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 Episode 4, which is fifty-two minutes long, delivers on the promises made in the prior episodes. We were good, and the man in red delivered, but no one is talking about Santa! The heat is turning up, and while there were no fights, there were ample scenes that should leave fans happy regardless of whether they have been around since Netflix or just came on board with the Disney+ reboot. As predicted, it is a Fisk heavy episode, which includes learning more about his routine, his relationship and his underlings.
Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) and Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) are warming up to each other. At meals, they no longer sit at opposite ends of the table or hug the ends of the sofa at the therapy session. Vanessa even adjusted her entire body language and faced her husband to scrutinize his responses. It feels as if they are at a turning point, but that everything could still fall apart for the former lovebirds. Also, Heather (Margarita Levieva) apparently does read recaps and knows who Fisk is, so she is not dumb and is a fearless, consummate professional. Maybe the best that we have seen this season or ever in the “Daredevil” universe. Unfortunately, she still has no idea that her boyfriend is a vigilante, but baby steps. It was a standout episode to appreciate Levieva’s work, especially since audiences have never seen Matt’s type with a normal woman, i.e. not Elektra (Elodie Yung). Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) does not count. They went on one date, and she is the worst—no offense to Woll.
Sheila (Zabryna Guevara) gets a lot more limelight, and while she may not realize how much trouble she is in (girl, Fisk is being literal when he tells someone that it is the last time that they will do something), it becomes obvious how she sees her role in his administration. Fisk is raw, but has unconventional energy and with some bureaucratic training, could do some good things. She is a mover and shaker who abides but is underestimating Fisk’s fealty to the rule of law. Seriously, all her girlfriends need to get together and conduct an intervention. It will be sad when she gets murdered intentionally or accidentally.
Buck (Arty Froushan) did not get much screentime, but Episode 4 does elaborate on his role in Fisk’s life. There are answers regarding whether he is more about that life or another Wesley who is ignorant of being in over his head. There has never been a scene with Buck and Vanessa, but they seem aligned. If they are acting independently, then Buck may be in less danger than I thought during Episode 3, but if not, it would be interesting to see who gets him in a divorce. He proclaimed that he works for the man, not the mayor, so if the mayor gets in the way, will Buck buck?
The least believable scene in “Daredevil: Born Again” is when Daniel (Michael Gandolfini) goes clubbing with BB (Genneya Walton). There is no world where those two socialize voluntarily with each other unless BB is a complete user to get a story. If they are really friends, Daniel needs to dump her. Also, Daniel does not give the impression of a guy who is down with the shes, theys and gays, which is not a gender, but lumped together because misogynists, homophobes and transphobes come from the same hate tree. To be fair, Daniel is framed as a Fisk fanboy for *waves hands in the air* reasons, and Fisk is better than Presidon’t and most of the worst in power for not being a dog whistler, but don’t play in our face about putting a criminal in an elected office with fervent fans and expect me not to make a comparison. BB still feels as if she belongs on the CW, and while The BB Report is a nice palette cleanser transition to stories which tickles my found footage/fake documentary love, it would be nice if the series showed her doing it so I could believe that she is the same woman behind the camera with amazing social media skills. Also, shouldn’t people recognize her as a minor celebrity and want to be interviewed? More thought and work need to be done with BB because the bloodline inheriting journalism skill gene is insufficient.
D’Onofrio, director Jeffrey Nachmanoff and cowriters David Feige and Jesse Wigutow made me laugh with torturing Fisk throughout his workday. The first time that he sits through a photo op and makes nice was already perfect, but then they take it up a notch. No wonder at the end of the day, Fisk was like, “Fuck that diet! Give me sausages, pasta and red wine. I can’t even kill people!” So relatable…except for the last part of course. Matt (Charlie Cox) also gets some jokes and reveals about how he practices law. He offers to pimp himself out to the prosecutor, Sofija Ozola (Elizabeth A. Davis), who only appears in one scene, but comes out swinging and clearly salivating over the opposition. It is a great scene and makes complete sense that Matt has survived on charm and looks alone. Sometimes being a nice guy who is good at conversating can win. Officer Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley) is still in play, and Matt growls at him in the hallway. He is jonesing just as much as Fisk.
The case is a bit of a snoozefest to give a sense of the downtrodden of the city or perhaps introducing new client, Leroy Mancini (Charlie Hudson III), will be a long game set up to find out who the latest masked man (Richard Lyntton) is lurking in the tunnels. This shy boy appears to be a villain and has never appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hopefully he will not be as anti-climactic as the White Tiger was, but that storyline is still in play! Again, Matt is making zero dollars. Firms do not grow on trees! Nikki M. James just phones it in, which is not a dig on her acting. Matt’s law partner, Kristen Mcduffie, just calls, and it is getting harder to remember that she exists. No Cherry needed as Matt hits the streets to do some investigating that he segues into a therapy session, which will make everyone happy!
Episode 4 was so much fun even without the fight scenes, and I’m so psyched for the next episode. Fisk and Matt are still their alter egos because duh, and it was great to see how they spend their off hours. Things are getting exciting without losing grasp of the bureaucratic side. This episode proved that it is possible to have a comic book hero television series without fights or special effects, but I’m still looking forward to fights because viewers cannot just live on shirtless Cox alone. I want to know more about the new villain, Vanessa and Fisk’s marriage, how Heather will find out about her hot boyfriend being a vigilante, and why Red Hook is so important to Fisk. Also, how will Sheila react when she realizes that Fisk is not a changed man, but she is his respectability beard and a henchman doing his bidding because she is definitely not about that life. I want Powell to meet Fisk because that would be horrible for Matt, but good television. When does Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) hit the streets! Squeeee! Let’s go!
