ScreenCrush: The Podcast! - Daredevil: Born Again Episodes 1+2 Breakdown! Every Marvel Easter Egg You Missed!

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

The premiere of Daredevil: Born Again returns the Netflix series to the MCU. The first 2 episodes have connections to Spider-Man, Punisher, Ant-Man, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and many more. We breakdown all of the Marvel Easter Eggs and the hidden meaning in the premiere.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I love New York. Hey, welcome back Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Erie, and this is all of the Easter eggs references and little things you might have missed in the first two episodes of Daredevilborn again. So we're going to be spoiler-free for the first half of this video. So if you want to watch the first half now about episode one, then come back after seeing episode two, we'll still be here waiting for you. Now, guys, so far, this might be the best Marvel Disney Plus show of all time. And I love how they connect it to the original Netflix show and also the wider MCN. And there's just a couple hints in this episode that Jessica Jones and Luke Cage might return for season two.

Say what? Now you guys know how much we love Daredevil. So me and the team had a blast designing these Daredevil parody shirts at our merch store. We have this tribute to the hallway fight, no fear. The Fisk Will Fix It shirt and yard sign. Rabbit in a Snowstorm shirt and poster. And this is a replica of the Battle of New York newspaper. And we also have our classic Nelson and Murdoch Law and Order in the Scales of Justice, plus the Return of the King.

Links for all of these are below. And don't forget, you can now listen to Screencrush on Spotify, Apple, and anywhere you get your podcasts. Now, this show is a semi-continuation of the Daredevil series that streamed on Netflix almost 10 years ago. That show was interconnected with other heroes who eventually formed the Defenders, but it was made by kind of a separate division from Marvel Studios. So this is why Daredevil, Luke Cage, and the others didn't appear in Infinity War or Endgame. But then, all TV production was placed directly under Kevin Feige's care, allowing for Daredevil to interconnect more with the entire franchise. You remember he appeared in Spider-Man No Way Home. How did you just do that? I'm a really good lawyer. And he also had a cameo in the show Echo. So that show was also a spinoff of the Hawkeye TV series. Oh, you know, I don't remember that very real. Well, I'll explain because it's relevant for the Kingpin.

So in that show, we met an enforcer named Maya Lopez, aka Echo, who was a protege of Wilson Fisk. After she discovers that Wilson killed her dad, she shot him in the face, temporarily blinding him. And in Echo, he catches up to her, but then fails to win her back. Now, that show ended with Fisk deciding to run for mayor. Is that candidate even out there? There's no doubt it is late in the process, but there's still a window of opportunity. That's what the poll is telling us. But I've heard from sources that they originally shot and filmed six episode of that show,

but then the studio came along and kind of cut it to ribbons. According to Leaks, Daredevil originally had a much larger role in the show, but we're going to talk about that later on. So the episode begins with the church choir. Now, in the comics and in the show, Matt Murdoch is a devout Catholic. His belief in grace and redemption is the reason he does not kill criminals, and he fully recognizes that by beating people up on the street, he is a sinner, which is one of the reasons he dresses up as the devil.

Now, all throughout this show, we are going to continue to see Christian imagery to find Matt Murdoch's place in the world. For instance, the title of the show, Born Again, is named after the seminal Frank Miller and David Masichelli run of the comics, which was also partially adapted in season three of this original show. But in this series, Born Again has three meanings. First, there's the Christian belief that when you accept Christ, you are metaphorically reborn again.

And it also refers to Matt returning to the role of Daredevil after quitting. And there's also the meta meaning that Daredevil is being rebooted on Disney Plus or, you know, Born Again. Oh, that's why they call it that. So the first shot is the building from the end of the episode, the building where Wilson Fisk is standing after becoming mayor. Now, notice how the aspect ratio is, slowly opens up like we are opening our eyes. But we also see a similar effect later on when

Matt starts to focus on Foggy's phone conversation. So the frame widening at the beginning could be symbolic of Matt at the end of the episode, widening his focus on Fisk and the rest of the city. But we'll talk about that at the end of episode one. Then we get several shots just of people in Hell's Kitchen, which is shrouded in this fog and at times a red mist. Now even though the kitchen is being gentrified, the symbolism here is showing us that the people on the street are living in a kind of Hell. Crime is on the rise. Vigilantees roam the rooftops and people are getting frustrated at their leadership. Then we see Matt, Karen, and Foggy leaving their law practice. Remember, they renamed it Nelson Murdoch and Page at the end of season three. They talk about how the neighborhood is changing.

You know, Becky's Diner and Eighth? I love that place. Close. And remember, this is the same diner that Fisk mentions to Matt later in the episode. I miss Becky's diner. Me too. The original series did a great job showing us how Matt and Wilson are basically two sides of the same coin. They both grew up in the kitchen. They were both raised by violent fathers who they lost at a young age. And this led to them dedicating themselves to making the city a better place by means outside of the law. So for Matt, that meant becoming a vigilante. But for Fisk,

it meant destroying old buildings and building new upscale apartments. But in a way, Fisk is the person who won. The kitchen is changing and becoming gentrified by chain stores. As always, the three of them go to Josie's bar, a dive that was a key criminal hangout in the comics. But in the show, it's more of a cop bar where Detective Cherry is celebrating his retirement. Now, I just got to say, Cherry is played by Clark Johnson, who gave a terrific performance as a journalist in Season 5 of The Wire. Karen is doing a little bit of flirting with Matt. Well, you could just get out of here.

