Even before the creative overhaul that took the new Daredevil revival in a more serialized direction, this series was always planned with around 18 episodes in mind. That makes “Straight to Hell” a natural midpoint for this story — a dark, Empire Strikes Back-y conclusion where all seems lost, but the resistance lives on. And though it may deny us the catharsis of watching the good guys get a real win or the bad guys face any comeuppance whatsoever, that choice will only make it more satisfying when Daredevil does one day take down Kingpin. Besides, we still get to see the Punisher guiltlessly kill a bunch of dirty cops.
The episode begins by confirming that Vanessa hired Dex to kill Foggy and his client. Matt knows this in his gut now, but he just sounds like a crazy person while ranting to Heather and Kirsten in the hospital. Kirsten at least has some helpful information to offer: Foggy was planning to file a motion to dismiss before he died. But Heather is still extremely skeptical of Matt’s warnings about Fisk, which is becoming quite frustrating to watch.
Now that we’re on the topic, what exactly is Heather bringing to this show? Her only other appearance in this finale is near the end when Fisk chooses her as his new Commissioner of Mental Health. That ensures her tensions with Matt over Fisk will continue in season two, but I can’t say I’m looking much forward to that. I’d rather Heather get on Matt’s side and learn the truth about his double identity if she’s going to remain a viable romantic option and a significant part of the show. This is by far the most serious and legitimate relationship Matt has ever had, but we don’t get to see them truly connect very often. When Karen Page shows up later in the episode, it’s a reminder of how much more honest and lived-in that relationship is, whether it ever turns romantic again or not.
Fisk, meanwhile, does not feel overly grateful to Matt for saving his life. In fact, he’s treating this as a perfect opportunity to eliminate a longtime enemy. But by the time Buck shows up to the hospital and the power grid fails, Matt is headed home — where Frank Castle is waiting, happy to help handle the Task Force goons waiting just outside. (Karen called and asked Frank to look after Matt when she heard Dex escaped prison.) Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead don’t film this fight in one long take like they did with the virtuosic Josie’s brawl in the premiere, but it still feels like classic Daredevil. That includes Matt and Frank disagreeing, as usual, about Matt’s no-kill rule, which Frank is happy to flout. Then again, Matt’s whole apartment eventually gets blown up by a grenade, so anyone Matt made sure to leave unconscious is also dead now.
Karen makes her grand entrance, pulling up and taking Matt and Frank to safety, and for a moment these three become a strange love triangle. But beyond a vaguely sexy conversation about Matt listening to Karen’s heartbeat, Matt and Karen are focused on the task at hand: searching a storage space for files on the case that got Foggy killed. Karen finds them and reveals that the Red Hook Port is entirely exempt from jurisdiction, freeing the Fisks up to launder money and generally operate outside the law. Foggy didn’t realize the implications of the case, but Vanessa knew.
Indeed, Fisk is in full tyrant mode now, not even pretending to care about the law. He causes the blackout to justify sealing the city, demanding the Task Force hunt down all vigilantes without due process. He also seemingly has the full cooperation of everyone on his team, which is more surprising in some cases than others. Daniel has already shown his dark side, and here he’s a natural at strongarming the city council into support for Fisk’s fascistic Safer Street initiative. If anyone doesn’t agree, they’ll be added to an enemies list, and the team will “make arrangements” to deal with them.
Sheila is more of a reluctant participant in all this crime and corruption, and I do wish we could’ve spent more time with her to directly witness the moment she consciously realized the depth of Fisk’s evil and chose to stick by his side anyway. Then again, maybe this is that moment: Sheila records her chat with Commissioner Gallo and immediately plays it for Fisk, revealing that Gallo is conspiring against him. She could’ve taken a stand, but she didn’t.
Still, the most shocking turn in this finale is what happens after Buck delivers Gallo to Fisk. Gallo correctly surmises that Fisk will never not be Kingpin, and so Fisk proves it. In plain view of Sheila and some of his trustiest soldiers, Fisk kills Gallo — not by shooting him or even beating him to death like he normally might, but by crushing his skull and essentially ripping his head apart with his bare hands. This is the Fisk of early Daredevil, the man who decapitated a Russian gangster by bashing his head repeatedly with a car door.
And … that’s about it! There’s no real climax to this episode, necessarily; most of the craziness happens in the middle, and the final act is more about establishing the dark new reality for people living under martial law in Fisk’s New York. In fact, Matt and Fisk don’t even directly interact again after the former takes a bullet for the latter. Matt and Karen do show up to the port, but he doesn’t let his desire for revenge get the best of him. As she points out, going in now would be suicide, and there would be no justice for Foggy or for this city. They’ll need to come back with an army.
That’s our setup for season two, and I have to say, I’m pretty excited. “Straight to Hell” feels more like the old Daredevil than pretty much any other episode in this season besides the first, and that’s not just because of the presence of Karen Page. It’s the character drama, the noirish tone, and the exploration of faith. Much of this season didn’t quite live up to my highest hopes for a revival, but it started strong and ended strong. Now that we really know what Born Again is about — now that the show has dealt with the vestiges of its pre-overhaul self and honed in on a good visual aesthetic — I have faith that season two will be an improvement.
Born Again has been a show at war with itself, with two different versions jockeying for dominance. That dichotomy parallels Matt’s journey in a way; he has lightness and darkness inside him, but Karen and Foggy loved him for him, even after seeing both sides. As Matt comes to terms with his inner darkness, the show itself is coming to terms with its darkness. I know the season is ending, but it feels like Daredevil is just now coming back.
Devil in the Details
• “Why would you take a bullet for that asshole?” “That is a good question.” This is as far as the episode goes in explaining Matt’s questionable impulse from the last episode, but I appreciate the interaction anyway.
• Nice beat when Frank quietly says, “Stay safe” after Karen and Matt have already left.
• Officer Cole North, who killed Hector Ayala, is one of the guys left to die in Matt’s apartment.
• Cool to see Frank face down some of his Task Force imitators at the port, even if he’s still in their clutches at the end (along with Jack Duquesne!). But that post-credits scene suggests he’s already breaking free.
• I just really wish we could’ve seen Powell die. He seemed like the perfect minor antagonist to go at this point. But oh well, next year.
• No BB Urich, but hopefully she’ll link up with Matt and his army.
• Curious about Vanessa’s role moving forward. Not sure I expected her to fully turn on Fisk at any point, but I liked that the schism between them allowed her to get more screen time to herself. In this finale, she’s back in a quiet supportive-partner role.
• I like that Matt’s final voiceover touches on his relationship with God again. More Catholicism in season two, please? I know not everyone agrees, but I think that’s such a core part of the character’s identity, and it feels weird to get so little of it in a show called “Born Again” (even if season three already mostly adapted the actual comic of the same name).
• There’s plenty from the current political moment to read into Born Again, and I have to say, Fisk’s final speech kind of unnerved me in a way it might not have a year ago.
• Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place” is a perfect song to end the season on, and perhaps to end any season on. (For All Mankind used it at the end of its third season.)
All seems lost after the Fisks shut down the city, which is a perfect setup for season two.
