Full spoilers follow for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Episode 8, “The Southern Cross,” which is streaming on Disney+ now.
Daredevil: Born Again went big and bold in its Season 2 finale, with an episode that saw both Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk’s true selves revealed to the public in a manner they never had been before…
..Well, okay, for Fisk, it’s more revealing the truth in a way it kind of never had before. But while he’d been arrested in the past (twice!) for major crimes, this was the first time there was no masking the out of control, violent animal he was so easily capable of becoming, given what he did inside that courthouse and how many witnessed him massacring all of those people.
This was incredibly thrilling and amazing to behold, to be sure, as Fisk unleashed on those people storming in to get him like he was Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One. But maybe it was a bit too much if we’re to buy into what happened in totality? How on earth could Fisk still be offered a “just leave the country and we’re cool?” deal after he’d just – as in literally moments ago – murdered people with his bare hands in full view of so many witnesses? And even if that was what was offered, would all those others peacefully accept it? Yes, Matt’s the one that managed to stop the mob from killing Fisk in the first place, but it just felt like there would be some people still raring to go again when told Fisk was going to be allowed to just move away rather than actually face justice.
And yet… man, seeing Fisk unleashed like that was effective! This finale was by no means perfect, but it certainly delivered on the endorphin rush level and on a big picture level in terms of the power of Matt and Fisk having this big confrontation – inside a courthouse, no less.
Matt’s identity being revealed to the world is a storyline many fans of the Daredevil comics have wanted to see explored, and it’s exciting to finally get that happening here. It’s also very satisfying that it happened on Matt’s own terms while testifying at Karen’s trial: He used the biggest swing he had in his arsenal in order to explain how Daredevil – which is to say, how he himself – could speak on what exactly Fisk had been up to.
Matt’s identity being revealed to the world is a storyline many fans of the Daredevil comics have wanted to see explored.
Sure, the legality of it all felt pretty freaking murky, to be charitable. I’m no lawyer, so maybe I’m wrong and this followed the letter of the law and what a judge would allow, but it felt a bit silly at times as Matt was pushing this much of a tangent in a trial where Fisk wasn’t even the defendant. And yet it was also simultaneously emotionally satisfying in terms of the idea of Matt Murdock, lawyer, getting one over on Fisk and saving Karen, all while using his alter ego’s very existence to do so.
There were some other bumpy moments along the way that the finale got through by selling the overall mood and emotion. While lightly teased earlier this season, Cole’s face turn, as he suddenly was aghast that, gasp, Powell had lied about Hector deserving to be executed in the street by Cole, felt very rushed and didn’t align with Cole’s depiction in Season 1. But then you had the actual chaos and action of all of those people rushing into the courthouse as Daredevil and Jessica Jones took on the AVTF guys inside in what turned into an awesome sort of mega DD hallway fight through one corridor and floor of that place after another. And the imagery of Fisk, so out of control and covered in blood, truly was striking and impactful.
It wasn’t exactly a huge surprise to see Luke Cage at the end – especially given Mike Colter himself has been among those posting photos from the set of Season 3 – but it still is great to see him. Hopefully Season 3 gives us the details on how and why he came to accept Charles’ job offer. In the meantime, Bullseye going to work for Charles is a nice way to send Dex off for now, but make it easy to fold him back in when needed.
Speaking of which, it’ll be interesting to see how much we follow Fisk next season now that he’s off in exile. It’s been made clear that Vincent D’Onofrio will still be a part of the series, but as much as I love both the performance and the character, it feels like it’s time to back off from having him so prominent for awhile, given how understandably large he’s loomed here during the Mayor storyline. With Matt in prison and the city looking towards a few other Defenders for the time being, it feels like plenty is already in play for a strong Season 3 before the Kingpin makes his next big move down the line.
Lingering Finale Thoughts Without Fear:
I’ve made no secret of feeling like it probably would have been better to just jettison Heather completely this season, but having her fully become a new version of Muse is probably the best way to keep her in the mix while adding to Matt’s rogues’ gallery. Jack/Swordsman really just never came back? That’s lame!In general, it was funny but also frustrating how Daredevil alone became the symbol of all of the anti-Fisk protestors. Obviously there are well known legal hurdles to using Spider-Man in the show, as much as we might lament that, but it felt like we should have gotten the rest of the Defenders at the least here this season, given what was at stake and that Fisk was specifically targeting vigilantes. Yes, we know they’ll all be back next season, but now felt like the time. For the second season in a row, we end things with a Radiohead-backed montage! Yes, they are a pretty go-to band for movies and TV shows, but dang it, that’s because their songs work well in that regard.
