Welcome, everybody! Every week, I’ll release a review corresponding to the available episode(s) of the nine-episode season of “Daredevil: Born Again” (2025). A week after the last episode airs, there will be an overall review of the season with spoilers at the end. There may be spoilers for anything that happened in prior episode(s) or the Netflix seasons. I’ve never done an episodic review before so thank you for coming along for my experiment!
“Daredevil: Born Again” is back, and it is a brick-laying episode without fights. Wah-wah. The courtroom drama dominates Episode 3, which is forty-four minutes long. The case is not looking good with the cops hunting for the only witness in Matt’s latest case, so he plays a wild card much to the consternation of the judge and his client, Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes, who died in real life of cancer and Episode 2 was dedicated to him, which makes the episode more poignant than it would otherwise be). Unlike the second episode, Matt (Charlie Cox) and Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) do not take turns in the spotlight. It is a Matt heavy episode that some may find plodding but lays out some important themes.
“Daredevil: Born Again” is establishing the positive case for Matt and Fisk returning to their alter egos for a reason other than bloodlust. Matt is busy projecting his current lifestyle of vigilante free shenanigans on to his client who disagrees. While defending his client, he ends up making the case that vigilantes are awesome sauce and necessary. Even the cops begin to think of Ayala as a hero. This episode should come with a warning, “Do not try this at home.” Judge Cooper (Andrew Polk) is pissed, and if Matt ever appears before him again, his future theoretical client is screwed. He is not a good attorney, and James gets nothing to do. District Attorney Benjamin “Hawk” Hochberg (John Benjamin Hickey) does not live up to his name and gets to join Matt’s law partner, Kristen McDuffie (Nikki M. James) in the race to the bottom of doing nothing so Matt can look better in comparison.
For Fisk, becoming Kingpin may make his wife stop giving him side-eye. A major theme of the overall series appears to be the health of romantic relationships: lots of unhappy couples, namely Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) and Fisk, who are attending marriage counseling with Matt’s new girlfriend, Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), an author and therapist who has no idea how in over her head she is. Vanessa is watching their criminal empire crumble, which she took great pains to maintain in Fisk’s absence. Fisk wants her to have that blind faith that she had in him at the beginning of their relationship. It is quite tragic that they are having a cold war. Fisk is beginning to view her as an undermining enemy, and Vanessa is so calm in the face of his implied threats after years of managing violent hot heads. What would happen if Vanessa had to fight Fisk? I’m not counting her out. She swam with sharks. Also, it sounds like she made a new friend whom they have talked a lot about but have yet to show onscreen. Will he make an appearance?
Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan) is the new Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore) and is getting a storyline separating him from Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevara), Fisk’s establishment political advisor who seems to be getting sidelined more with each episode. While he is vocally in Fisk’s corner, it sounds like his ability to navigate the grey area may put him at odds with his liege. It will be interesting to find out if he is aware of the danger that he is in or not as competent as he appears. There is definitely some disconnect.
In the second episode, the journalist behind The BB Report was revealed: BB Ulrich (Genneya Walton), the niece of Netflix Season 1 journalist, Ben Ulrich (Vondie Curtis-Hall). She is becoming Fisk’s favorite reporter and seems unaware that Fisk murdered Ben. Watching BB with Fisk is like watching a kid on the wrong side of the barrier in a zoo. She reappears here, and it is interesting to see her reaction to Fisk’s professed agenda. Fisk reveals how he defines “rule of law,” and guess who defines what the law is. Spoiler alert: not judges or juries.
Comic book fans will have the advantage and recognize Hector Ayala’s vigilante identity instantly, but they are also the ones who may hate Episode 3 the most. Ayala’s story humanizes vigilantes, which seems a little redundant since we are already watching the titular vigilante, but it works because unlike the prior Netflix Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) vigilantes, he is practically perfect, a working class Boriqua man. His story feels like a portend of what could happen to Matt if he puts the cowl back on now that his heart seems to be turning back in that direction.
Ayala’s story also teases a theme which seems as if it will be developed gradually with each episode. In the earlier episodes, Punisher graffiti and tattoos seem to appear everywhere and is associated with the rogue cops involved with the trial. “Daredevil: Born Again” has some massive cojones because in real life, many people in blue also use the Punisher as their emblem of choice, and I would not want those problems, but it is germane and long overdue to tackle the issue of what The Punisher represents and what law enforcement should stand for. Is The Punisher with them or would he lump them with the criminals?
Director Michael Cuesta is consistent, and while nothing was outstanding, it was a solid entry that never got annoying. He managed to make some scenes tense and dramatic even though they were predictable. Plus, for anyone who was watching it as a farewell and unofficial memorial to de los Reyes, Cuesta honored his colleague well and should be proud of himself. During her first time at bat in the MCU, writer Jill Blankenship laid some groundwork. Despite having the least experience, she smoothly transferred her skills from the CW DC Universe as a writer for “Arrow” so looking forward to her work.
Hopefully Episode 4 will be a Fisk heavy episode, and there will finally be a reveal about how his knuckles are getting so bad. I want to see Adam! I’m interested in the fallout for the trial and looking forward to seeing if Jon Bernthal will finally appear and reprise his role as Frank Castle, i.e. The Punisher, even though he tends to overshadow and take over Daredevil’s show, which is not knocking Cox, but Bernthal is just that good. Will BB and Heather (Margarita Levieva) get a clue about being in deep water and will they sink or swim? Also, Officer Powell (Hamish Alllan-Headley), a witness against Matt’s client, is a mean one and seems to have Matt’s number. He may be more indomitable than he appears. Will he replace Commissioner Gallo (Michael Gaston) if he discovers that his interests are aligned with Mayor Fisk? They seem like they could be pals.
Episode 3 was solid, but if you are here for the action, you will call it a snoozefest and disappointing. It seemed like a necessary transition so when Matt suits up again, he can still be a good guy and not a homicidal maniac. While I normally hate the MCU trope of the hero being mistaken for a criminal, it felt fresher in this round and germane. It would have been nice if there was one throwaway line about the absence of cameras at the crime scene. Matt’s team does not raise the pulse though Heather is in the lead because she has a real storyline and an impossible job. BB feels like she should be on a different series-save the baby. Let’s find a new job for Sheila and get one of her girlfriends to intervene so she can get out of there unscathed. Fight, fight, fight! The show is called Daredevil, not Matt Murdock. (We love you, Matt, but you are a horrible lawyer.)
