Daredevil: Born Again Episodes 5 / 6
"With Interest" / "Excessive Force"
Writers: Grainne Godfree / Thomas Wong
Directors: Jeffrey Nachmanoff / David Boyd
Cast: Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki M. James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, Kamar de los Reyes, Ayelet Zurer
Let's talk about depression. Wow — buckle up, we're about to have fun! Sorry, but this is what Daredevil: Born Again is bringing out of me — a person who knows a lot about depression. But the funniest little quirk of depression? The meds you take to overcome depression ... make you depressed. Sure, I can get up and recap Daredevil: Born Again instead of being catatonic in bed. But am I getting any joy out of Daredevil: Born Again, a TV show about my favorite solo hero in comics? Hmmmm ... It's at this point, the halfway point of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, where I'm not sure if the problem is mine or the show's — or if both the show and I have the same problem. That problem? We're all depressed.
Watching Episodes 5 and 6 back-to-back left me wondering if anyone other than Charlie Cox actually wants to be making this show. There's a restraint to everything around Cox — like the show is contorting itself to keep him as far away from a Daredevil suit as possible (never mind that this is a storyline that we've already seen done in previous seasons).
He also feels so chillingly alone — Murdock and Cox, come to think of it. He has no supporting cast, as Cherry (Clark Johnson) and Kirsten (Nikki M. James) remain frustratingly inconsequential. It's like this version of the show has reimagined Matt Murdock as a Columbo type, a charismatic loner who wanders from case to case, representing character actors turning in over-the-top performances. That would be a great show, but Daredevil: Born Again isn't even that. After the White Tiger two-parter, there are no scene-stealing guest stars nor are there compelling stories being told.
There's even more of a lethargy around Wilson Fisk's tenure as major of New York City, which really seems like a thick steak of a story that the show should be wringing savory, fatty juice from. Instead, we're watching Vincent D'Onofrio chafe against restraints put upon him by the script. When I read reports that it was D'Onofrio and Cox who were behind the drastic measures taken to right the ship, which resulted in the initial showrunners being shown the door, I get it.
So, that's the overall impression these two episodes made upon me: This is a show about Marvel's premier Sad Boy Superhero that is itself a sad show. It's so meta that it could still ultimately work ... maybe.
As for the plot of these two episodes — I'm not a hater, okay? Netflix's Daredevil is a top five Marvel TV show for me — and I'm talking of all time, any format. I love the character. So when I saw that Episode 5 was going to be a bank hostage bottle episode with Matt Murdock in the center of it, I was seated and ready. Add in a surprise guest appearance from Mohan Kapur, reprising his role as Yusuf Khan, proud father of Jersey City's Ms. Marvel and I was ready to have some fun. I wish that the show was ready to have some fun, too.
The plot is straightforward: Matt is trying to get a loan for Murdock & McDuffie, which isn't going so well since the law firm frequently takes on troubled pro bono cases. His request is denied by Yusuf, who's in from Jersey City and filling in for the bank's manager. After Matt leaves, a small gang from the Irish mob bust in for an old fashioned bank robbery. The leader, Devlin (Cillian O'Sullivan), even tells the hostages that they know what to do, as this is just like the movies. A fun touch.
Matt overhears the commotion from blocks away and returns to the bank, entering a hostage situation feigning obliviousness — whistling and everything. Again, Cox is killing it. That might be the best moment of the two episodes. It turns out that the bank robbers are after one thing: a sizable whiskey diamond. Through Daredevil being Daredevil, the robbers are thwarted; Devlin gets a leg snapped clean in two and the diamond ends up back with the bank.
It's all fine but the episode itself never lives up to the potential of having Daredevil in a bank hostage situation. There are some very good moments for Matt, like him bargaining to give up his get-out-of-crisis-free-card to a hostage's husband, so the couple can be released to the police together. I was also surprised when Det. Kim (Ruibo Qian) actually came up with a funny joke when Devlin put her on the spot (If she had that one in her back pocket, though, no idea why she asked around). The stairwell fight scene between Matt and a random goon was well-executed, particularly Matt's deft maneuvering to catch a falling shotgun while strangling the goon with his legs. Matt cracking the code on a huge, fancy bank vault was also fun. But — where were the stakes?
This is a hostage episode in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Daredevil at the center of it. This gang is pulling off this robbery to spite Kingpin, who's the mayor of New York now. There was nothing here, no urgency, no danger. If you want to see a hostage episode done right, off the top of my head, look to ER's "The Long Way Around" (3x15) — an episode that aired on a Thursday night at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, just one of 22 that that show knocked out in a year.
