Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers.
Hopelessness and corruption have consumed New York City. A corrupt crime boss mayor controls a city and uses it to his advantage. This is what the “Daredevil: Born Again” season finale alludes to while retaining hope that good will win.
Episode 9, “Straight to Hell,” begins with Matthew Murdock (Daredevil) recovering from a bullet wound in his shoulder as Doctor Heather Glenn and Assistant District Attorney Kirsten McDuffie talk with him. He tries to tell them that Vanessa Fisk sent Benjamin Poindexter to shoot Franklin Nelson, but they dismiss it.
Meanwhile, Mayor Wilson Fisk talks to his wife, Vanessa, about the attack they witnessed and how he knew she controlled Poindexter (Bullseye). He orders his anti-vigilante task force to hunt down and silence any vigilantes in New York by causing a citywide blackout and allowing chaos to run rampant on the streets.
As Murdock gets back to his apartment, he’s met by Frank Castle (the Punisher), tasked to help him fend off the task force. Murdock begrudgingly agrees, and the two fight against task force agents, including Cole North, the man who shot Hector Ayala (the White Tiger) back in Episode 3.
In classic hero fashion, Murdock refuses to return the favor to North, sparing him as he sees him as not worth the trouble.
Karen Page is revealed to have sent Castle to help Murdock and partners with her former love interest to investigate what case Nelson was working on to find out why he was killed.
At a storage facility, Murdock and Page discover that Nelson was working on the Red Hook Port, a Freeport exempt from city and country jurisdiction, meaning that any illegal activity at Red Hook would be legal per the Fisks’ plan.
In the meantime, Wilson Fisk gets rid of any opposition as he kills Police Commissioner Phil Gallo. The practical effects and sound design are fully displayed as the audience is treated to a bone snapping sound like a walnut cracking open, leading to a gruesome final result. Fisk will continue to be the brutal Kingpin in his methods, even if he’s the mayor.
Castle heads to Red Port to snuff out the task force using his likeness to kill without repercussions. He is unsuccessful in his mission as he’s captured, but not without fatally injuring several guards and is trapped in a cage with other people who doubted Fisk and his mission.
Page and Murdock scope out on the port and find out that they don’t stand a chance against Fisk. Page compares the situation to how Murdock’s mind senses the world as “a thousand suns,” a metaphor for seeing the world as an endless field of fiery bursts. Murdock still believes they can win as long as he can rally up the people of New York to get an army themselves.
The blackout is over as Fisk declares the Safer Streets Initiative, where all vigilante activity is illegal and appoints Glenn as his commissioner of mental health. Murdock meets with his team of New Yorkers to resist, to rebel and to rebuild because, as he tells them, “We are the city without fear,” and fans are treated to a post-credit scene where Castle subdues a guard and prepares for his escape.
The first season of “Daredevil: Born Again” has brought so much action, despair and theming to society and has watchers tempted for more. Characters have been murdered, fights have been thrown and correlations to real life – like manipulating the media and graffiti art – are realistic in a sense.
According to Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomato meter and Popcorn meter, the average percentage of positive reviews is 87% and 80%. Hopefully, Daredevil will be successful in making New York no longer afraid of Kingpin as he continues his fight against crime. The next season is slated to arrive in March 2026.
