the discussion.
Later on, after a long talk with Cherry about this case hitting too close to home, the lawyer takes the investigation into his own hands and follows one of the apparent corrupt police officers to the apartment of Nick Torres, the subway victim. He helps Torres escape, but at a cost – Murdock stays behind to distract them. The two cops beat our hero up for a few gruesome minutes as he fights to control his inner demons. Once a gun is pulled on him, however, all bets are off. Daredevil fights back, defeating the instigators. It was an intricate fight scene and rivals some of the brutality we saw from the vigilante in the early episodes of the original series. The episode closes with Murdock hastily putting his cracked glasses back on and screaming as he tries to regain control.
Next Week
After an ending like that, Tuesday feels like a century away. So far, the most intriguing aspect of this season is the internal battle we constantly see Murdock have. After losing control of himself like that, everything will change for the rehabilitated fighter.
Furthermore, one of the men who attacked Murdock in the final scene revealed a tattoo on his forearm that looks very similar to the skull symbol often associated with The Punisher. Whether this is a reference to the misinterpretation of the symbol amongst many in law enforcement or a hint that the character will be returning is unclear. However, Frank Castle is listed as a character on Daredevil: Born Again’s IMDB page, so we hope he appears soon.
Overall, this episode is 8.5/10. The consequences of the actions in this episode are just the beginning, and the coming episodes should spend more time delving into Murdock and Fisk’s opposing psyches as they both fall back into old habits.
