After only a year between seasons (how refreshing!), Daredevil: Born Again returns for its sophomore season. Unlike the first season, which saw massive rewrites occur partway through production, season two locked in a vision to be in line with the revised episodes of the first season, which line up in tone and narratively with the original Netflix run of the show. And while the season two premiere may not be as frenetic or pulse-pounding as the season one premiere, we’re still off to a good start!
Daredevil: Born Again opens up some time after the events of the season one finale, with Mayor Fisk in complete control of the city and cracking down hard on crime and vigilantism with his Anti-Vigilante Task Force, who are running New York without oversight or due process. Assaults, fear, and intimidation are the new norms, and the propaganda machine is certainly making it seem that living under martial law is actually beneficial for all. Meanwhile, Fisk is smuggling military-grade weapons into the city en masse for parties yet unknown, but that doesn’t mean the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen isn’t at least aware of the shipment. He may have boarded the ship, but the captain was instructed to sink the ship should anyone board the vessel, so right in the river, a half-downed ship containing Fisk’s illegal contraband is waiting like a powder keg to go off, and everyone is coordinating and rushing to secure the goods first to either expose or protect the Kingpin. Helping Fisk out this time is Mr. Charlie, a CIA spook played by Matthew Lillard, who seems to be five steps ahead of any situation, but contrasts wildly with the posh and manicured setting that Fisk and Vanessa live in. The show seemingly continues to use the Fisk admin to highlight events in the news, this time using the fear of terrorism by the perceived enemy of the state as a justification for harsh laws and actions.
This episode put most of the focus on Daredevil, rather than Matt. He’s got a new black costume this time around, and he’s the one to open up the show this time around, as opposed to his alter ego. The action is brief overall in this episode and doesn’t seem to have the same level of freneticness as we’ve seen before, ending before it feels like it ever gets started (this happens at the end of the episode, too). It’s not a bad thing, it just doesn’t hit you with the “wow” factor we know this series to be capable of. And while the AVTF are brutal in their methods, not having the city feel like it’s in miserable lockdown does make the stakes feel a bit lessened compared to where we left off last year.
As mentioned, we don’t get too much of Matt (the alter ego), but we do get to spend time with him and Karen, who will be playing more of a central role this time around compared to season one. They’re an item now, and Matt has been training her in more self-defence fighting, considering the line of work they’re in. Karen is searching for any evidence to put Fisk away. On the other end of the spectrum, Matt’s ex, Heather, is now working as an analyst to prosecute vigilantes for the city, with no qualms about manipulating evidence to put those people away for good, including Jack Duquesne. At the same time, she’s being haunted by her brush with death last season at the hands of Muse, constantly seeing him, which doesn’t bode well for her mental health.
Matt is nearly exposed as Daredevil by the end of the episode by the AVTF, but is saved by the most unlikely of saviours: Bullseye. Appearing offscreen, Poindexter tosses a series of knives into the apartment Matt is in and kills all of the officers, with one of the knives painted with the message “you’re welcome”. It’s an interesting twist, and one I want to see explored, considering Bullseye has killed so many people (including Foggy Nelson), so teasing the possibility of the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” is an interesting concept that I hope the show explores. As for this debut, it’s a pretty solid premiere that feels more in line with the Netflix show than (most of) the first season of Born Again. It does lack some of the punch, but there’s potential here.
