Way back in June 2019, the third season of Jessica Jones aired, marking it the final installment of Marvel’s Netflix offshoot before the Defenders were cast into the limbo dimension of cancellation. Of course, a lot can happen in a world as crazy as the MCU, and ever since Daredevil was “born again” as a full fledged fighting member of pop culture’s most endearing franchise, rumour has swirled about who, if any, who follow the man without fear into a shared universe.
Obviously some of Matt Murdock’s inner circle prevailed in various forms (Karen Page, Kingpin, Bullseye, Vanessa, Foggy – technically) and even John Bernthal’s Punisher has managed to leapfrog his way from a role into his own upcoming special and a supporting role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but what of the likes of the fellow Defenders? Well, it’s time for Jessica Jones to finally make her return – but maybe she shouldn’t have returned when things were quite so busy.
Vanessa Fisk is dead (properly this time) and her notoriously emotional crime boss husband is taking it about as well as you’d expect. After crushing the life out of the surgeon who offers him condolences, Mayor Wilson Fisk seems dangerously inconsolable, but as his rage simmers, the anger of the people of New York is finally boiling over. But as the public finally seem to be turning on their Mayor and his heavy handed task force, numerous other threads are also picking up speed to create maximum drama.
Scheming CIA creep, Mr Charles, is angered to discover that Fisk has gone back on their deal and hidden away the weapons cashe that started this whole ball rolling, but after one of his strike teams fail to take down superpowered private eye Jessica Jones at her home with her daughter present, she teams up with Daredevil to remove those guns off the board once and for all. However, a small victory for Matt Murdock isn’t going to ease the growing tension between him an Karen that been caused by him saving the murderous Bullseye and getting him medical aid despite him being responsible for the killing of Foggy. But it’s not just members of the underground rebellion who are feeling the relationship pinch. Daniel Blake is now convinced that BB is the once who is leaking sensitive material to the public and tries to weed her out by offering her fake info and Heather Glenn’s fracturing mental state ramps up a notch when the Mayor’s right hand man, Buck, offers her a strange way to physically work through her Muse-fueled PTSD.
However, when it comes to crumbling facades, Fisk’s is all but done and as his Anti-Vigilante Task Force prepare to violently subdue the protest massing outside city hall, he’s visited by one last person offering both condolences and an ultimatum. Daredevil wants Fisk gone, and it’s time for these old enemies to throw hands one more time.
It’s weird that the return of Jessica Jones will get the most press of this episode when it’s easily the least important thing that occurs during the entire episode. That’s not to say that having Kristen Ritter slip back into her jeans and leather jacket combo is huge – for fans of the Netflix era it’s positively massive – but it’s exceedingly strange that her return happens during an incredibly dense episode. There’s so much going on here, that dropping Jones back into our lap, complete with a daughter, Danielle, and an annoyingly fluctuating power set almost seems like an after thought, especially when the quieter, past-obsessed previous episode could have accommodated her better. Still, while the news that giving birth has caused her powers to glitch in and out is fairly eyeball rolling at best (Really? We’re nerfing Jessica Jones now?), the enhanced budget allows her super strength to be way more impressive and cinematic than it ever was back in the Netflix days. However, as soon as she appears, she’s gone as the episode has a hell of a lot of plot to move through before we get to that other, belayed holdover from the Netflix years – actual fisticuffs between Daredevil and Kingpin.
It’s a shame that Jessica’s return feels so brief and tacked on, because Born Again really is putting in the work when it comes to fleshing out that cast and constantly finding new ways to milk drama out of them. While the continuing progression of the relationships between Buck and Heather (way more intriguing than it has any right to be) and Daniel and BB progress nicely, it seems that the cracks are finally showing when it comes to the rebellious love-in of Matt and Karen. A less classier reviewer may make a joke that any relationship feels the strain when one member brings a third party into the mix, but the fact that Murdock will simply not kill Benjamin Poindexter despite having him weakened and handcuffed in his hideout is too much for Karen to bare. Watching the show’s central theme of whether or not a man has the right to kill is nicely spiced up by the years of bitter history history between the players (Wilson Bethal’s “Hello Karen” is a great choice for those who know) and watching Murdock and Page implode due to their beliefs may seem a little abrupt for this single season alone, but if we go back all the way to 2015, it’s been there all along.
And then, before you know it, we’re watching the public finally take a stand against the AVTF while Daredevil and Fisk get physical for the first time since 2018, but considering we’ve still got two episodes left to go, you may be a little confused as to why we’re entering big finish territory so soon. While that all remains to be revealed, any opportunity to watch our main characters whale on one another is welcomed and it certainly doesn’t disappoint, even if it admittedly feels a bit premature. Still, visually speaking it’s flawless and it offers up snapshots of comic panels made flesh as those moral polar opposites beat merry Hell out of each other. Daredevil’s horned shadow looms on the face of a grieving Fisk (the fact he doesn’t speak the entire episode until he’s confronted by his hated enemy is a nice touch) and certain moves have been taken right out of the pages of various showdowns that adds some much needed scale despite the fact that they’re essentially brawling in a basement while city is erupting upstairs. Again, this is all stuff that’s been on the boil for decades now, and to see that it still carries the requisite heft is wonderful to experience (notice how the black is gradually scraping off Daredevil’s costume to once again show the red), however, if the Defenders are actually going to eventually team up once again, maybe lay better groundwork than simply a fight scene that weirdly resembles Daredevil’s team-up in She-Hulk.
The road to the Defenders starts here, I guess, but unfortunately it’s somewhat drowned out by the noise of every other plot thread rapidly reaching some sort of climax. However, with two whole episodes still to go, and the Daredevil/Kingpin feud possibly slowing down, there’s still time for the return of Jessica Jones to make more of an impact than just beating up a few guards. But with so much still on Born Again’s plate, I’d happily defend her choices if she went back to laying low until things get quieter.
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