And remember, you know, they hooked up in season three. Now, in the comics, Karen was Matt's longtime love interest, and you could arguably say she was the love of his life. But Bullseye killed her in cold blood in a scene that was almost replicated in season three. So if you are upset about what happens to Foggy in this episode, just know there is precedence for it in the comics. In fact, there's actually hope that Foggy is still alive, which I'll talk about later in the video.

Foggy says he used to work for, and that is the firm he worked for in season three, and that's the same law firm that would hire Jessica Jones to do P.I. work. So there's a subtle connection here and some hope that Kristen Ritter could return in season two. On the news, we see the White Tiger busting up a bodega robbery. Now, White Tiger first appeared way back in the deadly hands of Kung Fu in 1975. Like we learn in this show, he gets his powers from a mystical medallion that grants powers to members of his family. There's a lot more to it than that, but I doubt if they're going to get too deep into the white tiger lore on this show.

This is also where we meet Matt's future law partner, Kristen McDuffie. Now, in the comics, she was also an assistant DA who convinced Matt to reveal his identity to the public. Kind of, it's a long story. She was part of a great run by Mark Wade, where Daredevil lived in San Francisco and was actually happy for a while, like in the show, opens up a law practice with Kirsten. And then Matt begins to really focus his hearing. And I love how they showed this. The aspect ratio shifts.

So instead of showing us Matt focusing on his friend visually, the sound designers get to go to work. While across the street, someone murders a fly with a paper clip. We've actually seen Bullseye do something similar in the comics. Now, he is not wearing his comic-accurate costume yet, But we do see the bullseye on his gloves, and the sniper scope is a classic bullseye symbol. But thank goodness his eyes don't have the bullseye design like we saw at the end of Daredevil's season three

because that just looked a little bit too goofy. Now, in the comics, Bullseye is Daredevil's deadliest enemy, by far. He killed Elektra, killed Karen Page, and is certifiably insane. Just like in the show, everything he touches becomes a deadly weapon. Like Hawkeye? Yes, if he touched Hawkeye, he would become a weapon. Now, season three of Daredevil focused on his origin story, showing he was an FBI agent named Benjamin Poindexter who was mentally unbalanced.

Fisk took advantage of his fragile mental state and manipulated him into framing daredevil and becoming an assassin. Now, he ends the season trying to get revenge on Fisk and then Fisk broke his spine, but there was a post-credit scene where we saw him getting corrective surgery. Now, we're not sure why he comes after Foggy in this show. I mean, the two of them barely had any interaction in season three, unless his real target was Karen like he implied here. This is his way of taunting Karen like he did in season three. Hello Karen. If Matt didn't stop him, he probably would have finished the line.

It's nice to see you again. Now, when the fight starts, Karen pulls a gun out of her purse. And remember, she started carrying a pistol back in season one. And she even talks about guns with the Punisher, like she knows a good bit about firearms. You still got that hand cannon. You better believe it. Then Daredevil is called to action as he poses majestically in front of a church, and we get an echo of the light motif of the original show's theme.

Now that theme is one of my all-time favorite TV themes, and it reappears here to let us know that this is the last mission for the Daredevil we knew. Before he is, turned into a sandwich. No, before he is born again. He said it. He said it. Then when he runs across the rooftops, this shot looks straight out of the comics, and here's where we can see that Disney Plus higher budget at work. In the original show, this would have been like a lot of different close-up shots and cutaways.

But here, they're able to move the camera out and show Matt really running across rooftop. And then we get a classic one-take Daredevil fight that is more than four minutes long. Now, just like the other fights that we saw in seasons 1 through 3 and in the show Echo, this is not technically shot in one take. They did use camera tricks and some digital magic in a few places, but it's still pretty seamless. And some of these shots go on for over a minute. So let's break down this fight. First, they smashed through a window.

And in the comics, this became a running joke. Daredevil was always smashing thugs through Josie's window. Now remember, this is a cop retirement party, so like everybody's going to be packing. This woman pulls a pistol and Bullseye throws two knives to take her out. Then he points his gun behind him to shoot Matt, but Matt grabs the gun and they start to spar, ending with Matt giving a mule kick and then a roundhouse kick. All through the fight, Bullseye is able to throw the knives with such speed that they're able to penetrate Matt's armor. Matt catches a police baton and then uses it to knock the knives out of his own arm.

And there's a cut point here as the camera moves to Foggy outside. Throughout the fight, we hear what Matt hears as he focuses in and out on Foggy's heartbeat. The sound is like a bass to the sink, giving it this underlying tension. Matt throws the police baton to knock out the lights to make his opponent as blind as he is. After they crash through the doors, this cop lifts a baton. As Bullseye goes to throw a knife, Matt uses his grappling hook to grab the cop's arm and yank him out of the way and the knife ends up stuck in the door jam. Now when this cop hits him with the pool cue, Bullseye throws a cue ball right between her eyes.

