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Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Review, TV | Tagged: daredevil, daredevil: born again
Daredevil: Born Again E01/E02 Review: Cox & D'Onofrio Forge New Paths
Daredevil: Born Again's first two episodes deliver a visceral return to form, building on the Netflix series with bold twists along the way.
If there were any concerns about how Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane would pick up where the original Netflix series left off as far as intensity and drama, you can put those concerns to rest. The two-episode premiere puts the show's two leads, Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio, front and center as far as the focus – traveling two unique paths that many fans may not expect. The premiere episode, "Heaven's Half Hour," is in stark contrast to its follow-up episode, "Optics." The following contains minor spoilers.
Daredevil: Born Again Creates New World from the Old
To address the 400-pound gorilla in the room, the series starts with the trio of Matt Murdock (Cox), Foggy (Elden Henson), and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), not far removed from their happy ending from the Netflix series. The show goes from 0-60 in a nanosecond as we see Matt return as Daredevil to face a familiar foe wreaking carnage in Bullseye (Wilson Bethel). The following scene turns the page to forge its own identity to separate itself from the Drew Goddard series.
In the aftermath, we see Cox fall back into a familiar dark place, trying to live as Matt again without his vigilante persona. On the other end of the spectrum, we see D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk attempt a new path while trying to shed his old life as the Kingpin, much to the skepticism of his wife Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer), who's been running his criminal empire while he was recovering from his injuries suffered at the end of Echo.
With the formalities out of the way, we see new characters enter the fold like Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), a therapist who emerges as a potential love interest. Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James), a former New York assistant district attorney working with Matt; Cherry (Clark Johnson), an officer who also works with Matt; BB Urich (Genneya Walton), a journalist who is connected to Ben Urich from the Netflix series; Sheila Rivera's Zabryna Guevara is Fisk's campaign manager for mayor; and Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini), Fisk's new protégé.
The show does far more in the first two episodes to establish the new characters than to build on the existing ones around Cox and D'Onofrio, save for Zurer's Vanessa, who exerts herself more in Fisk's operations. While there's certainly more story to tell, there are still characters who haven't been introduced yet, and naturally, some of the Netflix characters likely won't cameo as hoped, but the Disney+ original has established what it wants to be.
Personally, I hope we don't find ourselves in a similar situation where the old characters are more brushed aside like Ryan Reynolds largely did in his most recent Deadpool film, but I also appreciate the less-is-more approach to make the audience work more through the story-driven and less action-oriented. The opening to start the series will still be discussed for weeks to come, even as new episodes trickle in as the shock factor dies down. The series plays the long game, shows extra layers for Cox and D'Onofrio, and allows the new characters to breathe in the process. Daredevil: Born Again airs Tuesdays on Disney+.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Episode 1: Heaven's Half Hour & Episode 2: Optics
8/10
Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again starts off with a bang in its opening, expanding the narrative of the original Netflix series. With an eye on the past, showrunner Dario Scardapane wanted to re-establish stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio on their respective unexpected paths. It will take some getting used to but seeing Cox lean more on newer characters infuses new possibilities, but it feels like it is turning the page too soon. It will be interesting to see where Ayelet Zurer's Vanessa Fisk goes from here since the Netflix series. Nikki M. James and Michael Gandolfini are showing great promise establishing themselves in the narrative.
Credits
Directors - Episode 1
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson
Director - Episode 2
Michael Cuesta
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