‘Daredevil: Born Again’ just took an explosive risk, but has repeating the past paid off?
I can’t believe there’s just one episode left in Daredevil: Born Again season 1. Honestly, I don’t want it to end, and I’m so thankful we already know there will be a second season. In this age of streaming, that’s an undeniable gift, and Daredevil: Born Again episode 8, “Isle of Joy,” is just the latest proof of why this show deserves to be renewed (over, and over, and over again).
Warning: major spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 8.
Since Daredevil: Born Again was transformed from a full-on reboot to a genuine continuation of Netflix’s three-season Daredevil series—thank you, Dario Scardapane—it’s no surprise that the Disney+ series has made excellent use of parallels as a storytelling device. Parallels between character arcs and story beats can provide new perspectives, interesting characterization, and in this case, even a quasi-recap of what came before. The repeated scenario in Daredevil: Born Again episode 8 was unmistakable, but thankfully, it paid off.
Why does this party feel familiar?
In the original Daredevil season 3 finale, Wilson and Vanessa Fisk hold a secured, invitation-only, lavish wedding in a fancy New York ballroom, flaunting their love, wealth, and power to NYC’s elite. In Born Again episode 8, Wilson and Vanessa Fisk host an invite-only, formal, and lush party to celebrate Fisk’s position as mayor, accruing more power while distributing threats like canapés on a silver platter.
In both scenarios, Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Benjamin Poindexter/Bullseye crash the party, Bullseye wants to kill Fisk, and Matt is out for revenge, blinded by his grief and anger. Wilson’s even wearing another pristine white suit, and Vanessa’s dress in Born Again is the color of the rose her husband wore in his lapel during their wedding, despite the party’s black-and-white theme. It’s all pretty familiar, but that’s precisely what makes this parallel such a strong yet risky choice, especially for the penultimate season 1 episode.
Essentially repeating one of Daredevil’s most emotionally complex, gut-wrenching, and thrilling sequences could very well have been construed as a way to recall the show’s previous glory days, much like Star Wars: The Force Awakens did when it largely repeated A New Hope’s original story structure. Daredevil is different, though. Yes, the scenario is essentially the same, but the outcome is the complete opposite. One choice, one moment, has now wholly redefined Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk’s relationship, and they’ll never be the same again.
In Daredevil season 3, Matt comes close to killing Wilson Fisk. He’s desperate, filled with a vengeance he can’t truly comprehend, and has come to believe that ridding the world of Fisk once and for all is the only way to stop his power from corrupting the city. He comes so close, so close to killing him that Vanessa even begs him to stop, and then, in one final moment of clarity, Matt remembers who he is and what he, and Daredevil, stand for. It’s one of the show’s most brutal fights, and that’s saying something because all of the fights in Daredevil (and Born Again) are brutal. This one was different, though. This one was fueled by despair, not heroism.
In Daredevil: Born Again, however, despite Matt crashing the Fisks’ party again—this time, as himself—he’s not set on killing Fisk. Matt’s anger is instead directed at Vanessa, whom he believes is responsible for Foggy’s death. Matt isn’t the one putting Fisk’s life in danger. Instead, in a monumental turn of events, he saves it instead, putting himself in the path of Bullseye’s bullet, bleeding out on the dancefloor.
While these parallel sequences may have originally been a nod to the way Matt and Fisk are locked in an unending cycle of violence and retribution, Matt’s sacrifice—both physically and morally—has elevated their story; Fisk now owes his life to his greatest enemy. That will hurt Fisk to his very core. Everyone will soon know that Matt Murdock is a hero. Matt Murdock, the same man responsible for locking up Fisk, not once, but twice. How will the mayor ever be able to spin that to the public? Matt will now forever be a hero, and people don’t even know his real, masked identity. What happens if they find out he’s Daredevil? Wilson’s anti-vigilante stance will become poisonous to his political legacy.
Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk are two sides of the same coin, and they always have been, but Daredevil: Born Again episode 8 has taken that to a whole new level. By repeating such an essential scene from Daredevil season 3, Matt’s renewed decision to save Fisk’s life has become even more impactful.
(featured image: Disney+)
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