Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Episode 4 Review
While it’s frustrating that ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ still hasn’t seen Matt Murdock suit up again as Daredevil after the first episodes shocking 15 minutes, or Wilson Fisk return to his old criming ways, episode four gives audiences a lot to chew on, focusing on how the systems in people’s lives are not often built for them. Both Fisk and Murdock contemplate their decision to go straight, each struggling with their choices in engaging ways, leading to the episode where they both embrace their inner darkness.
Tackling the major complaint first, is the lack of Daredevil in the show that’s named after him. Audiences have only seen one fight scene so far way back in episode one, and it’s now episode four. Audiences were told that ‘Born Again’ was completely overhauled as that incarnation of the show Matt Murdock stayed out of the suit for a considerable number of episodes, and sidelined Karen and Foggy. Well, it looks like the DNA of that remains, as ‘Born Again’ has kept Murdock out of his suit for the bulk of the show, killed Foggy and sent Karen to San Francisco.
Complaints aside, episode four is a more meditative episode, showcasing the collapse in Murdock’s belief in the system he fights for, and Fisk coming to realise that he too hasn’t grown past his old, violent habits. Both men have standout moments as they want to take matters into their own hands once again, consequences of those decisions be damned.
Murdock’s story this week is full of sadness, as he’s confronted with the aftermath of Hector’s death, his niece’s monologue about how the police system doesn’t care about her father’s poignant and hard hitting. The state failed her uncle, and the state failed her. It’s something that leads him to begin to investigate Hector’s murder himself, falling back into his vigilante ways. He finds a bullet that killed Hector, disturbingly with The Punisher’s logo on it.
This slide is reinforced when Murdock is assigned to represent Leroy, a loud mouthed thief accused of petty larceny. Audiences get to see how careless the cops are with their evidence, but he complains they get off scot free. He insults Murdock’s lack of vision, doesn’t seem to show any remorse for the crime he’s accused of (or any past ones either), and even tries to pass his thievery off on invading aliens. Still, Murdock is keen to fight for him, showing his virtuousness as a lawyer. Justice is blind after all.
This leads to the most upbeat scene in the episode, as Murdock playfully haggles with the arraignment officer to reduce Leroy’s sentence down from 30 days to 10. Unfortunately, Leroy isn’t grateful, passionately explaining to Murdock that this will mean missing his public benefits appointments, which leads to going hungry, thievery, and more jail time. It’s a vicious cycle, one perpetuated by the state, the very system Murdock thinks is helping people.
This culminates in him visiting Frank Castle, who somehow looks even more dishevelled and unstable from when audiences have last seen him. Jon Bernthal is once again fantastic in this role, with Charlie Cox delivering an equally heartbreaking performance as the two again argue over the nature of justice, as The Punisher forces Murdock to come to terms with Foggy’s death.
Meanwhile, Fisk is learning about the systemic struggles involved in being New York’s mayor. He’s forced to attend painful choir singing sessions, and instead of just executing plans like he used to, now has to engage in political manoeuvring and legal constraints. Leaks also derail his plans, as Daniel Blake, Fisk’s political underling, accidentally spills the beans to journalist B.B. Urich about a garbage initiative that would upset some unions. It’s clear that Fisk nearly killed the poor guy, by Blake’s sycophantic sucking up to Fisk kept him his job, with Fisk valuing his loyalty and courage. Elsewhere, Fisk is forced into more painful marriage therapy sessions, where Vanessa’s affair with some guy called Adam is brought up, and just when audiences think that Fisk has turned a page, the show reveals Fisk has Adam caged up, unfortunately something similar happened in the 1990s with mayor Buddy Cianci.
All of this is delivered through compelling dialogue, something that might get audiences to think about the effectiveness of the systems that govern their life, along with their fairness and unintended effects. It’s a lot more mature than perhaps some expected from ‘Born Again’, proving this show can be adult in more ways than just ultra-violence.
