Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again season 1, episodes 1 & 2
Daredevil: Born Again marks the return of Charlie Cox in a lead role as Matt Murdock. After a few cameos and guest roles in other Marvel Cinematic Universe projects over the past few years, Cox is once again the star of his own project. He leads Daredevil: Born Again‘s cast, which features many returns of stars from the original Netflix Daredevil series. That connection to the original show can be felt in the first two episodes of the MCU’s latest series in some exciting and shocking ways.
Appearing alongside Matt Murdock are Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Bullseye, Vanessa Fisk, and Wilson Fisk. All of them return from the original Netflix series to provide a strong connection between Daredevil season 3 and Daredevil: Born Again‘s story. From there, the MCU opens up Matt Murdock’s worlds in surprising new ways, creating a new status quo for the series that is grounded in years of relationships and storylines. The show sets up the rest of the season to pack quite the punch, and here is our recap and ending explainer for Daredevil: Born Again episodes 1 & 2.
Daredevil: Born Again Episodes 1 And 2 Recap
The MCU Series Starts With A Bang
- Daredevil: Born Again episode 1 starts with Matt, Foggy, and Karen leaving their office — Nelson, Murdock & Page — and talking about how they have evolved.
- They meet Kirsten McDuffie and other friends at Josie’s, their favorite bar from Netflix’s Daredevil, to celebrate Cherry’s retirement.
- Karen asks Matt to leave the bar with her, but he can’t because of the Friends Code.
- Kirsten asks Foggy why he left a real firm to be in a storefront.
- White Tiger debuts in the MCU, with the character seen stopping a bodega robbery on a TV in the bar.
- Foggy’s client is in danger and Matt suits up as Daredevil to save him.
- Bullseye shows up in the shadows, with his glove having the villain’s classic design from the comics.
- Bullseye only wanted to find out where Foggy was, and without Daredevil there, he arrives at Josie’s and shoots Foggy.
- Daredevil comes in swinging and tackles Bullseye just before he shoots Karen as well.
- Foggy bleeds on the ground while Daredevil and Bullseye have a major fight inside Josie’s.
- Foggy dies, and as Matt starts crying, Bullseye smiles before he is thrown off the roof by Daredevil.
- Cherry, who is retiring, sees Matt crying after he takes his mask off.
- A heavily injured Bullseye wakes up on the ground.
- Matt throws his mask away and decides to stop being Daredevil.
- Matt is shown sipping coffee a year later and it is clear he is rich now.
- Vanessa Fisk leads a meeting of the Five Families before Kingpin arrives and everybody leaves.
- Kingpin tells his wife that he cannot have anything illegal tied to him or in his name at the moment.
- Matt enters his new law firm, Murdock & McDuffie, and it is revealed that he has not heard from Karen in some time.
- Matt testifies against Bullseye at the hearing over Foggy’s murder.
- Bullseye is sentenced to 11 life sentences to be served consecutively.
- Karen talks about how she is living in San Francisco.
- Matt listens to Fisk talking on TV, where he declares his candidacy for mayor of New York City.
- Matt meets Heather Glenn for coffee after Kirsten sets them up on a date they did not know about.
- Matt asks Fisk to talk at a diner, where Kingpin says he had nothing to do with Foggy’s death.
- They make threats in case the other steps out of line.
- Matt and Heather have a dinner date.
- Fisk is elected mayor.
- Fisk tells Vanessa he knows about Adam.
- People celebrate Fisk’s win on the streets. (End of episode 1)
- Kingpin addresses the city during New Year and says it does not need vigilantes, mentioning The Punisher, Spider-Man, and Daredevil, though not saying their actual names.
- Hector Ayala stops two guys from beating another man, with one of the aggressors involuntarily falling in front of a train.
- They are revealed to be undercover cops and Hector is taken to prison.
- Matt hears cops beating Hector Ayala and trying to coerce him to sign a confession.
