On Tuesday, March 4, Marvel released its newest television series: Daredevil: Born Again. The show was essentially a sequel to the Netflix series of the same name. Personally, I was very excited for this show. The last few years of Marvel television have produced a sleuth of mediocre and poorly made shows. However, this show promised something different. The original Netflix series was critically acclaimed and hailed by fans. So it’s safe to say that this show had some high expectations. The original cast also made their return for Daredevil: Born Again, allowing for the writers to waste little time. There were two episodes that came out in its premiere. However, I’ll only be covering the first episode since I’ve yet to see the second.
Firstly, it was evident right away that the writers understood the characters. The original Daredevil series was well-done and there was a formula to that success. Instead of trying to change things up too much, they stuck to that formula and it worked. I think that sometimes the best way to continue a TV series is just to stick with what works. In the case of Daredevil, it wasn’t really broken so they had no reason to fix it. The plot of the first episode was also simple. Right away, we see Daredevil’s nemesis Bullseye, murder one of his closest friends in Foggy Nelson. Nelson was an important character in the original Daredevil series and Matt’s lawyer partner. I think that killing off Foggy actually worked in this case. Although I would’ve liked to see more of the character, fans of the previous show already had a relationship with the character. Since we already knew the character, the emotional hurt was deeper. Additionally, Foggy’s death set the stakes for the remainder of the series.
The first episode then takes a year jump in time. Matt has given up the mantle of Daredevil and is prosecuting Bullseye through the law. The prosecution ends up successful but it’s hinted that Bullseye won’t remain in prison for long. We also see Matt catch up with Karen Page, his old friend and law associate. The two drifted apart after Foggy’s death. Karen leaves soon after. As the episode progresses, it begins to focus on its more political aspects. We see Wilson Fisk, the super villain known as Kingpin running for Mayor. Fisk uses his power and influence to win the race for Mayor and promises to “clean up the city” which we already know is a lie. After he wins, Matt ends up speaking with him in a diner. Matt warns Fisk that if he steps out of line he’ll be there. Fisk promises the same. It’s been a number of years since the two saw each other. In the last episode of the original series, Matt ended up beating up Fisk pretty badly. However, he chose not to kill him since Matt is a Catholic. This seems to be their first interaction since then. However, it’s far less tense since Matt has given up being Daredevil and Fisk has given up being the Kingpin.
In the original series, Fisk was developed into a compelling villain and remains intriguing here. In the whole diner sequence, we are unaware of Fisk’s true intentions. I think that’s part of what makes him such a great villain. He’s menacing, physically threatening, and we don’t truly know what he’s thinking. He’s also played by Vincent D’Onofrio who is a terrific actor. Seeing D’Onofrio with Charlie Cox’s Daredevil showed off their acting skills. They are easily the two best actors in the show and their rivalry helps to elevate the show.
There were some things in the first episode I didn’t love. I thought that there could’ve been more context as to the last few years for what was going on especially for newer viewers. And I wasn’t totally sure about why Bullseye killed Foggy either. The initial fight scene in the show felt like it happened a bit too suddenly. Other than that, I really liked the first episode. I think that Marvel has gotten way too much into the multiverse realm over the last few years. This has kind of gotten rid of the stakes for all their movies and shows. Additionally, Marvel has strayed farther and farther away from the more grounded action films that made it great such as Iron Man and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So it was nice to see that Marvel brought back a classic comic book character.
Overall, I’d give the first episode a solid 9/10. I’m excited for the rest of this show and I’d recommend checking it out. If you like more grounded action shows then you’ll probably enjoy this too.
