The dude everybody invited has arrived!
Only halfway through the season, but Daredevil: Born Again’s second season is firing on all cylinders, with each episode being better than the last. And they don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Wilson Bethel particularly shines in this episode, revealing some new layers to Bullseye. And Charlie Cox does his best performance as Matt when he is struggling with his morality in connection to his faith.
The show opens with a blue Marvel Television logo, instead of the typical red, revealing immediately that Dex/Bullseye is no longer creeping in the shadows as he did in the previous episodes. From the opening scene, Bethel’s performance is golden, and shows a new (ish) side of Bullseye. He has a typical morning routine and is even nice to his neighbor. Until he walks into a diner. He calls the task force, saying Frank Castle is there. The bland delivery is great, and the slight smirk after he says, “Shit. He has a gun,” genuinely made me laugh. When the task force enters, we get another insane action sequence of Bullseye taking down these officers. The slight tilt in the camera as Dex turns to face the officer, and the dolly zoom used when the officer realizes who it is, are some of my favorite shots of the episode. Then we get to the first of many interesting Bullseye scenes when the civilian asks not to kill him. He says, “Don’t worry, I’m one of the good guys,” with genuine belief that he is righting a wrong, and that he is a vigilante/hero in the same way Daredevil is. But like a true non-hero, for lack of a better word, he leaves his bullseye calling card at the diner’s entrance.
Transition to Matt and Karen’s hideout, they figure out what to do next with the people they broke out of Red Hook in the last episode. This episode gives Angela some responsibility and a way to join the fight in getting Fisk out of office, possibly hinting at a Daredevil/White Tiger mentorship in the future. Later on, the task force storms Kirsten’s office looking for Jack Duquesne, reminding Kirsten and the audience that under Fisk’s “safer streets” act, they don’t need a warrant of any kind to do whatever they want. As they leave, they break a statue of the scales of justice, referencing Duquesne’s quote in the last episode, “For the entertainment of the masses, presented in all its ugly glory, by the man whose hand holds the scale.” This scene is another reminder of Fisk’s control over the city and how he quite literally breaks the law in the name of justice.
Vanessa is in Albany, meeting with the New York Governor to gain her support for Fisk’s plans for the city. They talk about Fisk’s darker impulses and his lack of restraint at times. The Governor says she could not back Mayor Fisk, but Mayor and Mrs. Fisk are something she can support. Well, about that…
Back to Matt, on the hunt for Dex, he visits his old church. This scene gets interesting because Matt is posing as a task force agent as he gathers information while talking to this man. The man is conflicted because he says his judgment is not for the police. When the man asks what Matt will do, he promises he will not kill Dex. And this promise seems like it’s to himself just as much as it is to the man in front of him. The last time he fought Dex, he crossed the line he swore he never would, making him swear off Daredevil.
Then, Matt and Dex face off once again, and this fight just might be better than the fight from the first episode of last season. Matt and Dex are so evenly matched that they make an entry onto the list of iconic cross counters in media. With all of the commotion, Dex’s lovely neighbor finds herself a hostage as Dex tries to talk things out with Matt. This whole conversation is excellent acting between Bethel and Cox, as Bullseye genuinely believes his “one good deed” of killing Fisk will make up for the fact that he killed Foggy on Vanessa’s order. Matt is torn because he can see Dex truly believes in what he is saying, but he still hates him for killing Foggy. And even though he thinks Fisk is a horrible person, he still cannot stand by and let Bullseye kill him. He doesn’t want Fisk to become a martyr, but I think he also does not want to have the guilt that would come with doing nothing.
Time for Fisk’s big fight (which was severely unfair by the way, Fisk outweighed his opponent by like, 90 pounds??), which is a grand stage for him to let out those darker impulses the Governor discussed with Vanessa earlier. And just as Fisk is about to go overboard with an illegal move, Vanessa arrives, taking him out of the darkness for a moment, but comes back again after his opponent takes advantage and lands a hit on him. As Vanessa wants to revel in both of their successes, the man of the hour arrives, taking out all the task force in sight. From this point, expectations are excellently simultaneously met and subverted. As Bullseye goes in for the kill by throwing the glass paperweight, Vanessa shoots him, and Fisk blocks the paperweight by whipping the belt he just won in front of it. As Fisk is about to shoot Bullseye now, Daredevil saves them both by taking Dex outside with him. Back in the ring, we see that a piece of the glass did indeed strike Vanessa. Though it’s an extremely short scene, the terror and fear in both Vanessa’s and Wilson’s eyes and voice were extremely well acted.
“Gloves Off” is the best episode of the season so far. It seems as though it can only go up from here. This episode was very character-driven, and performed well by the cast all around. Plus, a cliffhanger that will have me on edge for the next week until the next episode.
Rating: ★★★★ ½
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