And then he ricochets another pool ball that hits this civilian in the jaw. And she wasn't even a threat. He just did that for fun. And this is kind of taken from the comics. We saw Bullseye use a pull cue for a weapon way back in Daredevil 172. And then the fight moves to the stairwell like this one take fight in season two against the dogs of hell. After Bullseye kills two more civilians, they dump their groceries in the floor, and then Matt banks his billy club off the wall to take out more lights. And then Bullseye throws one of those groceries, a soup can at Daredevil. And notice how he aims for the knives that are in Daredevil's chest, which would have really hurt if it would have connected. He throws two knives. Matt deflects

the first, but his turn lets the second one catch him in the back before he deflects the next three. Bullseye throws Matt's own club at his face. And remember, he used that club to kill Father Lanthan in season three. On the roof, Matt strikes a perfect comic pose as the camera moves to a higher angle. Bullseye hits him with the board. Matt deflex. And then he just pummles him, but afterwards, Bullseye, you can tell, is getting tired. He throws a knife behind him that Matt is able to catch and then toss right back into Bullseye's back. But then he tunes back in and hears Foggy's death as we have our first cut. But I actually think, that the oner continues on after Matt's reaction. It's just that they needed to cut to Foggy

to justify Matt finally cracking. Now, this is a huge moment in the show. In season two, Matt genuinely questioned whether or not he should start killing criminals. And when he reaches his lowest point and agrees to help the Punisher murder a criminal, he makes the sign of the cross as a way to atone or to ask for God's judgment for his actions. You're right. My way isn't working. So maybe just as once. Now, in the comics, there have been many times when Matt was tempted to kill Bullseye, once hesitating to pull him off the subway tracks until the last second.

And, and the great what-if story, What If Daredevil killed the Kingpin by Frank Miller, Matt actually does drop Bullseye off a roof like we see in this show. Now, during the Mayer Fisker run of the comics, Matt actually did kill a man. It was accidental because the guy had a medical condition, but then Matt turned himself in for manslaughter and gave up being Daredevil, similar to what happens in the show. So losing control like this is Matt's worst nightmare. In season one, he talked about how his family, especially the men in his family, had a history of violent rage.

It's what made his dad a good boxer. She used to say, be careful of the Murdoch boys, they got the devil in. Now, at this point, Matt knows he's no longer worthy to be daredevil, so he gives up dropping his shattered helmet. And notice how the missing horn even looks like a D. For Karen, this is a harsh flashback. This isn't the first time she's been next to a friend of hers covered in his blood. It goes all the way back to her very first scene in the show. And then we get the new opening credits.

Now, the original opening credits show the city and the Statue of Justice covered in blood. And this is because Daredevil's powers are tied to blood. He can hear your heartbeat. He spills blood in the streets. And he talks about the city like it's a living thing with the streets as the blood in its veins. In this opening sequence, though, everything becomes stone. Like gravestones following the death of foggy. We see the landmarks from the original series slowly deteriorate.

The Nelson and Murdoch plaque, the Statue of Lady Justice, the church, the Statue of Liberty, and even Fisk himself. See, these are different pieces of the city that make matters. Murdoch who he is. These are the institutions where he once placed his faith. They all now need to be broken and then reformed to show that Matt is born again. Notice that the first piece that comes together is the little horn that Karen carries with her and gives to Matt. Now the new theme is done by the Newton brothers who also gave us this banger of a remix. Now one year later in Matt's apartment, he's listening to the great Nick Cave song and to My Arms. And the first line we hear is, I don't believe in an interventionist god,

but I know you do. So you can take this line a couple of different ways. Is this us talking to Matt saying, well, we don't believe in a God who interferes with mankind? Or is it Matt who has lost his faith in God and is seeking guidance? Matt is living in a nicer apartment. Remember, his old place was like next to a neon sign, but it was perfect for a blind man. So we see that he's moving up in the world. And then we hear that there is a recall election. Or what's a recall election? So sometimes when a politician does like a really bad job, the people can fire them via the ballot. And then pretty much anybody can get on the ballot to run against them without having to be an official party nominee. It's a real free for all. This is how, for instance, Arnold Schwarzenegger was first elected

governor of California. We also hear the newscaster mentioned murals. So this is teasing the supervillain muse, who paints a mural of Fisk at the end of the episode. But I don't want to spoil anything for future episodes, so I'll just say that he is in the comics. Matt still has Foggy's funeral card. And notice, that part of it's in braille for Matt's benefit. And then we go to Wilson Fisk, eating his morning eggs like he took great care to prepare in season one. He begins in a white robe like his classic outfit from the comics, which he also wore in the finale of season three. Now, it's interesting they cut from Matt's black suit to Fiske in white to show how these two contrast one another. And

this is highlighted by the camera showing Fisk upside down. He is literally the inverse of Matt Murdoch. But notice, Fisk picks out a gray suit to wear on the campaign trail, which shows how now he's more morally gray even to later on he says there can be no gray area and then we go to Vanessa his estranged wife now throughout the original show we see him meet Vanessa and then slowly pull her into his criminal enterprise season three ends with the kingpin making daredevil a deal if Wilson stays out of crime for good then Matt will not implicate Vanessa in his crimes and the tragic thing is now that doesn't even matter while Wilson was running off to Oklahoma to deal with Maya Vanessa actually wanted to take over his empire notice how she is wearing her favorite

