In Review: Daredevil: Born Again (S2 – EP7) The Hateful Darkness

Synopsis: In The Hateful Darkness, a trial close to Matt Murdock’s heart captures the city’s attention, while Fisk plots to use it to draw all his enemies into one place.

The Story

(Spoiler Warning)

Picking the story up from last week, Karen Page has been taken into custody. Thanks to Cherry having people on the inside, she’s transferred to a precinct that Fisk’s organisation doesn’t fully control. Fisk, meanwhile, is determined to have Karen prosecuted to the letter of the law. His plan is simple: humiliate her and draw all his enemies into one place.

Elsewhere, Jessica Jones pays a visit to Mr. Charles, warning him not to send his people after her again. During the exchange, Charles reveals that a hit has been placed on New York’s Governor, who is moving to remove Fisk from power. Armed with this information, Jessica passes it on to Daredevil, who in turn releases Bullseye with the task of saving the Governor’s life.

Fisk later visits Karen at the precinct. Despite being behind bars, she manages to rattle him. Before leaving, Fisk reminds her that she has one phone call and would be wise to use it carefully. Not long after, a detective working with Cherry lets Karen out briefly so she can meet with Matt Murdock. Matt reveals he’s coming out of hiding to help defend her in court.

Elsewhere, Daniel is holding BB captive, clearly torn about whether to hand her over to Buck and Fisk. After much deliberation, and realising what the right thing is, he gives BB her phone back and tells her to run. He returns to Buck empty-handed, which leads to a brutal beating as Buck tries to force him to reveal BB’s whereabouts, ultimately killing him.

From here, the action shifts to the courthouse. District Attorney Hochberg is prepared to throw everything he has at Karen, and is caught off guard when Matt Murdock joins Kirsten McDuffie in her defence. The pairing lands a few solid blows against Hochberg’s case, forcing the court to adjourn.

However, things quickly become complicated for Matt as he attempts to leave the courthouse. Cherry and his people are forced to execute an escape plan, leading to a direct confrontation with Fisk’s private security. Daredevil is shot in the crossfire and retreats to a church, where Jessica Jones finds him finishing a prayer.

Meanwhile, back at the precinct, Karen is visited by psychiatrist Heather Glenn, who has been brought in to conduct a questionable evaluation to strengthen the prosecution’s case. Karen sees straight through it and deliberately provokes Heather into losing her composure and striking her, effectively undermining the entire assessment.

Acting

There are some strong performances throughout this episode. As ever, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio do much of the heavy lifting as Daredevil and Mayor Fisk respectively. However, this episode really allows Deborah Ann Woll to shine as Karen Page.

Her early scene with Fisk is particularly well played, and the satisfied smile she wears after he leaves is a brilliant indicator of just how much she believes she’s gotten under his skin. We see a variation of this later when Karen manages to rattle the psychiatrist brought in to evaluate her, once again turning the tables in a situation designed to undermine her.

Nikki M. James also delivers a solid performance as Kirsten McDuffie, with her own moment of satisfaction coming when she successfully unsettles the prosecution attempting to discredit Karen.

Overall