‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Episode Nine Recap: “Straight to Hell”

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for episode nine of Daredevil: Born Again.

The good news: the finale of Daredevil: Born Again ensures future seasons of the series will be in great hands, fixing many of the issues the pre-overhaul showrunners laid out, while paving the way for a decidedly brutal and cathartic descent into Hell for Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), as Mayor Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) enacts his “Safer Streets” initiative in response to the attempt on his life by Benjamin Poindexter (Wilson Bethel).

The not-so-great news: the finale acts more as a bridge between seasons one and two than a proper conclusion for the first part of Matt’s grand return to the MCU, after sparsely appearing in several titles. Still, it could’ve been far worse than what we ultimately got, but the lingering scent of dissatisfaction did reach me when I realized most of the narrative arcs showrunner Dario Scardapane built up weren’t going to be resolved in this hour-long episode satisfactorily. Thank God for Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, though, whose sense of visual panache remains unmatched, especially when tasked to direct two major action setpieces involving The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), finally making his head-exploding return after a brief appearance in the fourth episode. 

For those who were worried that Marvel Studios would somehow ruin the characterization of Frank Castle, think again! We already knew that Bernthal nailed the character during his time in the Netflix universe, even if his flagship show ultimately proved to be a disappointment. His performance would be good regardless of the material he was given. However, it was certainly worrisome when the actor revealed he had left the original iteration of Born Again, as he disagreed with the previous showrunners’ take on the character, and only returned once Scardapane boarded and overhauled his arc. What Matt Corman and Chris Ord had in mind for him, we’ll never know, because what Scardapane has in store for the character perfectly understands what makes Castle such a complex and layered character. 

First, he shows up at Matt’s house after the latter escapes his hospital bed when he hears Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan) walking into his room, ready to kill him. To be fair, I had thought that matters would complicate themselves with Murdock having taken a bullet for Fisk, but it turns out it was the perfect excuse for the mayor to dispose of him, as if he had succumbed to his wounds. As he says to Buck, “A dead hero is better than a live vigilante.” Through the sounds of the late Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly With His Song, Fisk shuts down New York’s power to give his Anti-Vigilante Task Force the powers necessary to eliminate all masked heroes in the city, without cameras or surveillance, and for Buck to inject Matt with a lethal substance while in his hospital bed.

Of course, an unjustified blackout means unfettered power for police officers, who use this opportunity to go “off the book” by senselessly killing a man who looted a store during a riot, with the excuse that he was a vigilante (since he was wearing a beanie). This rattles police commissioner Gallo (Michael Gaston), who tries to convince Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevara) to testify against Fisk, but she instead exposes his plans to the mayor, who tells Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) that all of his critics or dissidents must either fall in line with his mandate or be forced to leave, whether peacefully or, well, you probably know the other choice. Hmmm…who does this remind me of?

Jokes aside, it feels particularly gutsy for the show to release something like this in the wake of the Trump 2.0 era, where its critics are silenced, and the despotic leader makes full display of force by inciting violence against marginalized communities and imprisoning citizens without due process. That’s why none of what Mayor Fisk does feels in any way far-fetched, except for the cartoonish killing of Commissioner Gallo, who meets his end after Sheila plays a recording to the Kingpin of what he is planning to do. 

Of course, Fisk won’t let him out that easily, and, as a display of the extent he will go to ensure everyone falls in line with his program and anti-vigilante initiative, he crushes Gallo’s head with his bare hands in front of the police force.. It’s perhaps the most excessively violent thing to have come out of the MCU, which is great for people who have clamored for Daredevil to maintain its hard-R status, but it feels so far removed from the gritty action of the Netflix show and what Born Again laid out, that it doesn’t land its intended effect of disgust and catharsis. 

Still, it’s cool to see a MARVEL STUDIOS show make such a statement, if that’s what it was. It undoubtedly posits Fisk as someone who will rule with his fists much further than relying on the failed red tape of the political establishment (that’s pretty much what he thinks), as Daredevil is now on the hunt for people who will help take down the mayor, after Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) returns to New York to assist Matt in uncovering the truth about Foggy Nelson’s (Elden Henson) assassination. It turns out that, yes, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) is the one who hired Bullseye to kill Foggy and his witness, as they were about to reveal critical information related to Vanessa’s business in Red Hook. 

It is revealed, through a motion that Foggy was about to file, that the Fisks are using the port of Red Hook as a city-state exempt from all laws to launder money out of New York, which they are allowed to do so since the port is not part of any jurisdiction in the city. The show pretty much confirms that Foggy is dead, although my delusional ass would still like to believe they are adapting his arc from the comics that he was put in witness protection after Vanessa ordered a hit on him, and faked his own death, but maybe that will be saved in season two? That remains to be seen. After all, Scardapane has pleaded the fifth on Foggy’s fate, which is a huge indicator that he’s still alive in my book…

That said, it’s great to see Karen back in this episode, returning at a moment that makes sense in the narrative and doesn’t hamper the emotional beats Matt built up with Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), who is likely to break up with him after accepting a job in Mayor Fisk’s cabinet as Mental Health Commissioner. When she ultimately finds out Matt is Daredevil, will that change her mind and disillusion her about who Fisk really is, regardless of the warnings Matt repeatedly gave to her throughout the series? That also remains to be seen, but Heather has now become a far more interesting character with this small shift, which likely wouldn’t have been effectively built if Scardapane didn’t change her direction in the eighth episode. 

Matt wants to storm Fisk’s base in Red Hook, which Frank does, albeit unsuccessfully, and gets locked up alongside Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton), as part of the mayor’s initiative to round up all vigilante activity. However, after Karen advises him not to, Matt ultimately listens to her and realizes that he will need help to defeat Fisk’s empire once and for all. Many of you thought he meant finding The Defenders, but…nope. It’s just Josie (Susan Varon), Cherry (Clark Johnson), and some random-ass cops. Some line of defense you’ve got. Fisk is shaking in his boots as we speak!

Obviously, this isn’t the team, but it does set up what the second season will focus on: Matt assembling people strong enough to take Fisk down, while the mayor amasses large amounts of power to virtually become unstoppable. One thing’s for sure: they will resist, rebuild, and win because they are “the city without fear,” and Fisk has grossly underestimated the power the people have in being unafraid to take down the most powerful – and dangerous – individuals. The power has always been in the hands of the people. And it’s up to them to figure out how they will use it. 

All episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now available to stream on Disney+.