color, white, which shows how she is the new kingpin. I should also note that in the comics, Vanessa becomes a crime kingpin in her own right. I won't spoil it, but in the Ed Brubaker run, there is some really cool Vanessa stuff. Now, Wilson Vanessa first met in an art gallery where she sold him the painting Rabbit in a Snowstorm, you know, like in our t-shirt, poster, and refrigerator magnets. And notice how today her meeting room is surrounded by artwork. On the left, we see a painting called The Nightmare. It's a work done by Henry Fusili in 1781. Notice it's a woman in white, like Vanessa, sleeping with a demon weighing her down. Now the symbolism here is obvious. Vanessa's own dreams are now being weighed down by her husband's criminal empire.

But the painting here is far more prominent. It depicts the Russian czar Ivan the Terrible cradling the body of St. Basile. Now, Basile was a man of the people who gave all he had to charitable works, and his death moved Ivan the Terrible to carry his body to the cathedral for burial himself. Now, you could say that Fisk is Ivan and the pious mat is St. Basil. The two of them were very different in life, and yet they still shared this common connection. And this relic of a statue behind Vanessa is of an incomplete woman. And this could be symbolic of Vanessa herself, who has come to define her life through the decisions her husband has made.

Now, Vanessa did have a small taste of being the boss in season three when she ordered the death of Ray Nadine. And now, she's gotten quite good at it, running the business like a mom. Don't be little boys squabbling over pennies when you're set to earn millions. And one of these guys levels this insult. Since before you started wearing that stupid track suit. Referring to the track suit mafia that we saw on the show, Hawkeye. Now, she tells Wilson that she's

by his side while he was near death, like he did for her in season one. Notice, though, how in his reflection we see him surrounded by a halo of light, which is how Renaissance paintings depicted Jesus and his mother Mary as a sign that they were divine beings. So right, the show is saying that King Penn is like God? No, the show is not saying that King Penn is divine, because, notice, he is upside down. He is inverted. Just like with tarot cards, the inversion here means that the opposite is actually true. Remember, King Penn's first scene in this episode showed him filmed upside down,

to show that in this present day, the old order has changed. Now, Fiske can rise to power and Matt is in the streets, which in this episode are made to look like hell. Fisk is running for mayor, just like he is in the great recent comic run by Charles Sol and Christos Gage. In the comics, Fisk actually rigs the election, but then he realizes that he didn't have to. You see, in Marvel, the people of New York were so disaffected by the government that they chose a convicted felon to be their mayor just so he could shake things up.

And then we go to B.B. Eurek filming videos, and I loved this. See, in the comics, Ben Urick was a reaffected. reporter for the Daily Bugle who, like, worked out Matt's secret identity, and he's one of the strongest supporting characters in the books. But the show killed him off in season one, like so much Colson. But now his niece Beebe is filling that role as the reporter that can feed Matt information. And by the way, the subway stop she's at is also the same one where Spider-Man swings across the platform and Spider-Man Homecoming. In the courtroom, Matt is testifying when he hears Karen's heartbeat down the hall. For Matt, heartbeats are like fingerprints. He's able to

identify a person just by the sound of their heart. Now, after this hearing, we found out that Karen moved to San Francisco. You know, like Matt did in the comics. Now, originally, Deborah Ann Woll and Eldon Hanson were not even going to be in this show before they completely retooled it and reshot the pilot. So I am glad they brought them back to give at least some continuity to the original series, although it's pretty controversial to kill Foggy in episode one. Let me know if you like what they did with Karen and Foggy in the comments, or on our free-to-join Discord server, the links are below. Now, like I was saying, I... Doug, what are all of these boxes doing up here? Oh, that's all of our old merch. We ran out of room in the basement, so now it's got to be up here. Okay, well, we have a basement, I didn't know that. And also,

We can't make videos with all of this stuff in the way. All right, then, let's set it on fire. Uh, no, but I got an idea. Let's have a fire sale. Guys, we have to get rid of all of our old designs in our merch store. So, for a limited time, we are selling these items, and then they will be gone forever. So this is the last chance to buy, the top five, the hello there, the woo, I'm about to make a name for myself, and many, many more.

We are also slashing prices on these shirts and merch, so smash the link below to get your discount today. Now, back to what I was saying. Back at his apartment, Matt chops vegetables like an actual ninja, and then he is forced to listen to the news that Fisk is running for mayor. So Matt became daredevil because he could no longer stand to hear the screams outside of his window at night. And in this episode, Fisk becoming mayor is like another constant sound from the city that is slowly drawing him back into the fight. Afterwards, his dinner burns. Now, it's not subtle, but the episode keeps associating Matt and the streets with fire and smoke, with the implication that the streets are a kind of hell that Matt is now forced to live in.

