Was The Cliffhanger Necessary? ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Should Kill Off [Spoiler] Already

Until the very last moments of last night’s episode, I expected to spend my recap waxing on about wombat poop (big fan!) and debating whether Fisk was sporting wood in his puffy little boxer shorts while beating up that guy (yes, of course I took a screenshot). Or maybe I’d point out the flaws in logic Daredevil: Born Again dabbles in for expediency, like the way the first mate of that ship just… showed up at Matt and Karen’s super-secret hideout right when they need him. Like, literally just walked up to the door. Then there’s Bullseye, who is delightfully filling the Frank Castle-sized hole this show has for murderous dudes hell-bent on vengeance while also helping Daredevil out. That diner scene!

But then I did get to the final moments of season two, episode four - “Gloves Off”—and what seemed like a plate-spinner of an episode suddenly became the one that’s going to turn the whole show on its head. Depending, of course, on how that cliffhanger ending resolves itself, which is why I’m here to say:

Just let Vanessa die, already!

No knocks on Ayelet Zurer, who has been so good as Vanessa Fisk in every iteration of this show, but after the episode took such great pains to establish how important she is, not just to Fisk but to his position as Mayor, I’m ready to see what happens when she’s off the table. In retrospect, that scene where Vanessa goes to talk to Governor McCaffrey (Lili Taylor) reads like the last nail in her coffin. Vanessa assures the Governor that she can “bring out the best” in her husband, and the Governor concedes that while she may not trust Fisk, she is willing to back the two of them as a pair - which means she may not try to flip the Red Hook charter just yet.

It seems like a business-as-usual scene, until you realize it’s highlighting the negative space that Vanessa’s absence would create. There would be no “best” of Fisk, only the worst, and he’d be back to having the state breathing down his neck. Add to that the fact that Daredevil and Bullseye appear to be allies in Fisk’s eyes, and the CIA is making noises about how their weapons are stuck in New York and not on their way overseas already - it’s already enough to send Fisk into a spiral, and that’s before you add in the grief over losing his wife!

How did we get here? Fisk kinda did it to himself, if I’m being honest. The boxing match was a trap to lure Bullseye out into the open, which was why he arranged for Vanessa to head to Albany for the meeting with the Governor. He didn’t count on her coming back in time to see him win, didn’t count on her standing in the ring with him when Bullseye attacked. And despite having every reason to want Vanessa dead for manipulating him into assassinating Foggy, Bullseye is still gunning for Fisk directly. He throws a crystal tchotchke at the Mayor, who smashes it to bits with his champion belt… and one of the bits hits Vanessa in the temple. The episode ends with Vanessa bleeding out, while Daredevil swoops in and saves Bullseye, and it seems obvious that she should be a goner. Or it would, if this weren’t a comic book show.

Would it matter if Vanessa survived, but was in a coma or something? Probably not. Fisk would still be out for revenge, using her injury to further his anti-vigilante agenda the same way he would if she died. The difference is that she’d be a distraction, something Fisk needed to continue to protect in his coming campaign of violence, and I’m not sure it’s necessary. Or maybe I just don’t want him to have distractions. I’m ready for Daredevil: Born Again to get to the point.

While season one was cobbled together out of a few different visions of what Daredevil: Born Again wanted to be, season two is already feeling much more cohesive. Yet between the unintended real-life comparisons and the much-anticipated character arrivals we know are coming, there’s still a whiff of “hurry up and wait” about the season. Will Vanessa’s departure finally make room for Jessica Jones’s return? If so, that’s a bargain I’m happy to make.

But until we see how that cliffhanger resolves next week, let’s appreciate the Ser Arlan-esque folds in ol’ Fisky’s shorts!