Daredevil Born Again’s first season is now over, and it went out with quite the bang. The season overall may have been a bit underwhelming, but the three episodes that were part of the major rehaul were by far the best of the season. The finale is one of those three and rivals the premiere as the best in the season.

What I thought was interesting was that this was basically Daredevil’s Empire Strikes Back moment. Usually, old Red wins the day at the end of these seasons, but not today. After the attempt on his life, Fisk locks the city down via martial law and unleashes his task force while also clearing house. Injured due to the gunshot he took for Fisk, Matt is unable to take on all the members of the task force, forcing him to retreat to fight another day. It was a bit surprising to see the villains win, but I suppose that happens in life as well.

What was also surprising was the level of violence in this episode. Daredevil has never shied away from violence, but in general, including most of this season, it never went into hardcore territory. That pretty much changed when Fisk crushed the Commissioner’s skull in his hands, leaving a gory mess behind. It makes the “door meet head” scene from the Netflix run seem like Sesame Street in comparison. That increase in blood may come from the new showrunners, one of whom, Dario Scardapane, is the old Punisher writer/producer. Ironically, Frank Castle returns in this episode to help Matt out, but he isn’t about to play by his rules, resulting in Matt maiming the Task Force while Castle dishes out fatalities to anyone in his path, with blood flowing like a geyser from slashed arteries. The fight that they both share never wowed me like the season opener’s fight, and nothing from this season comes close to any one of the hallway fights from the Netflix series, though, something I hope they remedy for season two (in production now).

Another face who returned today was Karen, who helps Matt and Frank after their ambushed by the Task Force and later counsels Matt on backing down to fight another day. I don’t mind the new characters in Born Again, but they don’t have the same emotional investment as characters like Karen and Frank, so having them both back made this episode feel like classic Daredevil. Matt is injured, with a fractured relationship, and the revelation of who is responsible for Foggy’s death weighing him down, so having old friends and allies in his corner is the momentum and motivation he needs in times like these.

Frank ends up getting captured in an attempt to wipe out the Task Force on his own terms (but later escapes in a post-credit scene that felt a bit too convenient), and Poindexter is also out in the wind, opening the door for a lot of interesting paths in the second season.

I mentioned this in the review of the premiere, but the parallels between Fisk and a certain World Leader cannot be denied, and it’s wild that those parallels exist, considering this show was written in 2024. These themes largely vanished for most of the show, but in this week’s episode, we saw Fisk purge his office of those deemed not loyal to him, detain vigilantes in cages without trial akin to the Alien Enemies Act), and invoked martial law (days before a deadline is due for the potential use of the Insurection Act). Maybe all this is entirely coincidental, considering the writing schedule, but you have to admit, it’s eerie. With so much on the line for New York, you have to wonder if other vigilantes/heroes will make appearances in the next season. This seems like a great time for a Spider-Man cameo, just saying.

As mentioned, the season overall has been quite inconsistent. It was never bad, but the bulk of the episodes didn’t hit that same level of nuance and depth that the original run was known for. The jump in quality in episodes one, eight, and nine was almost jarring, as it felt like a different show in terms of the writing and execution. So while Daredevil: Born Again may not have been the slam dunk I think fans were hoping for, there were some quality gems in the season, and I’m optimistic about the future of the revival, as the reshot content was miles ahead of the rest of the show, including this finale. Can’t wait to see what comes next.