Then we cut to Fisk in front of these TV screens, like the multiple monitors he watched in season 3, which were taken from this panel from the Born Again Comics. Now, the dude bro supporter of his is played by Michael Gandalfini, son of James Galdolfini. You might remember him for playing a young Tony Soprano in the Many Saints of Newark. And like, he pretty much nails the reason Fisk wins. Maya Fisk, that's the cool fucking thing on the planet. And here I want to talk about the elephant in the room, that in the comics and in the show, the election of the kingpin is a clear stand-in for celebrity politicians like Ronald

Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Donald Trump. Careful. I'm not saying that because they're super villains, but these people succeeded because they had name recognition and they used the idea that they would shake things up. Some people taunt Fisk with the slogan Fisk will fix it, you know, like the yard signs for sale at our merch store, because this implies that Fisk will fix the election or rig it.

But for his supporters, they embrace the line because they want to see him use his skills as a criminal for the betterment of the city. And, you know, like Donald Trump's first campaign, Fisg gains all of the media attention when he runs for office because he's already in the public eye. At least Fisk is interesting. And Matt's line here, This city actually elects him.

Maybe New York's getting the merit deserves. It's the kind of apathy we hear a lot of in our modern political discord. And then Matt meets Heather Glenn, his love interest during the bulk of the Frank Miller run from the comics. In the book, she's the CEO of a corporation, but here they've reimagined her as a psychiatrist. Similar to Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever. That's right. And on their not date, Matt mentions, this sandwich shop. Only for Sal Chris and Charlies. Hey, I know that sandwich shop.

Cool, and get this. Here is footage of Tom Holland filming a deleted scene from homecoming in front of that same shop. Just like in the comics, Fisk runs on an anti-vigilante platform. In the debate, he mentions that his opponent favored registration, probably referencing the Sikovia Accords, which at this point where, oh my God, were almost 10 years ago. Whereas Fisk wants the vigilantes to be arrested and tried for their crimes. Now, his main handler is Buck Cashman, who in the comics is one of the Kingpins enforcers. And then we get the first. first face off between Matt and Fisk the politician. Now, when they sit down, notice how they, once again, make a point to show them reflected upside down.

Just like in the earlier shot with Fisk, it's showing us how the world has now been inverted. Fisk is the noble leader of the city and Matt is no longer a vigilante. And this is when he reminds Matt... I thought I kept that promise. What promise is it talking about? Well, like I said earlier, season three ended with Wilson promising to leave behind his empire, or Matt would make sure that Vanessa went to jail for her crimes. So Fisk stayed clean, mostly, but this meant that Vanessa was instead drawn into that life of crime.

Fisk also catches this up on the events of the show Echo. I tried to mentor someone. And of course, he's talking about Maya Lopez, but Matt says, Didn't she shoot you in the face? Now, it's interesting that Matt already knows about Maya. Remember, the original edit of the show Echo was supposed to be six episodes long, and reportedly featured Maya checking in with Matt to get information about the King Penn's Empire. Now, in the final edit, all we got between Matt and Maya was one incredible.

kick-ass fight scene, but no indication that they stayed in touch or became lovers like they were in the comics. Matt is convinced that Fisk is trying to fix the election, which he did in the comics. But notice how Wilson does not actually deny this. Why is it? I can't shake the feeling that you're gaming the system. Things are not good out there. Remember, if he would have lied, then Matt would hear his heartbeat skip. So instead, he does that politician thing of avoiding the answer instead of outright lying.

Then they have a conversation about Matt trying to murder points. Dexter. Matt losing control and trying to murder bullseye is actually a huge deal, and I think that Fisk knows that this is going to be a touching point for Matt that he can exploit. Whenever Fisk starts to rail against vigilantes, he can charge Daredevil for attempted murder, if he ever returns. And then Matt gives a fairly eloquent explanation of his Catholic beliefs. I was raised to believe in grace that we can be touched by the divine and transform. And this is why Matt doesn't kill. He believes that every soul deserves a chance to be redeemed. By dressing up as a devil and committing violent acts, he is taking the sins of the city upon himself,

similar to Christ sacrificing himself for the sins of humanity or the medieval concept of a sin-eater. And Fisk knows all of this about Matt. There is a brief pause where the click from his watch is amplified and the percussive score feels like a heartbeat. And this leads into when Wilson finally says, And that's the contradiction inherent in Daredevil. He believes in second chances, but he loves beating the hell out of people. Matt's career as a vigilante comes from a place of trauma, the murder of his father, and he uses violence as a way to release his pent-up rage.

He spelled this out in his very first scene of the original show. Be careful of the Murdoch boys, they got the devil in. And get this, the anchor on the news here is Pat Kiernan, and he is like the interconnected tissue of the MCU. He has appeared in the Avengers, Iron Man 3, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, the Defenders, Punisher, Spider-Man far from home, Hawkeye, and Echo. Out on the street, we return to that hell aesthetic that opened up the episode. The steam disseminates this red light, giving us the illusion that Matt has descended into the fires of hell that Fisk is about to create. The celebration on the street is scary.

