The City Without Fear

My final thoughts on Daredevil: Born Again

Well, the first season of Daredevil: Born Again has wrapped up and it wouldn’t have been right for me to have commented on those first two episodes without sharing my overall thoughts on this first season. Beware SPOILERS moving forward as there’s no way for me to share my full thoughts without talking about everything.

Okay, well if you’re still here, you either don’t care about spoilers or have seen the full season. So, first off, what did I think of Daredevil: Born Again? I enjoyed it. As a massive Daredevil fan, it would have been hard for me to hate on this show unless they totally dropped the ball, but those first two episodes established that they definitely did not. Unfortunately, what followed ended up a fairly mixed bag for me. I think everyone’s mileage may have varied on episodes two through seven, but knowing that they were primarily made up of pre-overhaul footage, it was fairly obvious how stitched together a lot of this show was, with things being reshot or dubbed in to help it fit together better with the entirely new episodes one, eight, and nine.

However, I refuse to hold this against the show. Marvel was in a bad spot before the decision was made to overhaul this show. They had six fully shot episodes and they could either completely throw them out (and lose millions in the process), or they could try and pivot, moving the show more in line with where it always should have been in a serialized format similar to Netflix.

It’s clear those original episodes were more episodic not only because they were always upfront about that being their original intention (with an eighteen episode order before the overhaul), but also it’s clear from how these would wrap up stories in one or two episodes. Which to me was unfortunate because I think several of these stories could have been better served as B plot, or even A plot for an entire season.

Muse certainly stands out as a wasted villain, teased in multiple episodes before being the focus of episodes six and seven and then being unceremoniously killed off. I know a lot of people were upset about this, but he was originally in less than ten issues of the comic before meeting his end, so he was never that big of a villain, I just think Marvel underestimated the fan interest in that character and so they ended up shooting themselves in the foot by making him such a small part of the show overall.

However, even more than Muse, I felt the Hector Ayala trial was short-changed. I know episode three was one of people’s favorite episodes this season, but I really didn’t need an entire episode in the courtroom. I prefer a good balance of courtroom drama and Daredevil action (like what season two of the original show gave us). This trial also took up an entire arc in the Brian Michael Bendis run of Daredevil in the early 2000s. It was a high-profile trial and featured other vigilantes showing up as character witnesses. Granted, they accomplished this on the show through people Hector had helped, but to me, I just wish there was more there. I felt the comic showed there could have been.

I also should highlight the lone bottle episode, featuring a bank heist. This was a fun episode, but it felt odd to me in a season where it was the only standalone episode and positioned directly in the middle of the season, it felt like putting all plot points on pause to take a fun detour. I enjoyed this episode in a vacuum, but on the whole, they could have dropped this and nobody would have cared.

I will say that while one of my biggest gripes was the lack of development of side characters, I do feel like there’s enough there for them to do these characters justice in season two. Camila Rodriguez was a revelation as Angela Del Toro, delivering a powerhouse performance in the few scenes she had. As this character does eventually don the mantle of White Tiger in the comics, I can only hope they continue to let this young actress shine in that role with a bigger part in the second season.

I enjoyed Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie, but my God, give her something to do next season! She was probably the most under-utilized of all the side characters and this was especially a crime for comic fans who love this character.

BB Urich also deserves more to do in season two. Her uncle was way too important of a comic character for the original show to kill in season one and once episode eight of Born Again reveals she knows Fisk killed her uncle, I feel the stage is set for her to get some kind of revenge in season two.

Heather Glenn was possibly the most disappointing side character until the last two episodes, as her romance with Matt felt forced and we never got a good sense of why they were even together. But for circumstances to push her toward the dark side in the season finale, I just loved this. I don’t think any of us would have cared much if she’d been killed off by Muse, but using that as a catalyst for her to end up in Fisk’s corner is helping shape her into a villain we’ll all despise in season two and that’s definitely a more interesting place for her to go.

Finally, I want to highlight Michael Gandolfini as Daniel Blake. Seeing him go from this total moron to a character in a serious position of power was as chilling as it was amusing to watch unfold. It was not lost on me just how many parallels to Trump happened over the course of this season with Fisk, but him appointing someone totally unqualified for their position definitely hit close to home, as much as him unlawfully detaining people, surviving an assassination attempt, and weeding out anyone who wasn’t 100% loyal to him. It’s crazy to think this entire season was filmed before Trump had even been re-elected and yet it seemed to predict far too many things that this viewer found quite unsettling.

