Welcome, everybody! Every week, I’ll release a review corresponding to the available episode(s) of the eight-episode, second season of “Daredevil: Born Again” (2026). After the last episode airs, there will be an overall review of the season with spoilers at the end if necessary. I’ve only done an episodic review two times before with disaster striking the second time and was honestly tempted to not bother trying again so thank you for coming along for my experiment! There will be spoilers for the prior episodes of Season 2 in this review.

Season 2 Episode 14 of “Daredevil: Born Again” is fifty minutes long, which is the second longest runtime out of eight episodes. Newcomer Angela Barnes directs. Jesse Wigutow writes an episode solo for the first time. In the first season, Wigutow only cowrote, and one episode was strong while the other was the worst. He did a great job on “Tron: Ares” (2025). Wigutow’s episode feels like a clip show, my least favorite type of television episode, but it actually is not. Wigutow maybe only as good as his writing partner; however, he may be working with orders on the direction of the episode. Is there a law that the fifth episode of a Daredevil season must be a throwaway? It is not quite a waste because a lot of big, emotional moments happen, but they could have been condensed to five minutes, not fifty. If the showrunners think that a breather episode is necessary after an exciting one, there is a difference between slowing down and almost coming to a complete stand still. It was only in the last twenty-five minutes that it got even remotely interesting. This episode is a huge emotional triumph and showcases great performances, but had too much filler.

Let’s rewind a bit and talk about the Fisks. I do not spoil things, but assuming that you watched the last episode, how about the Fisks! Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) wore white to the fight, packed a gun and hit Bullseye (Wilson Bethel). Groan! Dad pun! Then Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) got a gun and tried to join in, but Daredevil (Charlie Cox) saved the day. Vanessa is better than the entire AVTF and security detail. She got injured so this episode addresses the fallout of this encounter for the Fisks, Bullsye and Daredevil, and Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan) and Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini). There are also flashbacks to show a pivotal past event that linked four of them, brought them to another turning point in the present and influenced their present-day decisions. It sounds better on paper than watching it.

These flashbacks are not clips from prior episodes, but it does bring back some memorable characters that you would think that you would be happy to see, but not so much. It was dull as dirt. The wigs were painful. The de-aging process was slightly better, but not by much. These scenes reveal nothing that we do not already know about the characters except for Buck, and it is not a whole lot. The stylist frumps him down, and no one wants to see it. Out of all the flashback scenes, Vanessa’s sections are better not because you learn something new, but Zurer is one of those actors who is just innately interesting to watch. You could give the equivalent of a potato sack scene, and she is going to make it dazzle. Not so much for the other characters, including one beloved bad guy whom I adore and talk about constantly, but was better off relegated to the Netflix seasons.

The present-day scenes are much better. It almost felt like D’Onofrio stopped acting, and “Daredevil: Born Again” invaded his privacy, filmed actual footage of him at a hospital then used it in this episode (compliment). There was no trace of Kingpin or the Mayor, but a man who just loves his wife. He and Zurer just seem in love, and they bring the house down. At the beginning of Season 2 Episode 13, when Fisk was sending away Vanessa, I got worried because their separation almost tore them apart, and it took them a long time to come back and grow stronger together.

I did get what I wanted, and Bullseye and Daredevil finally went to church. It became the epitome of be careful what you wish for because that whole section was a whole lot of nothing. Barnes has one solid visual moment when Bullseye keeps provoking Daredevil to try and get him to stop helping, and Daredevil’s mask eyes glow red, but that is as good as it gets. It is as interesting as listening to drunks trying to find their apartment when they are in it. It is supposed to be suspenseful whether Daredevil will abandon Bullseye and save himself. Seriously if I am the equivalent of roughly six years ito Matt Murdock content and think for a second that Matt is not going to save a guy that he should kill, do I even deserve to watch “Daredevil: Born Again?” The best part of their scene is when the kitchen staff at a restaurant decide to briefly help them, and I would have loved to stay with them instead of hearing Dex drone on about how he is going to bleed out considering how many fatal injuries he survived. Last year, Daredevil tossed him from a roof. No offense to the specific character, but if I’m going to see the seminarian (Bartley Booz) three episodes in a row, a name would be nice. WTF, writers. Way to drop the ball.

This episode shows Daniel under pressure, his morality and mettle. In a shocking turn of events, he holds the moral high ground and has an epiphany about how he has been navigating life. Buck and Daniel go on a road trip, and it feels very “GoodFellas” (1990). If James Gandolfini can see “Daredevil: Born Again,” he is really proud of his son right now. Michael did so good that I almost regret what I wrote about Daniel in my last review. He brought a pathetic humanity to Daniel that still scrounged up a dignity and a moral code that I never thought he possessed. I’m most interested in seeing how he will move through the world going forward now that he realizes the risk that he places on his life. After this episode, Daniel feels like a guy who is swimming in the deep end, but he cannot move his limbs and is relying on floaties to hold him up. He is a normal guy who thinks that he is in the right place at the right time, but instead of right, it is wrong. I did keep waiting for the reveal that he pickpocketed BB (Genneya Walton) and snagged her flash drive.

The more that “Daredevil: Born Again” reveals about Buck, the less that we know about him. He is not introspective at all and just does his job. He may as well work in a factory. He is insanely skilled, attractive and smooth brained when it comes to most parts of life, but his flashback is wild. It is so counterintuitive, but sure. He could just be a psychopath. It is the second week without Heather (Margarita Levieva), and I hope that she never dates him. One day, they would be together then he would gun her down for a piece of toast.

I want to know more about Charles (Matthew Lillard) and the person that he talked to during Season 2’s first episode. Who is his boss? Will BB take a break from posting underground content out of respect for the Fisks’ family crisis and Daniel? I want Heather to take FMLA and see a therapist. How is Aunt Doris (Adriane Lenox)? Will Kirsten (Nikki M. James) get hurt in the obvious fallout coming after Fisk remembers that the world exists because bullies are always shocked when people hit back? How will the Governor (Lili Taylor) react to this news? I do not want Matt and Heather (Deborah Ann Woll) to fight.