In Review: Daredevil: Born Again (S1 – EPs 2 & 3) ‘Shoot The Moon’ & ‘The Scales & the Sword’

Synopsis: ‘Shoot the Moon’ sees Fisk trying a new tactic to lure Daredevil out of hiding, while his private police force continues to make arrests. Meanwhile, BB Urich escalates her social media campaign, exposing Fisk’s true agenda.

‘The Scales & The Sword’ sees Matt Murdock and Karen Page finding new allies, including one with inside access to Fisk’s private police force and Red Hook.

The Story

Spoiler Warning

Picking up from where last week’s episode left off, we see Daredevil on the rooftop of Cherry’s home, watching as paramedics take Cherry to hospital, where he is protected by former police officers who refused to sell out to Fisk.

Meanwhile, Mayor Fisk comes up with a unique plan to flush Matt Murdock out by using social media, painting him as a hero for saving his life. The idea being that those who hate vigilantes will hunt Daredevil, while everyone else will try to find Matt Murdock.

This complicates matters for Matt and Karen as they stake out the port, trying to figure out what’s going on with the Northern Star. Fisk has brought in foreign workers to clear the grounded ship of its ammunition, while publicly claiming it was transporting diapers as a cover story.

Back at City Hall, Daniel struggles to identify who has been leaking information from the Mayor’s office, as well as who is behind the mocking videos targeting Fisk. When confronted, he insists he’s working on it, but privately invites his friend BB Urich to dinner, suspecting her involvement while not wanting to hand her over. Following this, BB escalates things further, pushing out even more aggressive videos.

Elsewhere in the city, Soledad Ayala is out shopping with her niece Angela. The two discuss White Tiger, with Soledad, Hector Ayala’s widow, believing her late husband was reckless, while Angela sees him as a hero who stood up for his community.

Their trip takes a turn when they attempt to stop a teenage boy from stealing a bottle of alcohol. The situation quickly escalates as Fisk’s police force intervenes, arresting the shopkeeper for possessing a firearm while defending his store, and detaining Soledad for assaulting an officer. In reality, the situation is far more nuanced, with Soledad trying to protect the boy from excessive force.

Toward the end of the episode, Matt and Karen’s hiding place is discovered, and Fisk’s forces move in. Matt suits up as Daredevil and fights them off, allowing Karen to escape. During the chaos, Karen captures one of the officers, who turns out to be sympathetic to Daredevil and the resistance, and provides a keycard granting access to all areas of the Red Hook warehouse.

The second episode shifts focus to the trial of the Swordsman, which has effectively been rigged, leaving little point in mounting a defence. However, Kirsten McDuffie remains determined to do her job. When the trial is pushed forward, it becomes even more difficult, though she does manage to meet Jacques Duquesne, albeit blindfolded as she is taken to him.

As expected, the trial results in a guilty verdict, built on tampered evidence and manipulated reports.

Following this, Daredevil visits Kirsten and asks what she remembers of Red Hook. Though she couldn’t see anything, he presses her on the sounds she heard, using that information to mentally map the location.

Armed with this and the keycard, Daredevil infiltrates the Red Hook warehouse and frees Duquesne, discovering that Fisk has been holding numerous other prisoners there. With help from Duquesne, Karen, and Angela, they manage to free them all.

However, as they escape, the grounded Northern Star explodes, with the foreign workers still aboard.

Acting

Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll continue to be effective leads as Matt Murdock and Karen Page. The opening scenes, where Karen expresses her anger over Bullseye and the murder of Foggy, especially after learning that Bullseye helped Daredevil, feel fully earned and believable.

We also get a very strong performance in the second episode from Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie, who has the difficult job of defending Duquesne. If I were a member of that jury, I’d have been completely convinced by her argument. Unfortunately, in the world of Daredevil, I don’t exist, so she ultimately loses the case.

There’s also a strong performance from Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk, who is clearly unsettled by the sense that Bullseye is watching her. The dream sequence in particular is highly effective in conveying her growing paranoia.

Overall

These are two really strong episodes, with most of the key story threads being woven into ‘Shoot the Moon’, which sets things up brilliantly for the rescue of the prisoners at the close of ‘The Scales & The Sword’.

The moment when Daredevil and Karen drive away, only for the grounded Northern Star to explode with all the workers still onboard, is incredibly impactful. It serves as a stark reminder that, no matter how heroic Daredevil is, even with help, he can’t be everywhere at once.