I will say, despite all my frustrations with the middle section of this show, they came out swinging in those last two episodes. Both episode eight and nine were directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (who also did the first episode) and I have the utmost confidence in them moving into season two. These guys are probably the best directors, after Ryan Coogler, who are currently working with Marvel. I am thrilled they’re working on this show and even more thrilled with the visual ideas they’ve introduced (such as shifting aspect ratios to illustrate Matt’s heightened senses, or the flourishes of light to highlight certain characters: red for Daredevil, blue for Bullseye, white for Kingpin). I’ve seen many people complain the cinematography on this show isn’t as good as Netflix and for episodes two through seven, I’d agree, but what these two guys did on episodes one, eight, and nine I thought eclipsed anything from the Netflix show. I can only hope they direct most of the episodes in season two, or at least make sure the other directors follow their style.

Episodes eight and nine were truly the continuation from the Netflix show I’d hoped the rest of the season would have been. I loved what they did with Bullseye here and I hope we see a lot more of him in season two. Episode eight giving us one of his signature moments from the comics was amazing to see. Most people will say his tooth spitting kill was from Bullseye: Greatest Hits. And it was, but less people seem aware he first did this in Captain America #372, which as you can see from the image below was closer to what we got in this show and also a prison escape.

On the subject of the season finale, I noticed a lot of people express their disappointment things weren’t wrapped up, which I find hilarious. Have none of these people watched The Empire Strikes Back? The Two Towers? Back to the Future 2? I say this, not only as someone who respects longform storytelling, but who also had a bit of a problem with the way every season of the Netflix series tried to wrap things up neatly (except season two which was setup for The Defenders). There’s only so many times we can see Fisk get sent to prison before it gets old. I honestly think that never should have happened in season one, but they were likely making that wondering if they’d even get a season two. Fisk is too important of an enemy for Daredevil to keep locked up and especially to kill. I find the best things to do with the character are either let him have an occasional win like this season did, or have him run and hide only to emerge later. He doesn’t need to always be the main antagonist, but he’s always been an ever-present threat to all New York heroes, and I love that about the comics.

But to share a bit more of my feelings on the finale, I couldn’t believe how much life Karen Page was able to instantly inject back into this series. No shade to Heather or Kirsten, but as neither character had much development or history with Matt, Karen’s reintroduction made it immediately clear why it was a dumb idea to attempt a show without her or Foggy. These two are more than moral support for Matt Murdock, they are his two closest friends and co-workers. They have so much history, that you can have a scene with neither Matt or Karen talking and it would still be riveting to watch. Throwing Punisher into the mix only helped make her presence that much more special. And while I prefer my Punisher alone and emotionally cut-off, I did appreciate what he had with Karen on the Netflix shows. Seeing this kind of unspoken love triangle between her, Frank, and Matt was a lot of fun and while I don’t want Karen hooking up with Frank, I do hope there’s a future with Matt (at least for a little while). Karen was Matt’s girlfriend for years in the comics and the fact they never got to explore that in the Netflix show was a bit of a missed opportunity. Also, I still am dying for them to introduce the villainous Typhoid Mary. In the comics, she seduced Matt while he was dating Karen, so that could be a lot of fun to see in a future season.

On the subject of the action in the finale, I was thrilled to see them finally deliver when I felt like action was the one big thing this season was lacking. Watching Frank cut loose on those corrupt cops made me giddy. I was also impressed that Disney ended up making this show even more violent than the Netflix series, culminating in a kill from Kingpin that should please any gore-hound out there.

While I do feel Radiohead’s “Everything in it’s Right Place” is probably their most overused song in movies and tv, I do have to admit I loved how it was used to close out this season. However, like many others I was disappointed there were no other vigilantes waiting in that bar for Matt at the end. I have to assume their absence was more down to scheduling than just not wanting to use them. However, if none show up in season 2, I’m going to be very upset. Marvel has introduced enough New York based heroes even beyond the Defenders, that if none of them get involved in a city-wide crisis, it will feel like this series is completely disconnected from the wider MCU. Only time will tell, but I remain very optimistic that season 2 will deliver on everything fans had initially hoped to get this season. More action, more Daredevil in his suit, more Bullseye, more vigilantes, and a more cohesive whole that can stand next to the original show, perhaps eclipsing it this time. For now, I’ll just keep reading my Daredevil comics and counting the days till season two!