With Daredevil: Born Again season 2 finally beginning, fans are eager to return to the Kitchen. Daredevil has been a fan favorite character ever since the release of the Netflix series in 2015, gaining a large following that has been eager to see him in the MCU. Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) has made a few cameos in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk, but Born Again is his official reintroduction to the cinematic universe. With such an anticipated show, it's no wonder that The Man Without Fear is returning with a second season.
Before you tune in for new episodes every Tuesday, here is a recap of what you might have forgotten about season 1. Everything from important storylines to essential characters. Catch up on season 1 with this easy guide and get ready to jump into season 2.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again season 1.
Daredevil's official return to the MCU begins with the shocking death of his best friend, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson). Out to celebrate a case he's about to win, Foggy is gunned down by Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) outside of Josie's Bar. His sudden demise starts the show off on a tragic note and gives us one of the most brutal, emotionally charged fight scenes we've seen in Daredevil. Matt and Bullseye take their fight up to the roof while Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) stays with Foggy on the sidewalk, willing him to stay with her. Matt shoves Bullseye off the roof, listening to the sound of his friend's heartbeats stop. It's an emotional start to the show that packs so much into the first 15 minutes.
One year later, Matt and Karen are still reeling from this loss. Matt has given up the mantle of Daredevil in hopes that he can make the legal system more effective, and Karen has left New York for San Francisco. Without Foggy, they're a broken team, and each needs time to heal on their own.
With the old gang fractured, Born Again leans in heavily to Matt's roles as a lawyer. With his firm, Matt tries to prove to himself that the legal system can make true change, not the work done by vigilantes. When he's not working, Matt is attempting to prioritize a normal adult life. He begins dating Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), a therapist and author set up with him by his coworker Kirsten (Nikki M. James).
Matthew is not the only one trying to make change in New York. Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) is back in town and has announced his candidacy for mayor. Met with mixed opinions, New Yorkers seem unsure of his true intentions - is he here to help the city or just another criminal endeavor? Surprising to no one, Fisk wins the election, determined to hit the ground running with his ideas for the city.
New vigilantes in the public eye
With Daredevil gone, there's been a small rise in new vigilantes running around the city. Videos of masked crime fighters like White Tiger and the Swordsman have circulated the internet, raising the question of the roles vigilantes should play in society.
Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes) finds himself in trouble when he attempts to break up a fight in which a cop accidentally dies. Arrested and denounced as a cop killer, Ayala's only hope at freedom is Matthew. In a lengthy and heated court trial, Matt argues on the basis of Ayala's good deeds for New York, revealing him to be the vigilante known as White Tiger. With his identity exposed and new witnesses able to testify, Ayala is charged not guilty for the crime and walks free. Unfortunately, when he takes on the mask of White Tiger, he is shot in an alleyway.
With the sudden death of Hector Ayala and at the behest of his young niece Angela, Matt investigates who might have killed him. At the crime scene, he finds a bullet casing with a familiar logo engraved on it - the Punisher's skull. Fans of the original Netflix shows were eager to see the return of Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), and his reintroduction to the series did not disappoint. In a heavy interaction with the Punisher, Matthew was finally able to reckon with his unresolved grief over Foggy's death.
Mayor Fisk
Wilson Fisk is quickly learning that life as mayor is not as easy as he thought it would be. As Kingpin, he was accustomed to a level of fear that expedited any order he wished and the security of his connections to the seedy criminal underground of New York. But as mayor, his plans are stopped by bureaucracy and public opinion. The change he wishes to implement in his city is not immediate, but that is only one of his concerns. His marriage with Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) is another priority that proves to be slow and challenging.
In his absence, Vanessa has taken over his criminal dealings, proving to be a skilled leader in the underground scene. With Fisk returning, Vanessa finds herself unsure of her relationship with Wilson or his plans for the city. Additionally, it was revealed that Vanessa had an affair with a man named Adam, who has now disappeared. The pair takes their issues to couples therapy, working with Heather on the various issues that stand between them.
BB Urich (Genneya Walton), the niece of reporter Ben Urich, interviews New Yorkers on their thoughts on Fisk. She seeks to display the myriad of opinions the city holds about the new mayor, eventually earning the opportunity to speak with Fisk himself. Unfortunately, her probing questions into his marriage with Vanessa end their meeting short.
The call to return
Matt finds himself returning to aspects of his life as Daredevil. He becomes a bit more reckless, taking on some of his vigilante qualities while remaining Matt Murdock. When an armed robbery holds a bank hostage, Matt places himself in the middle, trying to apprehend the criminals as a civilian. With the help of Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapur), the father of Kamala Khan, A.K.A. Ms. Marvel, Matt's able to foil the criminals' plans.
A new villain emerges on the scene, kidnapping New Yorkers and using their blood to create anti-Fisk graffiti art. The Muse, as he's called, is a threat to the city and a pain in Fisk's side. 60 people have been reported missing, and their blood has been used for 12 politically charged murals that spring up around town.
Angela Ayala is determined to figure out who killed her uncle, even if it puts her in danger. She runs into the Muse, who knocks her out and begins to take her blood. Hector's widow calls Matt that she hasn't heard from Angela in a while. Unsure if the cops would be able to do anything, Matt takes matters into his own hands and suits up as Daredevil. After a brutal fight with Muse, Daredevil is able to save Angela's life and brings her to the hospital.
