Daredevil: Born Again concluded its second season on Tuesday with a thrilling, chaotic finale stuffed to the brim with legal drama, superhero action, and nostalgic cameos.
“The Southern Cross,” directed by Iain B. MacDonald and written by Dario Scardapane and Jesse Wigutow, is effectively divided into two parts—and two battles at the end of Mayor Fisk’s war on vigilantes. The first is fought with words as the trial of Karen Page intensifies, while the second is a descent into physical violence as Fisk tries to hold on to his diminishing control. That division reflects the series-defining duality of Matt Murdock, who has always fought to defend New York City on two fronts: in the courtroom as a lawyer and on the streets as Daredevil. And in the finale, those distinct personas finally coalesce, as Murdock and Daredevil become a singular public figure.
After remaining hidden from the public eye for the better part of the season, Murdock finally reemerged in last week’s episode as he stepped forward as Karen’s co-counsel alongside his legal partner, Kirsten McDuffie. And Born Again saved the juiciest bits of the trial’s courtroom drama for the finale. Murdock not only questions his ex-girlfriend, Heather, on the witness stand, but he also faces Mayor Fisk himself in a room full of judges, news cameras, cops, and gun-toting Anti-Vigilante Task Force members. With tensions rising and the world watching, Murdock gets his own iconic Iron Man moment, declaring his secret identity as Daredevil to prove Fisk’s guilt, ensure Karen’s freedom, and earn himself a spot in prison in the trial’s aftermath.
Some of these courtroom moments are Born Again at its best, as the series returns to its legal drama roots after ignoring them for the better part of Season 2. However, after B.B. Urich helps incite a riot in what could (hopefully) be her final broadcast, the latter half of the finale sees anarchy descend on the courthouse as Team Kingpin and Team Daredevil brace themselves for one final, bloody confrontation—and the results make for a messy conclusion. Murdock & McDuffie investigator Cherry and chief of detectives Brett Mahoney (!) lead an army of New Yorkers into the courthouse in what reads as a heavy-handed allusion to the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack, with the outraged mob of insurrectionists donning red clothes and headgear to descend on a government building.
It’s a pretty jarring narrative choice, as there’s some dissonance in what Born Again appears to be trying to say in drawing this parallel to the real-life incident (if it’s even trying to say anything at all). Given the Trump-like Fisk’s pronounced corruption and the repeated senseless violence stemming from his unchecked task force, the insurrectionists’ revolt is justified in this scenario—at least until they try to deliver some mob justice to Fisk themselves, and Daredevil intervenes. It feels odd, then, for Born Again to tie their revolution to the unmistakable imagery of an attempt to prevent a legitimate president-elect from assuming office. The episode even utilizes some shaky P.O.V. shots from the perspective of the insurrectionists as they enter the courthouse, to further invoke visual parallels to the storming of the Capitol building.
Politics has never been one of Born Again’s strengths, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the finale misses the mark here. Still, there are gripping moments of action amid the chaos, including some classic Bullseye theatrics and a teamup between Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and White Tiger, with young Angela del Toro taking up the superhero mantle left behind by her late uncle in Season 1. It all mounts to Kingpin unleashing his full fury on his disgruntled constituents before addressing them all together, still dripping in their blood, in his final efforts to illustrate how much he’s sacrificed to serve his beloved city.
In the end, Daredevil steps in as a peacemaker and gets Fisk to accept the attorney general’s offer to not prosecute Fisk for his crimes if he agrees to renounce his citizenship and go into exile. It’s an absurd deal for Fisk given that he’s just killed a bunch of people with his bare hands in front of many witnesses, but, hey, at least it ensures that the Kingpin’s reign of terror is over.
There’s a lot happening in this finale—and we haven’t even gotten to Luke Cage’s long-awaited return in the episode’s closing moments. As Born Again brings this two-season Mayor Fisk story arc to a close, the series also sets up where it’s headed in Season 3, which is already set to premiere in March 2027. The show’s upcoming season will officially make Born Again the longest-running live-action series of the MCU era, and how the series develops may reveal a lot about how Marvel Studios is trying to transform its approach to TV. But before that happens, let’s break down the rest of the Season 2 finale and how it sets up the future of Born Again.
The End of Kingpin vs. Daredevil (?)
