Daniel…
Every episode of Daredevil: Born Again’s second season has been exceptional, and “The Hateful Darkness” is no different. This episode really spurs every character into action, meaning the finale is sure to be a worthy conclusion to the season.
For the first time in the series, Fisk and Karen have a face-to-face. He appears at Karen’s cell to intimidate her and mock her love for Matt, showing once again how the loss of Vanessa is making him lose everything else. Then we see Ms. Jessica Jones pay Mr. Charles a visit. He mentions Luke Cage and his whereabouts, hinting to me that he will make his MCU reintroduction next season.
Matt lets Dex go and gives him a task that will allow Dex to fulfill his “one good deed” quota that he mentioned in episode four. And this conversation is another one that gets to the core of Daredevil and Matt as a person. He admits that he wants to kill Dex, but that he needs to forgive him. Because if he doesn’t forgive, he goes down the path Frank mentioned in season one of being one bad day away. Back in Karen’s jail cell, Brett Mahoney (played by Royce Johnson) from the original Netflix series, returns! He’s only in one scene, but it was a nice cameo nonetheless. It’s all eyes on Karen’s trial, which is why Matt Murdock is back in the public eye as Kirsten’s co-counsel. Matt and Kirsten’s goal is to lay out Fisk’s plans to the public as much as possible to get more citizens to turn on him, as others have started to. Also, Heather is the one who truly lets her dark side flourish in this episode. In her psychological evaluation of Karen, Karen strikes a nerve when she mentions Vanessa and her role in Foggy’s death. Muse is outside of the room, behind the glass, barely in focus, staring at Heather as she struggles to contain her rage. But she lets it out, hitting Karen a few times, feeling satisfied afterward, furthermore pointing down the dark road she’s been heading for this season, and will most likely be on in the next one.
Meanwhile, Daniel and BB are still at his house as he tries to figure out what to do with her after catching her as the city without fear broadcast. Michael Gandolfini’s performance this season, especially in this episode, was well done. It makes me sad that he won’t be in season three. But it does make sense that he wouldn’t live after letting BB go. As Buck told him previously, it’s all about loyalty, so once Daniel let BB go, there wasn’t a chance he would make it out alive. The scene is also well done, though, because of Arty Froushman’s portrayal of Buck. Buck doesn’t want to do this to Daniel, and we’ve seen this sadness from him from having to kill before, when he killed the crew member on the North Star. Buck’s reluctance to kill Daniel, but still doing it anyway when we can see that it genuinely pains him to do so, is what made this scene so well done. And it was a notably poignant point to end on, especially as Matt makes his prayer as he is hurt. Jessica is Matt’s savior, but for Daniel, it ends right there in that moment.
Dex gets his “hero” moment, saving the Governor’s life, and I hope it’s not the last sign of him, but I’m also not sure where he would fit in with the finale. But I’m not sure what to expect from the finale in general. Will it end up as a big fight, or will it get solved in the courtroom? Maybe both? All I know is that I am excited to see the conclusion to this season next week.
Rating: ★★★★
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