Here’s what happened in the ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ premiere — and who died
This post contains spoilers about the premiere episodes of Daredevil: Born Again.
The two-part premiere of Daredevil: Born Again started with a literal bang. Seven years after the last Daredevil episode, returning fans were immediately treated to the joyful reunion of longtime friends Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll)...only to have that happiness violently snatched away.
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Who died in the Daredevil: Born Again premiere?
The three old friends’ celebration of a career triumph at their law firm was cut short by the assassin Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), who struck down Foggy with a perfectly placed bullet. Bullseye, a.k.a. Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter, gave no reason for his assault, either when confronted by Daredevil during their ensuing brawl or at Dex’s sentencing hearing one year later.
As we previously noted in our Daredevil refresher ahead of the Born Again premiere, Foggy has often been the only person who can get through to Matt when he’s in a guilt spiral. Unfortunately, that’s exactly why he had to die.
"Foggy being so integral to Matt, Matt realizing he needs to put away the mask, Matt starting a new life. The only reason he would ever do that is if his best friend dies," executive producer Sana Amanat tells Entertainment Weekly. "Otherwise, this man will always come back to [violence] because [Foggy's] been his moral compass for so long. That is the only thing that made sense for us narratively to be able to tell that story."
The epic battle between Daredevil and Bullseye felt like a statement of intent for the new show, a signal to viewers that the visceral action that defined the first Daredevil show is back in force. The two combatants even spent much of their duel in a hallway, which was the consistent setting for many a classic Daredevil fight. Foggy’s death inspired such rage in Daredevil that he even crossed his own moral line and did his best to kill Bullseye by hurling him off a roof. Although the resulting impact incapacitated Dex, he still survived the fall — likely because of the experimental spine surgery he underwent in the final scene of the previous show.
In the aftermath of Foggy’s death, Daredevil is shattered – so much so that he puts his costume away for a year. Dex is eventually sentenced to life in prison, but unfortunately, that outcome doesn’t help repair the friendship between Matt and Karen that was shattered by Foggy’s death.
Did Fisk become mayor of New York City in Daredevil: Born Again?
Reeling from his setbacks in the Hawkeye and Echo shows, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) has returned to New York City seeking redemption. Rather than resume his traditional role as the Kingpin of crime, Fisk has left New York’s underworld in the capable hands of his wife, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), and pivoted to respectability by declaring a political campaign for mayor of New York City. This plot beat is inspired by Daredevil comics published during Donald Trump’s first presidency. Matt’s enhanced senses overhear several street conversations that resemble what voters say about Trump: “At least Fisk is interesting,” and so on. But the Daredevil shows take pride in Marvel’s New York City setting, and Big Apple-based viewers might detect an even stronger resonance with the just-announced mayoral campaign of Andrew Cuomo, another politician accused of sexual misconduct promising that only he can come in and clean up the chaos of New York politics. (Isn’t it funny how the real world feels more and more like a comic book?)
To its credit, the show did not waste time setting up this new political landscape. Fisk declared his candidacy in a single episode and subsequently won the election. The rest of the show will explore Matt's reckoning with this new status quo, where his former enemy is now synonymous with his own respect for the law.
Our first glimpse at how that will go comes in the form of a diner meet-up between Murdock and Fisk. Seeing these two larger-than-life enemies talking to each other like old friends is the best kind of comic-book mythmaking, especially since Cox and D’Onofrio did more than anyone in real life to get this show made the way they believed fans would want. The subtle threats of mutually assured destruction — with Matt threatening that he’ll “be there” if Fisk ever steps out of line and the new mayor promising “there will be consequences” if Matt ever takes up the Daredevil mantle again — also evoke the iconic Robert DeNiro/Al Pacino diner confrontation from Heat. This scene was more exciting to watch than any of the action scenes in the two-part premiere — and those were pretty good.
“I believe you have to be really careful when and how you bring these two people into the same room because we have to feel like when they meet, it is an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object,” Cox previously told Entertainment Weekly. “It has to feel like it could and will explode.”
Who are the new characters in Daredevil: Born Again?
In addition to reacquainting viewers with familiar faces like Matt, Fisk, Dex, and Karen, the Daredevil: Born Again premiere also introduced several new characters. There’s Heather Glenn (Margarita Leveiva), a therapist set up with Matt on a blind date by their mutual friend, lawyer Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James). Despite some shared anger at the setup, Matt and Heather quickly develop real chemistry and start dating. Little does he know, however, that the “new client” she rain-checks a date for is Mayor Fisk, who needs some help reconnecting with his wife.
Then there’s Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini), an eager young assistant for the Fisk campaign who quickly impresses the former Kingpin with his dedication and work ethic. There’s probably more to come with Daniel, but Fisk is relying on his youthful perspective so far. That led Daniel to set up an interview with the mayor and young journalist B.B. Urich (Genneya Walton), whose independent man-on-the-street interviews provided a framing device for the new show. Fans should recognize that last name because BB is none other than the daughter of the late Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall), who was personally killed by Fisk back in Daredevil Season 1 for getting too close in his investigation. Keep an eye on that bomb under the table.
Mayor Fisk’s plan for making New York safe again is taking a hardline stance against vigilantes. In his speech broadcast across Times Square, he even references “a man in a spider costume” as an example, proving that this Daredevil show is more directly connected to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe than the previous one. In the second episode, this policy manifests in the former of undercover NYPD detectives pretending to beat up an innocent man in the hopes of luring out a good Samaritan. Their trap ensnares Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes), who, in his attempt to save someone from a beating, ends up knocking one of those undercover cops into the path of an oncoming subway car. Ayala is subsequently arrested but gets a stroke of good fortune when Matt overhears his brutal interrogation in the police precinct. Matt decides to take on his case and only then discovers that Hector actually is a costumed vigilante named White Tiger, who has taken it upon himself to protect the New York streets in Daredevil’s absence. Much reference is made to White Tiger’s costume and magical power-granting amulet, which he did not have when he intervened in the subway snare, but we haven’t seen them in action. Hopefully soon! In the meantime, Matt took it upon himself to protect a valuable witness (the man Hector saved on the subway) from being killed by dirty cops and beat them to a bloody pulp in the process. Whether that saves or damns Hector’s legal defense will have to wait for next week.
What’s next on Daredevil: Born Again?
We only have guesses, but let’s call it Chekhov’s Bullseye. Fisk clarifying that he had nothing to do with Foggy’s death served as a reminder that he had worked with Dex before and could do so again. Remember his threat to Matt in the coffee shop, saying that if he resumes his “old activities,” there will be “consequences.” Since a show with Daredevil in the title can’t possibly keep Matt out of the costume forever, viewers should brace themselves for the possibility that Kingpin and Bullseye could once again find themselves on the same side. But if he goes down that path, Fisk should also watch himself. After all, he was the one who broke Dex’s spine in the Season 3 finale, necessitating that experimental surgery in the first place. Indeed, Bullseye has as much score to settle with Kingpin as he does with Daredevil, and a sniper’s bullets can kill Vanessa just as quickly as they killed Foggy.
One familiar character who hasn’t shown their face yet is Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), but we know from trailers that he’ll show up eventually. We don’t yet know when or why Castle will reconnect with Matt, or how he could spin off into his own story again, but we’ll likely find out soon enough. New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again will premiere Tuesday evenings on Disney+.
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