Now that’s how you do a finale.
The beauty of having a second season that is actively filming is that you can end the first season on a cliffhanger. The final episode of Daredevil: Born Again Season One has beautifully set up for what is going to be a chaotic and intense second season. While it was not always a homerun, in the end it told the right story between Episodes 1 – 2 and 8 – 9 that fans are getting the one thing they haven’t yet seen: Kingpin winning. New York is in shambles, with curfews and their police turned into a militia. Vigilantes are being hunted and collected, and the good people trying to stop Kingpin are disappearing one by one. For once, being the good guy is leaving much more at stake as the corruption of Mayor Kingpin overtakes the city.
Frank’s Been Waiting For This One
Frank made another, more prominent return for this season finale, and you can tell he was having fun with this one. Enlisted by Karen to help Matt during his manhunt, Frank had been waiting for Matt back at his apartment and helped him escape Kingpin’s Task Force. Then later on, Frank confronts his fanboys face-to-face at the port, taking down quite a few before being overpowered. He’s clearly been waiting for the opportunity to take on these ‘posers’ who have taken his pain and his message and warped it for their own twisted purposes. The show did an amazing job of shooting Frank’s scenes, specifically the one with him tied to the chair overlooking roughly 20 officers with skulls like his painted on their chests. It’s clear that not only is Marvel not shying away from their comic line that deals with this very topic, but that it is the direction they are likely going to go with the Punisher’s upcoming Special Presentation.
The only end credit of the entire show was also Frank, likely preparing fans for what they can expect in the Special Presentation that is currently being worked on. Frank will likely escape his current capture and lead his own manhunt to take down anyone who is using his symbol for the wrong purposes, and at this point, the list seems extensive. However, it will help bridge the gap between Born Again Season One and Two, as Daredevil is going to have much bigger issues to deal with than just the Task Force. While the Task Force is being used as Kingpin’s personal army at this point, they’re more Frank’s dilemma than anyone else. They are also going to need to still be somewhat present in Season Two, so it’s likely the Special Presentation will also focus in on Frank’s feelings about his fan club and who he is going to be moving forward as the Punisher, a story that can’t really be told in the middle of Born Again.
Kingpin’s Empire
It was expected that Kingpin wouldn’t remain good throughout the whole season, yet the reveal that he’s actually been playing the game the whole time actually made up for some of the more random things that happened. Without meaning to, Bullseye put Kingpin exactly where he wanted to go, giving him the assassination attempt that would usher in his most extreme measures yet. On top of this, it’s revealed what his port project is really for and how he is using it as a cover to essentially create a lawless state in a completely legal way. As it turns out, it’s the exact reason Vanessa ended up having Bullseye kill Foggy, wrapping these specific narratives together in a perfect bowtie.
Season One of Born Again goes to Kingpin, who has come out successful by the end. The next question to ask is: now what? There are two ways to look at this, the first on a smaller scale, the fact that the mayor of NYC has created a military state. On a grander scale, it’s unclear how Kingpin’s moves are going to affect the country as a whole, and also leaves the legal ways of stepping in hard to decipher. Everything involving the port is legal and his strong police presence is justified in response to the looting and additional crime during the black out, even if it was orchestrated by him. The real truth here is that there is likely going to be no help from outside the island and even from a hero front, it seems unlikely anyone who isn’t currently there will be able to stop him. Kingpin is sitting in the thrown of his empire, finally. One thing is for sure, though, and that is empires fall.
Matt’s Next Move
Much of this episode was Matt reacting to Kingpin’s aggressive onslaught and honestly, him probably regretting jumping in front of the man to save his life. Between being hunted in the hospital, his apartment being blown to bits, becoming the number one fugitive in New York and his girl abandoning him to join Kingpin (which he doesn’t even know yet), Matt has had one very, very bad day. He played defense the entire episode and it was clear that he was in no position to go on the offensive at any point, finding out one issue after another. This is partially what led to this being a great finale, as the hero didn’t win, he didn’t take down the bad guy and instead has to solve the entire conflict in the next season, leaving fans chomping at the bit for it.
The biggest next move for Matt that Marvel kept completely open-ended was Matt’s speech regarding taking back the city. Much of his wording seemed like there might be an indication towards a large team-up in Season Two, even if the group gathered at the end of this season seemed to be primarily only regular citizens. Something a lot of this finale proved was that at this point, this storyline is far larger than just Daredevil or even Daredevil and the Punisher. Matt needs help, the city needs help and that means there’s a great chance some familiar faces will be popping up in Season Two. Frank is clearly on this list, and there’s actually a strong possibility that Bullseye might be as well. He is still at large and at this point, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so there’s a chance Daredevil and Bullseye might end up on the same side here. Yet a few other familiar faces could be expected, including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and even Ironfist. These are all New York City based heroes that Matt has fought with before and would all be effected by the new laws. Also, it can’t be forgotten that Luke Cage actually becomes mayor of NYC after Kingpin, so this could be a great way to move into that future storyline as well. Right now, the possibilities for Season Two of Born Again seem limitless, but it seems fans will have to wait until at least March 2026 to return to the world of Daredevil.
Image: “Daredevil: Born Again Episode 9”, Johnny Malks, Winter Is Coming