It almost seems like it could get violent at any second. Now above, we see a small piece of an ad for Rogers the musical that we'll talk about just a little bit later. And we return to the shot of the building that opened up the episode, kind of like everything we have seen so. far was just a prologue to this moment. The first season of the show ended with Daredevil standing on a rooftop and guarding his city, while Fisk was locked away down in jail. And now those roles have been reversed. Fisk is the one looking down in his kingdom and it's Matt who is watching from the gutters. But notice how Matt's face is half lit to remind us of his double identity. Even if he tries to hide Daredevil, you got to watch out for those Murdoch boys because they got the devil in

them. And then we get a first glimpse at Muse one of the villains of this season. He is painting a mural of two kingpins, with the idea being that the kingpin has a public face and then his true, evil face. Now, in the comic, Muse paints similar anarchist murals all around town, tearing down Fisk and celebrating vigilantes. Also, is he a good guy like Banksy? No, more like if Banksy was also a serial killer. So let's move on to episode two. The episode is dedicated to Kumar de Las Reyes, the actor who portrayed White Tiger, who passed away in 2023.

So we start on Wilson Fisk about to make a public address. Remember, he was always uncomfortable speaking in public. In season one, when he finally showed his public face, Vincent Xenofrio did a fantastic job of giving him this vulnerability that, frankly, never existed in the comics. Rebuilding this city, I want to carve something beautiful out of its ugliness, set free its potential. You sound like an artist.

Not just a man with a dream. And then we see a New Year's address in Times Square and a shot that replicates this panel from the comics when we see the aforementioned ad for Rogers the musical. But also, this Pym Van Dine, Billboard. That's the new company that Hope formed with her dad in Quantum Mania. And that company is sponsoring New Year's as indicated by all the top hats we see here. And the person wearing that hat here is your mom. But also, and this is my favorite Easter egg from the trailer,

there is an ad here for Harlem's Paradise with a quote from Luke Cage about how good the club is. What's Harlem's Paradise? Well, it's the criminal club that Cottonmouth and Mariah ran in Luke Cage. And in season two, the season ended with Luke taking control of the club. But we never got to see what happened next. So hopefully Marvel brings that series back as well, or at least gives us a resolution in this show. In his address, Wilson addresses both the Punisher and Spider-Man. We don't need a gun-toating vigilante who wears a skull on his chest or a man who dresses in a spider outfit.

And personally, I hope this brings us one step closer to this scene. I'll dance with you. Somehow combining with this scene. Activating instant kill. No, no, no, no, no, no, I don't want to kill anybody. And get this, they actually use the F word. You're, I fucking love him. Are you mean, Frank?

And then we go to the Bronx, where Hector Ayala steps in on these cops harassing this guy. Now, obviously, this is all related to some kind of conspiracy within the NYPD. Hector interferes, but is set up for murder. And something similar happens to the comics. Hector promised his wife that he would stop being the white tiger, but then he broke his word to stop a robbery. Now, the police intervened and an officer was killed, but there was only one witness who fled the scene. So Hector goes on trial, just like in this show. Now, technically, even without the costume, you could argue that,

Hector was exercising vigilante justice. Or you could also argue that he was simply a good Samaritan acting to save someone else. It is interesting that they changed the setting, though, from an electronics store to a train platform because of the 1984 subway shooting. So this is when a man named Bernard Getz shot and killed four men who he claimed were trying to rob him. Now, there is a chance that Gets was inspired by 70s vigilante films like Charles Bronson's Death Wish series. In fact, the subway killing and the Joker was inspired by those movies and by those real events in 1984. And then we go back to the BB report where we find out that anti-vigilante sentiment is actually running quite high.

Daredevil? I haven't heard that name in a long time, man. But I don't miss him. He's a clown. You know, who needs them? It's more trouble than he's worth. Good reason. Now, I wish we had this sort of ground-level perception in the lead-up to Captain America's Civil War. It would have been great to see ordinary people getting tired of superheroes dropping buses on their homes. But still, with all the crazy things happening in New York City alone, it would make sense if people wanted to see their elected representatives step in and take control. After all, we just saw Ross win the presidency on a platform of restoring normalcy.

And I think it would make sense of people all around the world after all of these huge world-changing events would just want things to feel normal again. Now, AskFist adjust to the new position. He immediately bristles with the constraints of his office. He's used to his every wish being granted right away. And now he has to worry about the press and polling. And finally, after zoning out, he asks, How old do you think this desk is?

And he wonders if he could be sitting behind the same desk as Fiorella La Guardia, who was mayor of New York in the 1930s and 40s. Now, LaGuardia was famous for standing up against corruption and finally breaking the Tammany Hall political machine that it controlled New York for nearly a century. Kingpin mentions that his dad looked up to LaGuardia. You wonder, did Virella LaGuardia sit here? He was a hero of my father's, you know.

And remember, his pop tried to get into politics. He ran for city council because he thought it was the only way to get money and respect. So Wilson is sitting here thinking about his dad because he finally achieved his father's goal. He is the boss politician in the city. But like Matt dressing up as a devil, this is ironic. Because remember, the kingpin wears his cufflinks specifically to remind him that he is not like his dad.

That's why I still wear these to remind myself that I'm not cruel for the sake of cruelty. That I'm not my father. And now he has all the power he could ever want. But it also cost him the one person who gave meaning to his life. Frank. No, not Frank. Watch your mouth.

