Episode 4 of Daredevil: Born Again focused on Matt Murdock as a lawyer and reluctant investigator, as he struggles to come to terms with the death of Hector Ayala and the failing justice system. It also featured the return of Frank Castle, played by Jon Bernthal. The Punisher forced the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen to accept his guilt and take the following steps as a vigilante. For Fisk, the episode was a massive turning point, where viewers finally saw his return to his roots as a violent and angry mob boss. One of the most critical aspects of the episode was the fascinating introduction of Muse, the new bad guy of the season.
The Bank
Matt Murdock entered New York Mutual Bank in Manhattan among the array of drunk St Patrick’s Day parade goers and performers decked out in green. There, he was met by a familiar face to Marvel fans—Yusuf Khan, the father of Kamala Khan. The unlikely pair bonded over Jersey City, Khan’s love for his daughter, and Ms. Marvel, who Khan has a Funko of on his desk. As assistant manager of the bank, however, he was tasked with giving Murdock the bad news that his business loan was not accepted.
As Murdock headed down the street after the meeting, he heard the bank was being robbed. He informed his partner Kristen McDuffie, and then, playing into his appearance, wandered back into the bank and became a hostage. The robbers, led by one of the mobsters associated with Fisk named Devlin, threatened the crowd of bank goers, but were continuously interrupted by Murdock’s attempts to de-escalate the situation.
As the police arrived on the scene, Devlin and his men met in one of the side offices, where they discussed following a plan given to them by their unnamed boss and getting into the bank vault. The detective leading the hostage negotiation, Angie Kim, was able to convince Devlin to release two hostages as a sign of good faith if she provided him with three armoured APVs in the next thirty minutes.
Meanwhile, Khan, who lied about being able to open the door, was sent downstairs to the vault with an armed assailant. In an attempt to help his new friend, Murdock pretends to need to use the bathroom. One of the robbers escorted him, but our favourite vigilante took him down in a fantastic staircase fight scene, reminiscent of the original series. After meeting up with Khan, the attorney was able to open the safe utilising his bat-like hearing and even warded off Devlin with an impressive Irish accent. They had an emotional moment, discussing Murdock’s orphan childhood and their hopes for the future. The pair pieced together the reason for the robbery, which was one of the safety deposit boxes, and ended up containing an orange diamond.
Back up the stairs, Devlin was on the phone with Detective Kim and had become impatient. After demanding a joke from the detective, the mobster informed her that he would start executing hostages in ten minutes. Murdock and Khan returned with the diamond, just as police were about to breach the bank. Murdock threw the diamond, concealed in a bag, to Devlin, just as smoke engulfed the main room and chaos ensued.
Devlin passed the small bag to a female companion, who was disguised as one of the bank hostages, with a message to give the prize to Luca, and stole a police uniform to disappear into the crowd. Murdock, in turn, took one of the robbers’ masks, which is coincidentally a familiar red, and followed Devlin to a side street. They fought for a few moments, and the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen shockingly struggled at first but defeated his opponent with a vile leg break. Blocks away, the female companion opened the bag and learned it was just a piece of candy.
Days late, Murdock returned to the bank and met with Yusuf Khan again to check on him after the traumatic event. Khan invited his new friend for a home-cooked meal in Jersey City and promised to help brainstorm a way to make the Murdocks’ firm more profitable. Just before the credits, it is revealed that Murdock had kept the diamond and had left it for Khan to find in his candy bowl.
What Next?
While this episode, which ranks at 7.5/10, was more of a filler as the rest of the plot develops, it did contain some key information that will impact the rest of Daredevil: Born Again. Viewers learned that the Five Families had continued to operate without Fisk’s careful guidance. It also opened the doors to more guest stars from the extended Marvel Universe. Next, we hope to return to the intriguing but scary Muse plot, while also revisiting the mob violence taking over the city.
