Daredevil’s shocking premiere episode mirrors the show’s original run
Daredevil: Born Again is finally here and the shocking series premiere brought tears and a Matt Murdock we know and love.
Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again lie ahead
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) starts this season at Nelson, Murdock, and Page. Taking place far enough after season 3 of the Netflix series, we get to see where Matt, Karen (Deborah Ann Woll), and Foggy (Elden Henson) end up after deciding to work together at the end of the season.
The joy of seeing the three walking together is, obviously, short lived. Foggy, Karen, and Matt head to Josie’s after a long day at work and while there, Benjamin Poindexter (Wilson Bethel) comes and shoots Foggy as Matt is trying to save Foggy’s client. It results in Bullseye shooting Foggy and killing people on his path to come for Daredevil who is trying to stop him.
The sequence leads us to a one shot that reminds me of the first two episodes of the original series. Particularly the hallway fight sequence that has become synonymous with the series. There are shots of people fighting behind a glass door, busting it down, and Matt and Poindexter engaging in hand to hand combat.
To me, it’s a nice nod to the kind of fighting technique we’re used to with Matt while making it its own special thing. Having it in the first episode though really is a nod to the original series. That iconic fight sequence that everyone talks about when referencing Daredevil happens in the second episode of the series.
It’s what makes a Matt Murdock story so good. We don’t have to be focused on the fights throughout the season because his story is so fascinating that we can front load a series with an iconic fight sequence and still have plenty for fans to love.
Saying goodbye to Foggy Nelson
The original plan for the show was to kill off Karen Page and Foggy Nelson off camera and without us seeing it or knowing why. The change in the script made it so Foggy was left a victim of Bullseye, Matt listening to his best friend’s heartbeat slowing as he tries to stop Poindexter. It is emotionally charged and upsetting but a driving force of change for Matt Murdock.
Those first moments are heartbreaking to watch. This was our trio, the three we loved to see together, and with Foggy gone it isn’t going to feel the same. But it is also a surprising connection back to Matt’s faith.
We see Foggy’s prayer card in braille sitting on Matt’s counter a year after his death. Matt puts it in his coat pocket, insinuating that he always has it with him. That is, as I realized through this show, something that is a very Catholic connection to those we’ve lost. I do this. I have prayer cards for my grandparents and my father and I have them in my room.
Seeing Matt with it was that connection I needed back to Foggy and to Matt’s faith and it made me emotional about saying goodbye to these two friends who love each other so dearly. But I do think that it sets up a fascinating arc for Matt throughout this season so while it hurts, I think Foggy’s death represents that pain that Matt’s father did in the original run.
So the beginning of Daredevil: Born Again feels like a beautiful companion piece to the original series in so many ways and it feels so good having Matt back!
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