Vanessa. Now out on the highway, Wilson's frustrations hit a boiling point as he sees a photo op in the making, a chance to show that he is a get things done kind of guy. I want you to stop what you're doing and fill that hole. Again, this reminded me of Ronald Reagan, who stood up in Berlin and demanded, somehow Palpatine returned. Sorry, I meant this. Tear down this wall. Now, I do wonder, though, why is there a random hole in the middle of the street? Maybe Wilson had it put there for the photo op, or I think it would be really cool if it was damaged from a superhero battle. In fact, I wish they would have played that up more,

maybe mentioning that Spider-Man was out here fighting some guy in a rhino costume. That would also give Wilson a chance to find more leeway to enact justice against vigilantes. The cops interrogate Hector in a panel that's a pretty faithful adaptation for the comics. And just like with Karen in season one, Matt decides to represent him when he hears that he is not lying. Is there anything you're not telling me? No man. Nothing. In court, Matt is going up against Benjamin Hawkburn, aka the Hawk. Now, in the comics, Hawkburn was the DA that Matt worked under in the 2016 Daredevil run,

you know, the Mayor Fisk run. While he was working with the DA, Matt took a case to the Supreme Court that allowed vigilante testimony to be admissible in court without revealing the secret identity of said vigilante. It was a landmark case that he won with the help of Foggy that Fisk and many other crime bosses, of course, opposed. Now, the judge is clearly slanted against Hector, denying bail even before Matt can speak. Your Honor, the defense would ask him. People's motion is granted. And this shows just how the justice system is already falling in line behind Fisk, who frankly probably owns a lot of these judges. Now, I don't really understand all the legal stuff in this show, so I asked our friend, Mike Mazzella, who is a lawyer, comedian,

and screen crush contributor to explain what exactly is happening in this courtroom. So take it away, Mike. Thanks, Ryan. Matt Murdoch's pro bono representation of Hector Ayala for the alleged murder of an NYPD officer is setting up a legal showdown that's sure to excite. And from voir dear, until Hector's in the clear, we'll be covering it here on the channel. We get our first taste of the action in this scene of the episode two, where we find Matt in the judge's chambers arguing a motion and limine to suppress evidence of Hector's life as the White Tiger. Now, motion and limine is just a pretrial motion that requests the judge to exclude evidence or arguments, usually for violating the rules of evidence.

And you might be wondering, why is Matt telling the DA's office that Hector is a vigilante? Isn't that against his client's best interests? Well, you would be right, except for the fact that Matt told Hector earlier. I can find this out. You better believe the DA's office can. And Hector tells Matt, let them. And Matt's right. While the defense has no obligation to turn over incriminating evidence to the prosecution, they also cannot interfere with the police investigation or hide the evidence, because that would be evidence tampering.

Either way here, the DA will find the magic amulet and the costume. God, I love saying magic amulet. So Matt, with Hector's express permission, chooses to preempt the DA's office and bring the evidence directly to the judge. trial practice, it's sometimes best to deliver bad news yourself. It allows you to control the narrative and minimizes the weight of the negative facts. It's what trial lawyers call pulling the sting. Oh my God, him I pulled you off. Okay, let's get back to the hearing. So Matt's argument here is that the fact that Hector is the white tiger is A, not relevant to the issues of the case, because Hector wasn't wearing his magic amulet when the fight took place. And B, it

It perfectly meets the standard of more prejudicial than probative, as Matt says. It perfectly meets the standard more prejudicial than probative. And I hate to burst your bubble there, Matt, but the standard's actually substantially more prejudicial than it is probative, okay? Don't beat me up. What makes Hector's identity as the White Tiger so prejudicial? Don't people love superheroes? No.

Keep in mind here that Hector's jury is going to be 12 New Yorkers in a New York City that just overwhelmingly voted Wilson Fisk into office, primarily on the platform of cracking down vigilantes. The DA's response here is a predictable one. The DA says the white tiger is relevant to establish a pattern of behavior that drove Hector to kill that officer. And this is a prime example of improper character evidence as covered by Rule of Evidence 404, which essentially says a person's character or character trait can't be admissible to prove that they acted according to that character trait on a particular occasion. Now there's several exceptions to this rule that I think will become relevant as the trial continues to unfold. The most important being

when a person's character is at issue, meaning if Matt gets up there and tries to say that Hector is a perfectly peaceful, nonviolent person, well, that opens the door to allow the prosecution to bring in evidence of him as the white tiger. Additionally, should Hector take the stand, they will be able to bring that evidence in as well, because anybody that takes the stand puts their own credibility at issue when they do so. So are we about to see an epic courtroom showdown that's spicy enough to make the Red Hulk blush? What do you think? How's it all going to unfold? Will Hector testify? Will the DA flip Mrs. Ayala against her husband to make her testify? Only time will tell, but I am certainly looking forward to it. Back to you, Ryan.

