Dallas Film Now.

Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio square off again in Marvel’s action series. 

What does it mean to be a hero? The second season dives deeper than ever into trouble, turmoil, and turbulence in New York City. 

Daredevil: Born Again S2

The first episode is now streaming exclusively on Disney Plus, alongside all nine episodes of Season 1. Subsequent episodes in the eight-episode season will debut every Tuesday evening.

The first episode begins at night, as Daredevil (Charlie Cox) boards a cargo ship and confirms that it is loaded with illegal armaments, prompting the officers to follow orders and sink the ship, no matter that crew members are aboard. 

Directed by indie stalwarts Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, who have splendidly adapted their wonderful sense of visual storytelling to the world of Marvel television in Moon Knight and Loki, the first two episodes reflect the action-filled,  gritty, shadowy, unhurried tone that they employed for the three episodes they helmed Season 1 — see my review — which is markedly different than what they’ve done in their films and in the other Marvel series. 

Bathed in the lights of New York City, Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, and his one-time legal partner Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) are now romantic partners as well, which is just one way that writer/producer Dario Scardapane signals that, while some time has passed since Season 1, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) remains Mayor of New York City and is more determined than ever to capture Daredevil with his crueler-than-ever Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF) at his command. 

On the Mayor’s side, his wife Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) remains loyal, along with political expert Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevera), shadowy Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan), and eager young Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini), who is now Director of Communications. Matt Murdock’s girlfriend from last season, therapist Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), has now turned completely to the Dark Side by accepting Fisk’s appointment as the city’s Mental Health Commissioner. Former corrupt cop Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley), who was appointed to the AVTF by Fisk, is even more zealous and nasty about chasing down, beating or imprisoning any viewed under the extremely broad, ICE-like mandate that Fisk has given the AVTF. 

On Matt Murdock / Daredevil’s side, the ranks appear to be thinning out, but those who remain are more resilient than ever in their efforts to counteract the evil that Fisk and his AVTF are carrying out. His allies include Karen Page, of course, as well as his legal partner Kirsten Mcduffie (Nikki M. James), retired police officer Cherry (Clark Johnson), who is an investigator for the law firm, and BB Urich (Genneya Walton), a social media journalist who has been cultivating a relationship with the increasingly conflicted Daniel Blake. 

On paper, it may sound like a lot of characters to keep track of, but this season as a whole gives more emphasis to some more than others. In that way, it resembles an eight-book comic book series, with certain characters breaking out in individual episodes and then receding in others, standing by for still characters to have their moment in the spotlight. 

Even with all the numerous mini-character dramas that play out, rest assured that dynamic, explosive, bloody action will break out at unexpected moments, and the action itself will be blistering.

Indeed, two of the season’s best action sequences arrive after the first episode, and fit perfectly into the season’s overall narrative, which is better, stronger, and faster than Season 1. It digs even deeper into what it means to be a hero, and why villainy can fester and rise to power before you can blink. 

With scary resonance, Season 2 rips further into themes that define super-powered “heroes” and frightening villains. It does so in a meaningful, sometimes devastating manner, making for a highly-recommended season.