High hopes for Episode 5 not fulfilled, I still had higher hopes for Episode 6 knowing that this was the Muse vs. Daredevil showdown we've been ... kinda building towards? Strolling towards? Wandering towards? Like ... that clearly disturbed young man who asked for Heather's (Margarita Levieva) help at her book signing, in Episode 2, the one played by Wednesday's Hunter Doohan? That was Muse, right? And there's clearly something brewing, plot-wise, between him and Heather's interest in analyzing the vigilante psyche, right?
Also, Heather now seems very sus after asking Matt to set up an interview for her with the Punisher. That is wild. She could have asked for any number of vigilantes to interview, and she swung for Punisher! Like, have her ask about She-Hulk, who Matt Murdock very clearly knows, and have him reply, "She's not a vigilante, per se" or something. I dunno, Punisher, man. Heather. That's wild. Also why is Punisher just out and about and easily found by anyone with super senses?
Anyway — the plot of "Excessive Force"! The sanitation department learns that the murals that have been popping up all over Manhattan have been done with a combination of epoxy and human blood. A lot of human blood. As many as 60 different victims. Fisk — bored out of his mind doing degrading political niceties like sucking up to the city's elite — uses this as reason to put together an anti-vigilante task force comprised of dirty cops. Dirty cops and Cole North (Jeremy Isaiah Earl), an enduring supporting character introduced in Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto in 2019's Daredevil #1. I have high hopes for him on this show but, maybe that's misplaced considering the show's track record, re: my hopes.
And Tony Dalton returns as Jack Duquesne, the rakish fencer in Hawkeye. There is no mention of the fact that Fisk conspired with Jack's ex-fiancée to frame him for murder, and that ex-fiancée is now presumably in jail. Shrug.
Any hopes of keeping this serial killer business under wraps are dashed when Muse straight up murders two young women outside of a club and leaves their mutilated bodies under his latest mural, like a fucked up signature. It's gnarly, and the way Michael Gandolfini subtly played weasel-y Daniel's nauseous response to it was A+.
Also kudos to the overall execution of Muse, who is 100% comic accurate, 100% believable as a live-action character, and 100% creepy as all hell. Really well done, and I applaud the showrunners for picking such a recent addition to Daredevil's rogue's gallery instead of retreading Bullseye/Kingpin/Elektra territory.
Meanwhile, Matt Murdock's not unaware of something unsettling going on. Early in the episode, he's visited by Hector's niece Angela (Camila Rodriguez). She's there to ask Matt to do something about her uncle's unfinished work. He was investigating the disappearance of dozens of people along the abandoned Q line before he was killed by a Punisher fanatic cop.
Pausing to ask: are we following up on the Punisher cop thing? Or has that storyline morphed into this anti-vigilante task force?
Matt — who is still very much in his sincere I'm Not Daredevil phase despite having turned an Irish criminal's leg into a bag of Jenga blocks just yesterday — tells Angela to leave it to the police (lol) and, like, what does she want him to do anyway? Angela's damn perfect response:
Once Cherry brings to Matt's attention that there's word of a serial killer who paints with human blood on the loose, Matt's attention is held. Also Cherry tells Matt to let the cops handle it which, what the actual hell, Cherry? You do remember how the cops just framed and murdered a vigilante, Matt's client? I know Cherry is a retired cop, but come on. Maybe if we knew more about Cherry, if he was given anything resembling a character beyond what Clark Johnson is innately bringing to the character, this could be a real moment to chew on. It's not. It just looks like Matt's private investigator can't read the fucking room.
Angela's taken it upon herself to investigate the subway tunnels alone, which as a New Yorker, fills me with terror. She finds Muse, or Muse finds her — either way, next we see Angela, she's unconscious and getting hooked up to Muse's blood pumping device. Fortunately, Matt got an urgent call from Angela's mom, he literally said "Fuck it," suited up, and leapt into action (via slightly uncanny valley CG).
But y'know what? As slightly rubber-y as DD may look as he bounds across the NYC skyline, I am here for it. We are finally getting to see Daredevil's billy club skills in action, as he whips his way across the city — and it's rad as hell. I am all in on that, especially the opening blow of his fight with Muse.
Meanwhile Fisk, after feeling neutered all episode — especially after having to take lumps from one of the chump mob leaders that's risen up to take his place — returns to his man cave where he keeps his wife Vanessa's former lover in a cell. Fisk tosses the man, Adam, a hatchet and lets him try.
Daredevil's brawl with Muse is intercut with Fisk's beatdown of Adam, creating a literal "born again" sequence as these two retake mantels they believed they could retire.
Both moments are cathartic, for the characters, the actors, the viewers, and the show. This is the show, and I get that the show was trying to hammer home how much this is the show by deliberately not being this show for four episodes, building up tension. The problem is, the show didn't make that buildup nearly as interesting as it could have been.
But hey — we're here now. Our lead characters are no longer denying their nature. Maybe they're out of their depressive funk — and maybe next week's episode will help me out of mine. Fingers crossed.