As exciting as much of the finale was, the culmination of Daredevil and Kingpin’s emotional confrontation felt slightly anticlimactic. Maybe yet another bloody rematch between the mortal enemies would’ve been redundant after their brawl in Episode 6, and an unmasked Murdock giving Fisk “grace” in front of an angry mob felt more in line with his character arc across the season. However, it does seem like a copout to simply keep Fisk alive on a beach somewhere looking like he’s ready to hit an all-white party. He may be missing Vanessa (and probably that snazzy Hawaiian shirt he left behind on Hawkeye, too), but he’ll still have an opportunity to return, whether in this series or in another story elsewhere in the MCU. With Murdock heading to prison and Fisk working on his tan, the show’s central rivalry is over.
But look, we’ve been here plenty of times before. Daredevil and Kingpin are in a toxic relationship that Marvel just can’t quit: They break up and get back together again, over and over.
The first season of Netflix’s Daredevil ended with Fisk getting arrested by the police. Kingpin was sidelined for much of Season 2, but he reemerged in its latter half before retaking his place as the show’s primary antagonist in its third and final season. Murdock beat him again at the end of the Netflix series, yet even the cancellation of the entire Defenders Saga couldn’t keep these two apart. You really think they’re gonna stay away from each other for real this time when—after all these years—they still look at each other like this?
I think not. But after two seasons of serving as the primary antagonist of Born Again—not to mention integral roles in Hawkeye and Echo—it might be a good time to give Kingpin an extended vacation.
However, if Fisk is truly going to be sidelined for Season 3, Born Again is in for a major change. Through two seasons, the series has been as much about Fisk as it has the show’s titular superhero. Season 1, in particular, drew parallels between Fisk’s and Murdock’s experiences as they both tried to balance normal lives with their violent natures. In Season 2, the eternal enemies fully embraced their roles as Kingpin and Daredevil as the series examined just how much they were willing to sacrifice to realize their visions for the city they both loved. With Fisk gone, Born Again will have to retool its approach, which may be for the best in the long run if Marvel has any plans to continue the series beyond Season 3.
Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox both delivered terrific performances in the finale, and D’Onofrio’s Fisk is about as crucial to the success of this series as is Cox’s Murdock. But you know what they say: Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Fisk will surely be back in some capacity eventually, and perhaps Born Again can use this time to really focus on aspects of the series outside of its central toxic relationship.
Murdock in Prison
While Fisk gets to enjoy his new life on his private island (even if he hates the feeling of sand between his toes), Murdock has to adapt to a much-less-enticing change in scenery. Arrested in the final moments of the season for Daredevil’s laundry list of crimes (including charges of assault and attempted murder, among others), Murdock lands in the same prison as the Anti-Vigilante Task Force members he helped put away.
Entering Season 3, Born Again could be using two story lines from the comic books as potential sources of inspiration for Murdock’s time in prison. As is often the case with this show and the MCU’s storytelling strategy at large, the series will likely pull certain elements from both without doing a direct adaptation of either.
The first comic book run is “The Devil in Cell-Block D,” written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Michael Lark. This Daredevil story ran for six issues in 2006 and saw Murdock locked up on Ryker’s Island (Marvel’s very subtle stand-in for Rikers). The circumstances surrounding his imprisonment are different from those on Born Again, but they’re still essentially connected to Murdock’s secret identity being made public. The main difference is that in the comics his alter ego was outed by a tabloid newspaper, instead of Murdock announcing it himself.
A lot happens in these six issues that probably won’t find its way into the live-action series for obvious reasons, including the faking of Foggy Nelson’s death (RIP) and run-ins with Fisk, Bullseye, and the Punisher in prison. But Born Again will likely borrow the comics’ central tension of Murdock navigating life in a prison full of his enemies, who are all aware of his crimefighting alter ego. And it could also utilize the idea of a second Daredevil emerging in his absence, with Danny Rand—the superhero known as Iron Fist—stepping up as the new Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. As much as I don’t care to see Finn Jones’s Iron Fist return in the MCU, it’s happening. And this subplot could certainly be one way to integrate him into the world of Born Again.
