As Daredevil: Born Again stalks towards its suitably grim finale, its managed to build up impressive reserves genuine emotion as it picks up momentum. With loss and rage mounting on both sides of the law, it feels like the stakes are unbelievably high – however, it does raise something of a curious question: if Daredevil and Kingpin have already had their big knock-down, drag out brawl for the season, where the Hell else has the show got to go?
With virtually every character teetering on a knife edge, we’re starting to get into the emotional deep waters now, but with the latest scrap between Murdock and Fisk resolving nothing, it’s time for the minds behind Born Again to keep us as off balance as we possibly can. As Fisk mourns, Daredevil is required to resort to the unthinkable to even some odds while Karen rots in jail. But with Jessica Jones stuck on the sidelines and members of Kingpin’s inner circle finally choosing their side, could the deciding blow be delivered by none other than… Matt Murdock: Attorney at Law?
In the aftermath of the clash of protesters and the AVTF, Karen Page has been arrested and is being processed, but rather than taking her through the law adjacent arm of his Safer Streets initiative, Wilson Fisk has her booked clean to ensure her crimes, both past and present, stick like web fluid. Lest we forget, it was Karen who shot Fisk’s previous right hand man, Wesley, to death and after the recent burial of his murdered wife, the Mayor hungers for his pound of flesh. However, after Jessica Jones strong arms the slippery CIA agent Mr. Charles concerning Fisk’s plans, she discovers that to save his teetering house of cards, the Kingpin plans to have Govenor McCaffrey killed to install one of his own puppets, thus ultimately triumphing.
Spread a little thin, with Jessica unwilling to fully join his cause due to the responsibilities that comes from being a mother, Matt Murdock has to appeal to the wannabe hero that lurks within the twisted psyche of the captive Bullseye in order to be able to spread himself more effectively.
But if he’s resorting to recruiting Bullseye, what will Matt be doing that’s so important? Simple, he’s taking his civilian identity out of hiding in order to assist Kirsten McDuffie in court with Karen’s defence in a move that’s sure to enrage an already unstable Kingpin ever further. But while final blows of this epic grudge match look like they’re going to be delivered metaphorically in public, in private some of Kingpin’s underlings are feeling the pressure. Daniel is forced to choose once and for all between his loyalty to his friend BB and his devotion to Fisk with fatal results and Matt’s ex, Heather Glenn, seems to take a massive step into the darkness after a meeting with Karen ends in violence. But with resolves crumbling left and right, will Jessica Jones ever get off the fence and properly join the fight?
It’s a massive testimony to the entirety of Daredevil (both Netflix and the Born Again eras) that it’s amassed such a history that virtually ever twist comes with the weight of 11 years of back story guiding it’s impact. Proof of this is how much of “The Hateful Darkness” lands with seemingly the minimum of effort as the episode pulls strings and delivers payoff for the majority of the players that all deliver impacts that are nothing sort of seismic. Take the moment that sees Matt finally return to the courtroom in a dramatic flurry of gasps and camera flashes that not only confirms the fact that Matt Murdock is a fucking diva, but manages to provide a genuine air puncher of a moment, despite the fact that all it really is is a guy returning to work after a long absence. OK, so it’s far more than that – but you can tell how much we all gave invested in these characters now that Matt taking off the Daredevil suit and returning to court is a truly gargantuan moment.
Elsewhere, we find that all the various threads set up over the years are fraying with magnetic results with a tense face to face between an embittered Fisk and an imprisoned Karen that harkens back to their similarly tense meeting way back in Season 3. Every word carries heft, every inflection betrays years of hatred on both sides and it’s truly a special show that can get you pumped for a brief rematch eight years in the making and if you thought Karen and Fisk’s war of words was incendiary, wait until you get a load of Karen vs Heather. Watching two women who’ve barely met engaged in such a heated, bitter discussion concerning the things that connect them is fascinating enough, but seeing that Heather is well on her way through her villain journey means that what could have been a mildly bitchy catfest becomes something truly breathtaking to behold as Heather resorts to multiple slaps when Karen draws verbal blood.
With all these metaphorical scalps being collected by the women of Daredevil: Born Again, it’s still somewhat disappointing that Jessica Jones is still being kept on a tight narrative leash thanks to fluctuating powers and motherhood holding her back – however, we are thrown a bone when she interrogates Mr. Charles early in the episode from which we can hungrily glean some Defenders related gossip. It seems Luke Cage is working overseas for the CIA and the only link Jessica has with the (presumed) father of her child is through the sneering agent. It may not be the comeback we’ve hoped for so far, but it sure looks like Jones is about to join the fight after meeting with a wounded Murdock as he prays for help.
With all this drama occuring, it’s rather amusing that Bullseye gets off so lightly as Daredevil finally caves and frees the lunatic with a mission to satisfy that desire to be a hero (even a mass murdering one) and I’m fairly sure that’s all she wrote of the character this season – but at least it’s not as final a goodbye as the one presented to Michael Gandolfini. That’s right, it’s already time for another shock death as Daniel discovers he simply can’t hand over BB to Buck and instead offers himself up as a sacrifice while she vanishes off the grid. While I’d suggest that Daniel’s selfless swing to the side of the righteous feels a bit abrupt considering (I mean, he did bury a body I suppose), watching another one of Fisk’s trusted members bite it so soon after Vanessa shows that this season really is not interested in taking any prisoners at this late a stage.
Counteracting any missteps with dramatic face/offs that come loaded with past baggage, the penultimate episode thrillingly manages to get emotions high before that final plunge next week. However, even more enticing than the thought of the Defenders gradually reforming a member at a time, is the fact that after Murdock and Fisk’s fisticuffs the week before and all the emotional stand off we get here, I legitimately have no clue where this season will go next. The fact that nobody except Murdock, Jessica and Fisk seems safe is a thrilling treat that not even Daredevil himself could sense coming.
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