You know what they say about old habits. The entire first season of “Daredevil: Born Again” has seen Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin trying (admittedly not very hard) not to slip into previous patterns, but the Season 1 finale brings them firmly back to square one — and to the truth of who they are.
Written by Aaron Moorhead & Justin Benson and directed by Heather Bellson & Dario Scardapane, “Straight to Hell” charts every character’s descent in the fateful hours after Matt gets shot — and yes, that’s every character including New York City itself. Mayor Fisk is flying high after cheating death once again, and it launches his power into newly unchecked but familiarly tyrannical territory.
First, he pulls the trigger on a citywide blackout (“send in our friend from ConEd”) in which the anti-vigilante task force reigns terror. Any violence or looting that took place without them is infinitely worse with their manpower, and all it takes is placing a mask next to a casualty to claim innocent deaths as an act of duty. The task force goes after Matt in his apartment (they really just let him walk out of the hospital ass-out and head home?), where they’re greeted by the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and the Punisher himself. The apartment has been established since Episode 1, and it’s too good of a set to not explore further; the open floor plan, the angled ceilings, the way the moonlight dances on the walls as Daredevil and the Punisher crush their opponents.
“Born Again” runs the risk of sanding down Frank Castle’s edges (Jon Bernthal), but this is also his second scene in the entire series. It emphasizes the begrudging camaraderie between Matt and Frank because that’s the most relevant part of their past and present (and if you watch an entire season of “The Punisher” next, that won’t exactly displease Disney). They spill blood and crunch bones and of course differ on how best to deal with Cole (Jeremy Isaiah Earl) — the one who executed Hector (Kamar de los Reyes) at the end of Episode 3. Matt is still stung by the injustice and his own personal connection to Hector, and how it echoes through other people he has lost over the years, including Foggy. For Frank, it’s a matter of pride. The imitation Punisher logo on Cole’s bullet was no act of flattery, but the most vile of insults.
It’s what drives Frank to confront the task force later in the night — that, and a crackling reunion with Karen (Deborah Ann Woll), who flew across the country after hearing that Foggy’s killer escaped prison and saves her broken, brawling boys. Woll and Bernthal have more chemistry in a few glances across the room than most Marvel movies do with full love stories and kissing (again, the folks in charge want you to watch “The Punisher”). “Straight to Hell” spares no time for Matt and Heather, but Karen’s return arrives with reminders that other relationships sustain this series too.
Across town on the Upper East Side (assuming that Fisk took up residence at Gracie Mansion), Fisk decides to enforce his power from the highest level. Anyone who disagrees with his policies will be exposed, blackmailed, or worse (have their head crushed to a pulp in front of powerless witnesses). Pay attention to every reaction; to Sheila’s hesitation (Zabryna Guevara) even though she submits, to Daniel’s (Michael Gandolfini) visible delight, to onlookers’ faces as Fisk punishes Gallo (Michael Gaston). Even if the tides turn in Season 2, these people have already enabled the Kingpin’s reign, and they’ll carry that for the rest of their lives.
IW on the Street
- Do you think Fisk has been itching to crush a man’s head in his hands this whole time?
- Frank asks Matt why he “took a bullet for that asshole,” which will surely have repercussions in Season 2. A death wish? A desire to get Fisk indebted to him? Pure self-destructive chaos?
- It’s a short scene, but let’s not gloss over the discovery that Foggy (Elden Henson) found documentation declaring Red Hook a “free port…exempt from all jurisdiction.” Something to look forward to!
- I hope we get to explore more of Heather’s (Margarita Levieva) aversion to vigilantes, and what made her accept the job with Fisk.
- Absolutely deranged that Fisk and Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) ostensibly fixed their marriage after locking a dozen or so enemies up in cages — and yet, it tracks.
Grade: B
“Daredevil: Born Again” Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.
