I recently wrote about the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again. The first episode released on March 4 on Disney+. Overall, I thought it was a solid debut for the latest Marvel venture. As I mentioned previously, I was glad to see Marvel move more towards the grounded realm of things. Too many of their recent projects have been too large in scale. This more grounded approach continued in Episodes 2 and 3, which felt more and more like the old Daredevil series.
In the second episode, the show continues to indirectly focus on the rivalry between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. Although throughout the first three episodes, they only have a few interactions, it’s made clear that the focus is between their dueling motivations. Both men are attempting to fight for the “soul” of the city which is a central theme to the series.
Throughout Episode 2 it also becomes clear that Matt and Fisk are coming closer to an eventual showdown as the stakes are laid. Episode 2 follows this in the form of Matt’s first vigilante client of the series: Hector Ayala aka The White Tiger. Ayala has been falsely accused of killing a cop in a subway station. The case is highly stacked against Matt as the officers involved are corrupt. Eventually, Matt uncovers Ayala’s hero alias in the next episode, but in this episode he’s mainly focused on helping Ayala in the initial stages of the trial.
Meanwhile, throughout this episode, we see Wilson Fisk struggling in his role as Mayor. Fisk is trying to balance out his deeper mob boss instincts with what he needs to do as a politician. Fisk is uninterested in playing the political game. Instead, he wants to get results. This is demonstrated in the scene when Fisk is driving to an important meeting and is stopped by traffic. This is because there is a construction crew that is waiting for a permit to fill in a pothole. Fisk, eager to demonstrate his “get things done” attitude, gets out of his car and orders for the hole to be filled. The scene demonstrates Fisk’s older mentality and his attempt to achieve a positive public image.
Following this, we start to uncover some of Fisk’s more corrupt true intentions. In order to maintain a positive public image and get people to fall in line, Fisk needs to keep the current Captain of the NYPD. He does this by blackmailing the Captain into staying, ensuring that his power remains strong. This is the first instance in the series where we see Fisk’s darker side. Meanwhile, we also meet Heather. She is Matt’s girlfriend, and is also the couple’s therapist for Wilson Fisk, and his wife. This whole subplot hints at a darker goal for Fisk.
There were also some other smaller subplots in this episode, but it mainly focused on setting up the conflict for later episodes. In the third episode, Matt ends up winning his case in defending Hector Ayala. Despite this, Ayala’s true identity is revealed in court, which jeopardizes his ability to be the White Tiger. This entire episode is essentially an extended court drama which was interesting to see. We also see that Fisk is dealing with more issues with his wife. One of Fisk’s henchmen is also increasingly getting involved in conflicts with other mobs.
The entirety of the third episode essentially pushes both Matt and Fisk closer to their old identities. The episode ends with Ayala back out in the city as the White Tiger and being killed. The person who killed him was wearing a Punisher shirt, a character we will likely see soon. Overall, both episodes were well-done and continue to provide an interesting plot to follow.
