Both of these episodes of Daredevil: Born Again aired on the same time, so we’re doing one review for them. The reason for that is likely just scheduling, as Andor is on the horizon and that has to line up with Star Wars Celebration Japan, likely. So we get a one-two combo of two unrelated episodes to digest instead! We’re not complaining.

The first of the two episodes reminded me heavily of Spike Lee’s excellent Inside Man film. Set during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in NYC, Matt finds himself in search of a loan for his business and Yusef Kahn, the father of Miss Marvel herself, is the assistant manager helping him that day. It’s a nice little wink to the extended MCU, without making you feel like you missed out on watching it. Even the writers got in on that joke, with Matt revealing he has no idea who the teenage superhero is. At the same time, a group of thieves plan to break into the vault at the bank to extract something for their client, which in this case was a diamond.

While Matt’s loan is rejected, he does end up returning to the bank upon hearing armed robbers entering the room after he’s left. Thanks to his hearing, he’s able to listen in on private conversations and deduce that Kahn actually can’t open the vault door, contrary to what he was saying to the Irish thieves (which, really, Irish thieves on Saint Paddy’s Day in NYC?) As mentioned, the whole thing reminded me heavily of Inside Man, down to the setting (around Wall Street ), the architecture of the bank, and the end goal of extracting a diamond. Matt allowing himself to get “captured” in order to access the vault himself and get the upper hand against the thieves was fun. The whole episode, at this point, did feel very one-off and inconsequential to the larger narrative, as Fisk and Heather were completely absent from the plot. But it was fun to watch Matt do some sleuthing and engage in some hand-to-hand combat, removed from the larger picture. Just a day in the life, kind of thing.

Episode six pivots back to the main story and focuses heavily on the parallels between Matt and Fisk, who both descend back into their natural state by the end of the episode. Both men have tried very hard to become this new version of themselves, one not bound and governed by violence, but it’s hard for people like them to deny their base instincts. Matt eventually suits up by the end of the episode in order to save Angela from the serial killer Muse, while Fisk unleashes furious rage upon Adam by beating him within an inch of his life. Muse plays a big role in the backdrop of the episode, which gets Fisk to launch a new task force in the NYPD made up of the “bottom of the barrel” types in order to crack down on masked crime.

The episode resorted heavily to drawing visual parallels between the two by showcasing their actions within cross cuts, so much so that sometimes the punches they threw were edited together between scenes. It works overall, but I did find the pacing to be choppy in the opening monologue about the true mask of vigilantes and violent figures. One scene would be building up momentum, and it would cut abruptly to Fisk, and soon as that conversation got going, it would cut back to Matt’s scene.

I did find the writing a bit sloppy, that said, when it came to finding an excuse to get Matt back into the red suit. Angela comes to Matt asking for his help as she doesn’t trust the police, which is understandable considering what happened to her uncle. But what did Angela expect Matt, a blind lawyer, to do with regards to scoping out an abandoned metro station following a rumour she’s heard of? So she goes down to the tracks by herself and is promptly abducted by Muse. Angela’s aunt calls Matt, asking if he’s seen her. She says she’s missing, which prompts Matt to go back into action. I found the tension and stakes to be very manufactured and unrealistic, despite the good intentions. Matt saves Angela, but I would imagine Muse got away by the end. At least I hope he did, as there seemed to be no real conflict at this point if that was the case, other than using him as a vehicle to get Matt up in action.

It’s good to have Matt back in the saddle. But I can’t help but feel Daredevil: Born Again is missing something. Something quiet and introspective that haunted the Netflix run. We have nothing akin to Fisk’s mysterious inspections of the painting, or the larger conspiracy and downfall of Poindexter. Everything feels a bit safe and surface level ever since the second episode. It’s still entertaining, but I’m not sure it’s riveting. With two episodes left, I feel like this show is only just getting started-and it has nothing to do with Matt only just putting the Daredevil suit back on. It feels a bit uncertain and lacking in some confidence.