The ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Finale May Have Set Up the Perfect Return for Luke Cage and Jessica Jones (And Fine, the Other One Too)

Daredevil: Born Again was in the works for years. Charlie Cox got the call about reprising his role in 2020, he made his first appearances in She-Hulk and Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, and the series officially went into development in 2022. Unless Feige has a crystal ball, there was no way Marvel could have predicted that their spin on Mayor Kingpin would land during the particular political moment we find ourselves in now. A cartoon villain in a silly suit acting with unchecked power to disappear dissidents and using his elected position for illegal personal gain? The season finale may have been called “Straight to Hell” but damn if it didn’t look like just another Tuesday in America.

If you could ignore the sick feeling in your gut from all that painful reality being mirrored back at you, though, the finale had a lot to offer! In the wake of his attempted assassination, Fisk spins the hunt for Bullseye into a chance to consolidate power by throwing the city into chaos. He closes the bridges and tunnels and somehow convinces Con-Ed to shut down the power grid, then blames the ensuing blackout on an act of sabotage. He blackmails the city council into approving his “Safer Streets” Initiative, which outlaws all vigilantes while imposing martial law and a curfew on the entire city. He also pops Police Commissioner Gallo’s skull with his bare hands like a zit, cementing his control of the police department which is now his personal militia.

Last week I speculated that Matt taking the bullet for Fisk would make his anti-vigilante agenda a tougher sell, but nope! Fisk has a plan for that, too: “A dead hero is better than a live vigilante.” Kill Matt and he becomes a martyr, the poor blind lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen who lost his life protecting the Mayor from a crazed vigilante. The trick is, Matt has to die - and that proves to be the one task Fisk can’t accomplish in his long, dark night. After evading his own assassination attempt at the hospital, Matt returns to his apartment to find Frank Castle waiting for him. Just in time, too, because their reunion is cut short by an attack from Fisk’s task force.

I hate to be that person who thinks the cameos are the best part of the show, but seriously: The Punisher showed up and stole the rug right out from under this finale. From his bickering camaraderie with Matt and his gruff pining over Karen (who also returns, since she was the one who called Frank) to his long-awaited confrontation with all those Punisher fanboy cops in the Task Force, there was as much payoff for Frank this week as there was for Matt’s entire storyline. Hell, Daredevil: Born Again gave the character what two seasons of his own show never did: a chance to confront his admirers with the cold truth of his worldview. Did seeing Bernthal cut the throats of a bunch of dirty cops make up for the time The Punisher ended with Frank killing a bunch of teenagers? Yes it did, thank you very much.

The question of which Task Force goon killed Hector Ayala is answered thanks to those telltale bullet casings, but this is really just a chance for Matt to decide he isn’t going to kill the man (while Frank berates him for it). The finale finds Matt fully embracing his role as Daredevil, with all the anger and the mercy inside of him, because the city needs him - and because Karen reminds him that Foggy believed in him for exactly who he is. Likewise, Fisk emerges as Mayor Kingpin as we finally learn what’s so special about his Red Hook project. Apparently, Red Hook was chartered as a free port, and neither the city nor the country has legal jurisdiction over it. Foggy was going to use that fact to get the case against his client dismissed, and that’s why Vanessa had him killed. Now Fisk is using his position to build a whole, I dunno, murder casino there or something, and he’ll be able to launder a whole lot of cash through it in the process.

By the end of the episode, Fisk has a bunch of vigilantes (Including Frank!) locked up in his weird dungeon lair, which is still better than El Salvador. And Matt realizes he can’t fight Fisk alone. He’s going to need an army - so that’s just what he starts assembling in Josie’s bar. Cherry is there, and Detective Kim, and a handful of other presumably good cops. He greets them in costume, revealing his superhero alter-ego. Karen’s there too, which I’m hoping bodes well for the second season. Because here’s the thing: It’s been refreshing to see these old Netflix characters brought back to life without having to do all the origin-story groundwork. To bring these characters back fully-formed, to meet them where they are, and to trust the audience to keep up - that had to be as freeing for the writers and actors as it has been for us. That’s why every scene with Frank is so electric! There’s no setup, he just showed up as the best version of himself, punching cops and calling Matt a “wall-to-wall asshole.” And since the season began, Marvel’s head of television Brad Winderbaum has been talking about how they are “very much exploring” bringing back the other Netflix heroes like Luke Cage and Jessica Jones…

Here’s how! It’s Matt’s Army! Hell, I expected to see Mike Colter in the bar when Daredevil walked in! If Marvel is serious about trying to fold the rest of the OG Defenders into the MCU, then the second season of Daredevil: Born Again offers the perfect opportunity. Luke and Jessica and fine, Iron Fist too - though can we skip Danny Rand and use Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing this time around, please? - are all vigilantes who could answer Matt’s call to take back the city, or wind up in a cage first. The point is that they don’t need introductions, and this season has shown that there is plenty of room for them in Daredevil’s show without hijacking the whole plot.

Well OK, maybe a little hijacking: Punisher stole the end-credit scene, too. Frank lures a guard over and breaks his arm, presumably escaping from Fisk’s dungeon.

My only other season two prediction is that, now that Matt’s relationship with Heather is on the rocks (she signed on to be Fisk’s new Commissioner of Mental Health), it’s the perfect time to bring back She-Hulk! Please Marvel, just let our favorite lawyers smash it out one more time (or, like, a bunch)!