Marriage troubles for Wilson and Vanessa Fisk
Wilson and Vanessa have been working hard on their marriage. Their routine meetings with Heather allow for the couple to air out their issues, but there's one underlying question that plagues their marriage - where is Adam? It is revealed to the audience that Fisk has imprisoned Adam in a cell, visiting him occasionally to taunt or harm him. On one visit, he gives Adam an axe to presumably make it a fairer fight, but Fisk is hard to beat. He easily overpowers Adam, explaining why he's been sporting bloody knuckles all season.
Wilson decides to come clean to Vanessa, revealing to her that he had imprisoned her lover Adam. Fisk explains why he did what he did, appealing to Vanessa that he wants them to be how they were with no obstacles in their way. When Adam pleads to Vanessa, she shoots him several times, ending this chapter of the Fisks' marriage troubles.
The fight against muse
Fisk is not pleased at Daredevil's return. Their past threatens to undermine the plans Fisk is setting out to accomplish. Vigilantes are on the minds of New Yorkers, and the return of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen brings many mixed reactions. He creates a new task force to fight against Muse at his command.
Heather takes on a new client, Bastian Cooper (Hunter Doohan). He begins to tell her that the city is now seeing him for who he is. When his nose starts to bleed, Bastian takes out the Muse mask, revealing to Heather his true identity. This is where he kidnaps Heather and takes her to his lair with the intention of murdering her like his other victims. Daredevil figures out she's been taken and infiltrates the lair at the same time that Fisk's special task force arrives as well. The Muse and Daredevil fight, but Heather's the one who shoots the Muse.
Kingpin pins the victory against Muse on his task force, but BB Urich released a vlog of witnesses who saw Daredevil at the scene. She's forced to remove the video and change the story.
The return of Bullseye
In the year since he killed Foggy, Bullseye has been in solitary confinement on a life sentence. Upon being transferred to general confinement, he reaches out to Matt. He wants to talk, which brings back all the memories of Foggy's death right back to the forefront of Matt's mind. Matt begins to question if Fisk was involved in Foggy's murder. With this chance to see Bullseye again, Matt goes to the prison to talk, which quickly escalates into Bullseye goading Matt into attacking him.
Matt slams Bullseye's head against the table, loosening his tooth. He's escorted to the infirmary to be stitched up, but he has other plans. Bullseye spits out his loose tooth into a guard's eye, undoing his hand restraints, and killing the guard and doctor. Dressed in a guard's uniform, Bullseye escapes the prison on his new mission to kill Fisk.
At a gala hosted by Fisk, all the major characters are present. Matt seeks this opportunity to speak with Heather, who has complicated opinions about vigilantes like Daredevil. BB hopes to infiltrate Fisk's inner circle to learn more about his true intentions for her vlog. On the rooftop, Bullseye watches Fisk through his scope, waiting for the moment to shoot. Fisk taunts Matt, even going as far as to insinuate to Heather why Matt is so interested in vigilantes, but he's unable to reveal more. Bullseye takes his shot, but Matt jumps in front of the mayor, taking the bullet meant to claim Fisk's life.
The final showdown
In the season's finale, all secrets are revealed to the audience. While Matt and the viewers believed that Fisk was somehow behind Foggy's death, it turns out it was Vanessa all along. During the time she was running Fisk's business, Vanessa tasked Bullseye with a favor in exchange for his release from prison. The last case Foggy had been working on involved a thief Vanessa needed, and she sent Bullseye to retrieve the thief, killing Foggy in the process.
In the hospital, Matt is being treated for the bullet he took. The drugs pumping through him make him believe that Heather is actually Karen, which his coworker Kirsten tries to play off. With his senses starting to come back, Matt asks Kirsten to look into the last case Foggy was working on before he died.
Fisk tells his task force that lethal measures are required to staunch the rise of vigilantes in the city. He orders a hit on Matt, sending someone to kill him in his hospital room. Luckily for Matt, the power grid goes out right before he can be harmed, allowing him to escape. Matt seeks out Frank, needing his help to take down the Task Force and take the city back from Fisk.
The streets are getting chaotic. Fisk's Task Force is causing mayhem in the darkness, shooting non-vigilantes carelessly. BB reports what's happening, showing innocents being gunned down as a part of Fisk's Safer Streets Initiative. A grenade hits Matt's apartment, but that's not the only shocking development - Karen arrives on the scene, here to help Matt.
Unfortunately, the tides have shifted towards Fisk. Frank is nabbed by the Task Force and imprisoned in Fisk's personal cells, alongside the Swordsman. He asks Heather to be his commissioner on mental health, drawing her to his side and away from Matt. His Safer Streets Initiative puts the city under martial law, outlawing all vigilante activity. It seems for now that Fisk has the upper hand.
The battle is too big for Daredevil. Matt rallies his small group of allies, promising to the audience that he'll be back with more help in season 2 if he wants a chance at saving New York.
The trailers for Daredevil: Born Again season 2 give a promising insight to what's to come. From characters like Frank and Karen sticking around to reintroductions like with Jessica Jones, season 2 looks to be full of nods to the original Netflix series.
Daredevil seems to get a new look with a comic-accurate 'Blackout' suit. Action-packed and gritty, the trailer reflects the next arc of the show's progression. We'll see soon enough how Fisk and Daredevil come to butt heads again and fight over the city once more.
Daredevil: Born Again is available to stream on Disney+ with new episodes coming out on Tuesdays.