Mother has returned
So much has happened in six episodes that it’s hard to believe Daredevil: Born Again only has two episodes left in its second season. “Requiem” is the most chaotic episode, yet it’s the one that puts all of the pieces together. And even with those puzzle pieces forming, the bigger picture of how it will end isn’t quite clear.
Opening in the hospital, Wilson is in Vanessa’s room, mourning. Her doctor tries to offer him comforting words and even offers a hug. And Vincent D’Onofrio had me convinced Fisk was going to accept the hug and have a truly vulnerable moment, before he crushed the doctor in his arms. Wilson Fisk without Vanessa is truly terrifying, and there is no limit to the level of rage and violence he will use without her to keep him in check. But Fisk is not the only one with unchecked rage. Back in Matt and Karen’s hideout, she makes it very clear that Dex should be dead, and later on, that she is willing to be the one to make sure of it. But Matt cannot bring himself to adopt the mindset Karen does. He tells her it’s unlike her, but that is where Matt misunderstands her. Karen has always been this way because she had to be unlike Matt, who relies on his faith to keep him from crossing a line. We see this in Karen back in season one of the Netflix series, when she kills Wesley, which she mentions in the conversation. She doesn’t regret it because it was a life-or-death situation for her, but this time, there is a clear choice to cross the line. But even still, she is willing to do it for the sake of protecting those she loves. And just like last episode, Foggy was just as much of a moral compass to Karen as he was to Matt, showing once again just how deeply his death still impacts them.
As Buck and Daniel grow closer, Daniel has another test to prove himself as part of “the big time.” Does Daniel put his job first, or his friendship with BB? But as Daniel’s birthday party bait plan for BB continues, the city goes crazier as people resist and rebel more than ever. With Jessica Jones’ arrival, all of the storylines of the season have begun to tie together. Mr. Charles and the agency seem to have a bigger role than anticipated. We knew Val wanted to use Fisk’s port as another hiding spot for her business plans and whatnot. But the recruitment of other “vigilantes” is new, and makes me excited that the characters of this interconnected universe are actually going to be connected with other people again, like the pre-Endgame MCU.
The other meat of this episode is Daredevil and Kingpin’s first encounter of the season. After Fisk learns the governor is pulling her support, Fisk goes to the only place that can give him any solace, his “Rabbit in a Snowstorm” painting. To our surprise (and Fisk’s unsurprise), Matt is already there wanting to talk. Matt says they should both walk away for the sake of the city; however, Fisk’s only reason to leave the city died in front of him. All that is left of him is his rage, with nothing to combat it, thus beginning their first major fight of the season. I liked how initially, Matt moves kind of nonchalantly, because he didn’t come with the intention of fighting, but that doesn’t last after Fisk throws Matt into the painting. The action scenes have been consistently great this season. I love seeing Matt use the billy clubs more and jumping and flipping around more as well.
Maybe Powell is smarter than I’m giving him credit for, but maybe Buck is the one who did some digging into who gave Matt access to Red Hook. But Powell straight up killing Matt and Karen’s “friend” was the trigger of the chaos of this episode, and the episodes still to come. Once again, ending the episode with a crazy cliffhanger in Daredevil and Kingpin’s fight unresolved, and Karen getting caught by the task force, Daredevil: Born Again keeps audiences on their toes for what to expect in the penultimate episode.
Rating: ★★★★
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