Season 1, Episodes 5 & 6 Review

(Note: Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4)

Daredevil: Born Again releasing Episode 5, With Interest, and Episode 6, Excessive Force, on the same day is representative of my overall feelings towards the season so far. With Interest is a fairly contained episode which highlights Matt Murdock’s rage within as he contains his alter ego. Characterization is first and foremost on display here with very little to do with the overarching plot driving the season as whole. Without a doubt, With Interest is the best episode the season has delivered so far. On the other end, Excessive Force is representative of the season’s greatest weaknesses. Muddled plotting, uneven writing, and a showcase of everything wrong with Marvel’s visual language. A double feature of Daredevil: Born Again on the opposite ends of quality.

Episode 5 – With Interest

With Interest is a pleasant detour from the season’s overarching story. Even so, if we consider Episode 5 the second episode of a three episode second act, nothing within the episode’s 39 minute runtime really contributes to the larger narrative. Yet, Episode 5 stands as one of the strongest of the season due to the characterization of Matt Murdock. 

It’s a bit cliché to say this about Daredevil but the series has always been exceptional through characters simply conversing. The greatest battles are often spoken rather than fought and With Interest is an exceptional display. 

On Saint Patrick’s Day, Matt goes to the bank to seek a loan for his practice. Unfortunately, their goodwill as defense attorneys doesn’t extend to meeting the necessary margins for the bank to loan them any money. Disappointed, Matt leaves as a gang moves in to hold up the bank. Outside, he hears what is happening and makes a decision. Daredevil enters the bank. Not in his traditional red and black body armor, instead he is wearing the costume of Matt Murdock, the helpless defense attorney.

Matt has denied a piece of himself for over a year. The vigilante may be gone, for now, but still exists in the man. While Excessive Force is the episode where the cowl is donned again, Daredevil is present within the bank. To buy time for the NYPD, to out maneuver the men holding up the bank, and to save lives. 

Episode 6 – Excessive Force

We have finally arrived. The climax to the second act of Daredevil: Born Again. It’s time for Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk to give into their nature. It’s time for Muse to be revealed. It’s…. is that all?

Angela Del Toro is Hector Ayala’s niece. Untrusting of the police, she seeks Matt Murdock out to inform him of White Tiger’s investigation of a potential serial killer. Declaring this sort of thing is outside his job description, Angela leaves disappointed and angry. A bit of a mess of a conversation. Angela is unaware of the vigilante sitting before her. However, what does she expect a blind defense attorney to do regarding a potential killer using underground tunnels? Her outrage is childish, but she is a child. Little is contributed by Matt in this exchange. Even an attempt to battle these ideas would be pleasant. The scene comes across as being the singular reason for Daredevil to resurface, despite all the struggles that have been on display since Episode 2. Instead of being the culmination of this act the introduction of these killings are the final straw to convince Matt to suit up. Instead of being an active attack against our protagonist’s new world view, these conversations come across as being a single reason rather than a final reason. Coming to a head in a literal “fuck it” moment to immediately track down this killer and do battle. There have been various moments in Born Again that hit emotionally much harder than this battle with Muse.

Wilson Fisk. The only way the story of Wilson Fisk could be saved is through some sort of twist. If we ignore the messy production behind Born Again, there might have been teases. Close up shots on Fisk’s bloody and bruised hands allude to everything which has happened with Adam might have happened before the evening among New York’s elite. None of this build up to him descending into villainy is working otherwise. Fisk is already a villain (which is kind of the point of making Trump allusions). He’s corrupt and has used mob tactics to get his way already. Blackmail has been used to influence the police. Demands of criminal organizations making peace have been made by Fisk. Rather than doing his duty as mayor to dismantle the crime networks. And now there is a push for some plan by the docks, where much of his money was made as a criminal. Frankly, Fisk never felt like he was out of the game. 

Everything with the serial killer feels secondary as well. Using the tragedy of 60 people to militarize a gang of cops already terrorizing the city. The worst part? The elite and socialites are able to see right through him. They see a selfish man who has taken this seat of power in New York city. 

Hardly anything works in Excessive Force. The emotional charge of Matt suiting up again fell flat, entire arcs are muddled, and the production quality does not lend itself to how expensive this show actually is under Marvel. 

Ultimately, it’s a shame whenever a double episode drop has a clearly weaker episode than another. Especially when the episode outside of the main plot is better than the plot relevant episode.