Daredevil: Born Again Episodes 1 and 2 Review – The Devil We Know Gets Even Better

This Daredevil: Born Again episodes 1 and 2 review contains spoilers.

The first 20 minutes of MCU — on darker, yet still thrilling, path.

What begins with Matt (Netflix show, arrives at Josie’s Bar and starts killing random patrons.

What follows is easily the most brutal sequence ever seen in the MCU, as a now suited Daredevil tries to take down Dex, who wants to kill as many innocents as possible. The two take the fight from the bar into hallways and finally to a rooftop, puncturing, punishing, and pummelling each other along the way. It’s a rough watch, but directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, the indie filmmaking pair who most recently worked on Loki season two, have more in mind than simply recreating the visceral action that made the Netflix show so notable.

Occasionally, Daredevil and Dex stop to take a breather. They groan and howl when they hit each other, they pain and even sorrow. Benson and Moorhead shoot the sequence as a oner, but it’s not just for show. The expanding nature of the fight, its rests and restarts, teach the viewers a lesson that Matt refuses to accept, that his life will always be a cycle of suffering, with only occasional respite in between.

Showrunner and episode one writer Dario Scardapane (episode two is written by Matt Corman & Chris Ord, and directed by Michael Cuesta) needs viewers to understand that cycle for when we check in with Matt after the opening sequence. One year after his climactic battle with Dex, Matt seems happier than ever. He’s launched a new, upscale law firm with former Assistant District Attorney Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) and is perusing a new relationship with psychiatrist Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva).

Unfortunately for Matt, his old enemy Wilson Fisk (Echo, but anyone who missed those shows won’t be out of the loop), Fisk has returned to find his wife Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) ably running his criminal empire. So instead, Fisk turns his attention to politics, winning the New York mayoral seat on a populist, disruptor platform that would feel ridiculous if not for our current political climate.

The first two episodes of Born Again understand the power of seeing these two characters on screen together again. Since Netflix’s Daredevil ended in 2018, both Murdock and Fisk have made separate appearances in the MCU, popping up in one form or another in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Hawkeye, and Echo. There’s genuine power to the moment when they sit across from one another at a diner, and yet the show doesn’t overplay it. Both men want to move on from their pasts and both see this conversation as a chance to put it all behind them. And yet, within seconds, both know that their pulling each other back into the life they want to leave.

Midway through the conversation, a erby pounds on the window in excitement at seeing Mayor Fisk, a supposed champion of the common man. Rage and irritation ripples over Fisk’s face for a second, before settling into the smile he flashes to the er. The look drops as soon as the er walks away pleased, replaced by embarrassment when Fisk realizes that the blind man across from him has seen everything.

Moments like these punctuate the first two episodes of Born Again. Cox and D’Onofrio have always been a highlight of Daredevil, and both are in rare form here.

In the past, D’Onofrio played Fisk as a vulnerable baby in the body of a gargantuan man, but he’s allowed the Kingpin to mature some. D’Onofrio tones down the heavy breathing and slack jawed expression he once gave the character. He’s lightened his step and approach, which only makes the moments in which he tightens his meaty fists all the more menacing.

Cox has also found new layers to Matt Murdock. Cox’s endless charm is on full display during his meet-cute with Heather and banter with McDuffie. When Matt hears Fisk making campaign promises on television or learns about an innocent man (Kamar de los Reyes) targeted by the police, Cox expresses his character’s ever-present rage through shuttle shifts in his gait. Even better is the sense of helplessness Cox gives Matt, most on display when he encounters Karen in his new life. Matt has never looked weaker than when Cox allows the character to breakdown, begging Karen to understand his behavior.

The emotional stakes and physicality set Born Again apart from other Marvel shows on Disney+, which have been a mixed bag thus far. Two episodes in, Born Again feels like a proper television series, with each segment telling a full story, while still setting up plot lines to be explored. The inclusion of veteran TV cop Clark Johnson as a retired officer who does gumshoe work for Matt only underscores the procedural aspect of the series, a welcome change from most Marvel shows.

Make no mistake, Born Again does take place within the MCU. Characters reference Spider-Man and the events of other series. Rogers: The Musical makes a triumphant return on city billboards. But the series feels like it exists in its own world, and not just because the f-bombs and brutality go further than any other entry in the franchise. And that’s a good thing.

Born Again works best as a character study about the nature of goodness and redemption in a world of criminal politicians and do-gooder vigilantes. It has to go to morally gray places that don’t make sense when Captain America and Thanos are lurking in the corners. Cox and D’Onofrio are more than capable of carrying the audience’s attention as their characters sink for the darkness and reach for the light, a struggle punctuated by incredible fight scenes.

In short, Daredevil: Born Again drags Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk back into Hell, but it’s heaven for fans of complex superhero television.

Daredevil: Born Again episodes one and two are available to stream on Disney+ now. New episodes premiere Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.

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