This week’s Daredevil: Born Again marks the penultimate episode of the second season, and all paths are set up now for the climactic finale. A lot still happened this week, with stakes and tensions rising amid the fallout of Vanessa’s death. But amid the themes of vengeance and redemption, the big hero moment wasn’t one relating to a costume hero or a violent confrontation.
That moment, of course, was the very public return of Matt Murdock, attorney at law. Matt has been living incognito all season, a fugitive marked as missing in the public eye after the events of the first season. With Karen Paige now arrested and facing prosecution from Fisk for vigilantism and terrorism as vengeance against anyone associated with masked fighters, Matt knows his time has come to emerge from the shadows to save his partner. I have to wonder how his co-counsel on this trial, Kirsten, reacted to seeing Matt in the flesh before his triumphant return, but alas. With all the cameras on Matt and an attempt on his life made by the AVTF, it does seem like the walls are closing in around Fisk, who has not only turned on the city he claims to love, causing him to lose their support, but he’s also lost his grip on Washington and higher political office. I have to imagine there were security cameras in the parking lot of a courthouse. Certainly, the regular NYPD and the courthouse proper have video footage of the AVTF trying to kill Matt, and proof that the cop was killed in the process?
Knowing that his grip on the political side of things is waning, Fisk orchestrates the demise of the governor of New York, with the goal of installing a puppet in her stead so he can keep his emergency powers in play. Matt ends up making a Hail Mary play. Knowing that Bullseye is seeking redemption for all the horrible things he’s done, he states that his hatred for him will never fade, but saving the governor could be something that tips the scales. Bullseye obliges and saves the governor from her would-be killer with a cheeky salute. I wonder if Marge will be able to deduce that Fisk orchestrated her killing?
Elsewhere, Daniel ultimately decides to let BB run as he faces Buck’s retribution. For a second, I thought Buck was going to spare Daniel, but the episode ends with him executing Daniel for atoning for all the bad things he’s done for Fisk. Michael Gandolfini ended up being a standout in Daredevil: Born Again, so I’m sad to see him go, especially after Daniel came to his senses and let BB run away, thus saving her life. Both him and Bullseye had these great redemption moments this week, but redemption doesn’t mean you walk away into the sunset. Bullseye literally walks away into the darkness, destination and motive unknown, where Daniel literally has his lights shut off.
Karen had her interrogation with Heather, and that went about as well as you can expect, considering their relationship to Matt. Heather, though, does ultimately snap with violence and physically attacks Karen, while the projection of Muse watches from the mirror’s reflection in the room. With all this buildup, I think it’ll be a major letdown if Heather doesn’t become Muse in the third season of the show. So while other characters are doing their damnest to atone, Heather seems like she’ll be a victim of tragedy, succumbing to the trauma she received. With one more episode to go, I do hope we get close enough and answers to many of these threads this season, while keeping things open just enough to set up the next season, as the finale of Born Again season one did. Stay tuned for our review of the finale and the second season next week!
