‘Daredevil: Born Again’ does have Matt’s Catholicism throughout the show, if you know where to look for it
I’ve noticed a “trend” in the response to Daredevil: Born Again…Mainly with people commenting on certain parts of who Matt Murdock is and not really having “accuracy” in their complaints.
Daredevil: Born Again premiered last night and in the lead up to the series, Disney sent journalists the entire season to watch. It led to many sharing their thoughts about the show prior to its release. One such social review stated “It lacks the original’s religious themes.” That is not true. At least for me and my connection to Catholicism.
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The original series had Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) coming to terms with his relationship with the church. He began the series as a man who still regularly went to confession but as he learned about his own past and who his mother is, his relationship to the church changed. It led to where Matt is in Born Again. He’s a man who lives his life with the teachings that the Catholic church gave him but removed from the rigidness that the church can provide.
As someone who falls into the category of Matt in Born Again, I understood where he is on a religious front. I grew up with a grandmother and grandfather who went to church every Sunday, would go to Sunday school on occasion with my friends and family. But my connection to the ways of Catholicism are not that of someone who was forced into the church. Where Matt is in Born Again has more of that approach to his relationship.
But there are little nods to Matt’s Catholic upbringing throughout the show that really spoke to me and to label the show as lacking in Matt’s faith says to me that those criticizing it might not have picked up on those nods to Catholicism.
Prayer cards, pleading with God, and Matt’s private prayer
Throughout the season, the one big connection to Matt’s faith is a prayer card he keeps in his pocket for Foggy Nelson. That is something that is a Catholic tradition. I have both my grandparents’ in my room and we framed my father’s in memoriam news clipping in a similar way. It is part of grieving and remembering those we lost.
Matt carrying Foggy’s throughout the season is a connection to his Catholic upbringing. At one point in the season, he is saying a prayer while in his home that shows that though he is no longer attending church regularly, he is still connecting with his faith in his own way.
To be fair, when you lose someone as close to you as Foggy was to Matt, it can result in pulling back from religion and the idea of a higher power making these “decisions.” So Matt not regularly going to church isn’t a strange departure for the character. If anything, I think it’d be weird if he was still there every Sunday through his grief.
So saying that the show isn’t as connected to Matt’s faith is false. It just isn’t as heavy-handed with the idea of Catholicism as the original run but Matt’s connection to his religion is still as present as ever before.
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