And you can follow Mike on Instagram, at Mike M. Comedy, or every week here at Screencrush for our Born Again coverage. Meanwhile, B.B. Eurek gets an audience with a kink, and Wilson says that he once knew her uncle. Beebe, I was named for my uncle. Ben Yorke. Yeah. I knew him. And I'll say this. So far, I'm not that impressed with Beebe's journalistic skills. She doesn't even ask Fisk a question. She just shows up, says some mean things, and does not get a good sound bite out of him. We go to Heather's book signing where her book is titled Life Without Fear, which is of course a play on Daredevil's nickname The Man Without Fear. Then she is visited by Fisk's right-hand man Buck Cashman, who was called

Bullet in the comics. He is usually a corrupt U.S. Army General working for Fisk. He was a mercenary for hire, just like Typhoid Mary, you know, one of Kingpin's other love interests. But in this show, he's taking on the role that Wesley has in the comics as Kingpin's right-hand man while he was in office. He is there to enlist her to help the Fisk's in couples therapy, but it's also likely that he's there to keep tabs on Matt's girlfriend just in case he steps out a line and becomes Daredevil again. At her talk, she says, I've been thinking a lot about projected personas. A projected persona is the idea of creating another self. She uses the example of social media profiles or superheroes wearing masks. But this also applies

to Wilson Fisk. When the original show started, he hid behind his secrecy. And now he hides behind his public face, a kind of mask that most famous people wear. Matt and Heather talk about taking a vacation to Belize, and I hope that's not a euphemism like it is in Breaking Bad. Belize? Yeah, Belize. You know, where Mike went to. At the cemetery, we meet Commissioner Gallo, and he is a new character invented for this show. But it would be super cool if he was related to Jake Gallo, the punisher of Nueva York from the year 2009. See, Jake and his father were cops, so it could be a family tradition that was passed down from Gallo. So Gallo stands up to Fisk saying, You're not a mayor who loves this city. You're a whiny kid who wants everyone to love him.

And I love this word choice because when somebody once asked Vincent Dinofrio to describe Kingpin in two words, he said, child and monster. Later on we get confirmation that Fisk really is still a gangster when he uses a sandwich to blackmail Gallo, threatening to reveal his illegitimate son. Now, the metaphor here is clear. The commissioner can eat, well if he follows orders from Fisk. Later, when Vanessa and Wilson go to therapy, notice the gap between them, showing how she is literally distant from her estranged husband.

Now, their relationship really does come down to one problem. She likes running things, and she's good at it, much like Walter White and makes her feel alive. So, can their relationship survive with two kingpins trying to run the show? See, it's all part of how this show keeps revisiting this concept of duality. Heather talked about people wearing masks. There's also Matt and his double identity. and the mural showing Kingpin's two faces.

But we also see characters who are reflections of each other. Matt reflects Wilson Fiske. Daredevil reflects bullseye. But Hector and Wilson are also reflections of each other because they're both estranged from their wives. In both cases, the estrangement comes from their desire to make the city a better place, but by very different means. Hector says he started a help because of people who have gone missing.

Someone's got to protect the streets. People are going missing. No one seems to care. And I'm wondering if these missing people could be the victims of the city's new secret serial killer, Mews. See, I think Mews will likely be the person who draws Matt out of retirement. As we see, Matt can't let go of that horn, that part of himself that was broken the night foggy died. Matt is lingering outside of his old church listening to the people inside. And in this moment, he's probably thinking of Father Latham, the priest who raised him who died in season three.

Or maybe he's listening for his mother, Maggie, a nun who works in this same church. Now, yes, Matt is eavesdropping, but in the comics, Matt has also used this ability to listen to people's prayers so he can step in and save people. It's another metaphor that shows how Matt Murdoch sees himself as an instrument of God, literally somebody who can answer prayers. And side note, when he's almost run over at this light, it seems like a callback to young Matt saving Stan Lee in the Ben Affleck Daredevil movie. So when Matt finally tracks down the cops, notice how this one has a Punisher skull tattoo. Now, this is actually a fairly common tattoo for police officers and members of the military in real life. But with this guy, I'm one.

if there are cops who are actually working for Frank Castle, or at the very least, who admire him and are executing criminals. This could be what Hector was interrupting on the subway when he'd stepped onto the platform. Now, if this is true, I think this would be a neat addition to the show, because this would further blur the line between the criminals and the cops, and it would actually be a fascinating topic for the show to explore. I mean, we tolerate Matt as a vigilante attorney, but a vigilante cop seems like a bigger subversion of the justice system.

And just like these cops, Matt loves violence. In fact, he likely outs himself as Daredevil when he beats these guys up, which could actually be setting up the incredible run in the comics when his identity was revealed to the public, and then he had to sue to clear his name in the press. And right here, notice how when the blood falls, we hear a slight echo of the original theme. Now, like I said at the top of the video, that theme was centered around blood. Blood is how Matt reads people. Blood is also tied to the blood of Christ, and of course the violence that Matt visited.

on criminals. So this drop of spilled blood is there to wake up the devil inside of him. The ending song is Get Free by the Vines, which is fitting because, after a year of sobriety, Matt is finally free from his own constraints. He's left with just his shattered glasses, symbolic of how his normal life as Matt Murdoch is about to end, and the devil is coming back out to play. And I should also note that there is a fake foggy death in the comics. After he visits Matt in prison, he is shanked, and Matt can no longer hear his heartbeat. But it turns out that he is actually in witness protection, out another life. So the show could actually repeat that storyline. But in the original show,

they also introduced a crazy ninja cult that resurrected people from the dead. So if the story was good enough, they could bring foggy back. Well, guys, what did you think about the first two episodes of Daredevil Born again? Let me know in the comments below or in our free-to-join Discord server. And if it's your first time here, please subscribe and smash that bell for alerts. For Screen Crush, I'm Ryan Erie. Thank you.