Daredevil: Born Again review: a more focused and prescient Season 2

Daredevil: Born Again had trouble in its birth. Per reports, it was conceived as a fresh start for the titular Marvel hero Daredevil, with a new tone and direction to differentiate itself from its predecessor series on Netflix, also starring the same cast of characters.

The tone was alleged to be lighter-hearted, more in-line with the appearance of Daredevil in other Marvel media, like the tongue-in-cheek She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Eventually, following production pauses due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes, and in discussion with stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, a decision was made to embrace the grittiness of the original Netflix series. To reimagine Born Again as entirely faithful to the character and his more modern interpretation, even to the detriment of the typically lighter-hearted Marvel style.

The challenge in the subsequent first season of Born Again was that some groundwork had already been laid for the original, lighter version, so there was a tonal dissonance in certain episodes, the ‘With Interest’ bank heist episode being a particular bottleneck.

In development of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, showrunner Dario Scardapane clearly had more scope and time to focus on what worked, using the show’s first season as example. Focussing on the grit and grounded storytelling of this early season has allowed Season 2 to arrive as a more mature, cogent story.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2: corruption and survival

What’s perhaps most surprising about this season is just how grounded and close to the bone it cuts, particularly if you have an ear for modern politics in the United States.

The season kicks off directly following the events of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. Having saved New York’s mayor, the corrupt Kingpin (D’Onofrio), from the assassin Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), lawyer-vigilante Matt Murdock / Daredevil (Cox) has gone into hiding.

Aware of the Kingpin’s underground dealings with arms dealers and other criminals, and how he twists justice to meet his own ends, Murdock and companion Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) attempt to take down his organisation and restore order from the inside, using a network of media and political contacts, as well as some good-old-fashioned superheroics.

At the same time, the season also explores the ramifications of spreading politic corruption, and how a lack of morals can impact even those on the periphery.

Reporter BB Urich (Genneya Walton) attempts to maintain her journalistic integrity, while highlighting the beauty and power of modern New Yorkers, but can’t ignore her feeling that something’s wrong with the world. Her friend Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) deals with the pressure of becoming Fisk’s protégé, and the conflict inherent in wanting to do good within a corrupt system.

The journey of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 has many other players, including the returning Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), who is forced to tackle Fisk’s reign as it begins to infringe on her own safety, as well as other returnees from the first season: therapist Heather Glenn, lawyer Kristen McDuffie, and Fisk’s corrupt police force.

The message of the season is layered: that corruption spreads from the top, and can infect every part of human life without good people standing up. Every character players a part in this journey, in one way or another.

While the action of the season is tied around a singular event – the sinking of a cargo ship carrying arms out of New York – it’s largely about the knock-on impact of evil, and its how it spreads without action.

A corrupt power figure with nefarious, power-driven ambition was voted into office. With money and power at his fingertips, the rules of law and justice crumble. In the end, it’s the little people who suffer – not those who make the decisions.

Close to the bone

There are wild parallels to reality in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2. In any other decade, its presentation of Fisk’s actions might seem unbelievable. The fiction of comic books. But the reality is a corrupt police snatching people off the streets, and locking them in cages, is not so unbelievable anymore.

This is a prescient, grounded season of Marvel Television that is a mirror to the reality currently facing many people in the United States. It’s shocking how closely the plot aligns, and how bold the usually-more-conservative Disney has allowed Daredevil: Born Again‘s creatives to be.

This is a season that attempts to explore and undermine the power of sycophants and corrupt officials in real life, and put it back in the hands of the people.

It positions Daredevil as a folk hero for the masses, as he is in his comic book source material. He’s a figure for a revolution, as Fisk’s power grows.

There’s a bit of novel metaphor in the costuming this season as well, that speaks to that new role. Daredevil’s new suit is now black, but as the season progresses and dominoes begin to fall, the shiny red of hope beneath begins to shine through.

Strong performances pull the spotlight in multiple directions

There are many moving parts in this season of Daredevil: Born Again. With that core theme of corruption, the focus isn’t only on Daredevil – and while drier stretches without the character would normally leave you longing, everyone is on their game, to pull your attention.

Wilson Bethel as Bullseye is a particular standout this season, given renewed purpose and more deadly abilities. The trouble with having such a charismatic, layered, and visually stylish villain is that it’s harder to root against him, but the plot twists its way around this caveat.

Margarita Levieva gets plenty to do as Heather Glenn, dealing with the trauma of her ordeal in the show’s first season. Michael Gandolfini is also pitch-perfect as Blake, the wannabe Fisk apprentice who finds the world is much darker, the deeper the rabbit hole gets.

It’s also worth shouting out Krysten Ritter, who’s back in fine form as the grimacing, straight-laced Jessica Jones, given new problems and responsibilities as her life is overturned.

Then, there’s Matthew Lilard as Mr. Charles, who threatens to run away with scenes on multiple occasions. As a character, his complexity is compelling – and while he’s overall a bit underused, he makes the most of every moment, grinning and charming his way through battle-like dialogue in scenes against the ever-imposing D’Onofrio.

While there are lulls in the spaces between these character appearances, and the season occasionally gets bogged down in its own grimdark narrative, the strength of each character is a bridge between the action. They’re real and flawed, and even in the swift pacing of drama, you get time to see their motivation, to see beneath the facade.

There’s a delicate balance to be found in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, and in how it tackles its darkest, most prescient themes.

At times, it cuts deeply into the real world, providing a perspective and encouragement that has an unfortunately-practical message. Nobody should need the advice that Born Again presents, and yet, the world is far darker and stranger now that anyone would want it to be.

As a parable of hope for a brighter future, it arrives with staggering timing.

Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+.

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