The other comic book elements that the series could borrow come from Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run in 2020. Murdock’s second stint in prison came after he decided to turn himself in after accidentally killing a man who was robbing a liquor store. Given the cyclical nature of comics and their tendency to retcon events, the world has forgotten Murdock’s secret identity as Daredevil, so he goes on trial as the costumed vigilante. The guy even wears a suit over his costume in court. It’s completely ridiculous—and also incredible:
As with “The Devil in Cell-Block D,” there’s a lot in this extended run—which encompasses story lines like “Truth/Dare”—that probably won’t make it into Born Again: Foggy (who’s on the right in the image above, looking very disturbed) is still alive, Fisk is still mayor, and Symbiotes eventually invade the prison in which Murdock is being held. But it could be a way for the series to reintegrate Elektra, with Elodie Yung being rumored to reprise her Netflix-era role in Season 3.
While Murdock is in prison, Elektra—like Iron Fist before her—embraces the role of Daredevil, leaving her antihero persona behind to prove herself as a hero and defender of Hell’s Kitchen. Of course, it’s still unclear whether Yung will even be joining the cast, but with Murdock behind bars, Daredevil’s void will need to be filled by someone, and his ninja ex would be a top candidate.
As I wrote a couple weeks ago, Luke Cage actor Mike Colter had already accidentally spoiled Murdock’s fate in an Instagram post ahead of the season finale. The reveal of Murdock’s imprisonment fueled suspicions about his chances of being freed by Spider-Man in the events of this summer’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It’s always possible that the big-screen crossover could happen, but it would also be disorienting to return to Born Again in Season 3 with such a pivotal development having transpired outside of the series.
More likely than not, Murdock’s predicament will lead to the imminent Defenders reunion that appears destined to arrive in Season 3. Speaking of which …
Alias Investigations 2.0 and the Return of the Defenders
In the final minutes of the episode, Luke Cage makes his much-anticipated MCU debut. With Colter reprising his role for the first time since Luke Cage’s second and final season ended in 2018, Luke is reunited with Jessica Jones and their daughter, Danielle.
The scene is brief, and the couple’s conversation is incredibly vague—but there’s clearly some lingering tension over Luke’s apparent decision to work for Mr. Charles. “The work was … different over there,” Luke tells Jessica, before he informs her that his employer found a replacement for him. As Born Again soon reveals, that replacement is none other than Bullseye, who’s already started up the new gig. The last we see of the master marksman in the episode, he’s on a plane with the ever-mysterious Mr. Charles, who’s traveling under a new alias: Mr. Robertson.
Without providing any further insight into Luke’s recent whereabouts, Born Again concludes the reunion with Jessica closing a familiar door to the (presumably New York-based) office, which bears the name of her former P.I. practice: Alias Investigations.
It’s unclear if the tease is Marvel’s way of soft-launching a reboot to Jessica Jones or if it’s signaling a bigger role for her and Luke in the third season of Born Again. Although Jones kept telling Murdock that her new life with Danielle was outside of her old, beloved city, Murdock’s final selfless act may have been enough to push her back into her former line of work. After all, someone needs to help the people of New York City in Daredevil’s absence.
Although Born Again seems primed to spend some time behind prison walls with Murdock next season, the series will also likely have to focus on other characters in the outside world—and the stage has been set for some of that spotlight to shift to the other Defenders. After returning in Episode 6, Jones ended up sticking around for the final two installments of the season. As fun as it was to see Krysten Ritter as Jessica again, the character fit felt more like fan service and a classic bit of MCU world-building than a natural direction for the series. But if Jones and, now, Luke Cage are a part of the third season from the jump, the nostalgic crossover could become more cohesive. (How Danny Rand will fit into this equation is a problem for another day.)
As Marvel Studios head of streaming Brad Winderbaum teased on the latest episode of the official Born Again podcast, “Luke Cage is gonna be a big part of Season 3.” If the series continues to follow the trajectory of the comics, Power Man may end up making a run for the now-vacant position of New York City’s mayor. We’ll find out soon enough.
Season 2 got off to a slow start in its first three episodes, but the subsequent five installments saw Born Again really start to come together as a series. Given its disjointed production process, the first season was more like two distinct shows mashed together into one series, and the results were predictably uneven. These last few episodes seemed truer to showrunner Dario Scardapane’s original vision for the series. This may be a very low bar to clear, but the Season 2 finale was also one of the stronger MCU TV conclusions to date—and the series is breaking new ground by extending to a third run.
With Fisk out of the picture, Murdock in prison, and more Netflix superheroes joining the mix, Born Again has delivered some seismic changes ahead of Season 3. That could be a dicey gambit for the series just as it seems to be hitting its stride, but a little change of pace may be exactly what Born Again needs to keep growing and to help Marvel Studios get back on track.