- Fisk leaves his car and tells workers to consider the permit they were waiting for approved; the population applauds Fisk.
- Daniel arranges a Fisk interview with BB Urich.
- A mysterious character is sitting for Heather’s talk about her new book and asks if she is taking new clients.
- Cherry finds Hector’s White Tiger costume after Matt asked him to search his home.
- Fisk threatens the police commissioner to help him by using a photo of his secret child.
- Matt motions to suppress the fact that Hector is White Tiger from the court.
- Wilson and Vanessa show up for confidential couple’s therapy with Heather, which Matt does not know about.
- Matt gets his star witness out just before corrupt cops arrive to murder him, then proceeds to talk back against the cops, is beaten up, and brutally defeats them in a fight after a gun is pulled on him.
- One of the cops has a Punisher tattoo on his wrist. (End of episode 2)
Foggy Nelson’s Death Explained
Why Bullseye Killed Foggy
As had long been speculated, Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson dies in Daredevil: Born Again‘s series premiere. He is killed by Wilson Bethel’s Bullseye, the main villain of Netflix’s Daredevil season 3. In the original series, while Wilson Fisk had made a pact to never touch Foggy or Karen as long as Matt did not hand Vanessa over to the police, Bullseye never made such a promise. In Daredevil: Born Again, Bullseye goes after Foggy’s client first, discovering where he is before heading there to kill him. Interestingly, even though Bullseye has a bigger hatred for Karen, his target was Foggy.
Why Karen And Matt Are No Longer Working Together
While Foggy dies in Daredevil: Born Again‘s first episode, the series could have continued with Matt and Karen working together and keeping their and Foggy’s dream — the Nelson, Murdock & Page law firm — alive. However, it is revealed that Matt shut himself off after Foggy’s death. Karen had also lost one of her best friends, and by isolating himself, Matt left her alone at the moment when she needed him the most. As a result of his actions, Karen left, and the two have not spoken since, even though he has tried to connect for over a year.
Everything That Changed During Daredevil: Born Again’s Time Jump
Karen Page
Having had a falling out with Matt after Foggy’s death, Karen returns a year later for Bullseye’s trial. She is no longer living in New York City, with Deborah Ann Woll’s character now residing in San Francisco. Even though a year has passed, there is still a lot of animosity between Karen and Matt due to how he was not there for her after Foggy’s death. Karen did not return any of Matt’s attempts to contact her in the year since Foggy died, and after briefly returning for the trial, she goes back home.
Matt Murdock
Matt’s life is very different from what it was like before Foggy’s death. The weight of not having been able to protect his best friend pulls Matt down. Even though he is now a very successful lawyer, having started the Murdock & McDuffie law firm with Kirsten McDuffie, Matt carries a sadness with him that does not go away. Matt is no longer Daredevil, which he even reinforces to Karen when they reunite. Criminal activity in the city has gone up after Daredevil went missing, but Matt shows no signs of wanting to come back.
Wilson Fisk
Wilson Fisk’s life has also changed in interesting ways. He spent some time healing from being shot in the face by Echo on Disney+’s Hawkeye. During that time, his wife, Vanessa, took over his criminal empire. When he reveals his intent to run for mayor, Vanessa is visibly displeased. Fisk and Matt have a conversation at a diner, catching up about how each other is doing. Fisk tells Matt that he has changed and is trying to help his city as a better man, while Matt assures him his days as Daredevil are behind, though threats still fly.
Who Is The Guy At Heather Glenn’s Book Signing
Matt Murdock’s new girlfriend, Heather Glenn, is an accomplished therapist. At a book signing event for her new release, the Marvel series focuses on a mystery character. He is played by Hunter Doohan, who is most famously known for his role as Tyler, the surprise villain of Netflix’s Wednesday season 1. Doohan’s character approaches Heather, telling her he is a huge fan and that he needs help. After asking Heather if she is taking on new clients, she gives the young man her email, hinting at his return in future episodes.
White Tiger’s MCU Story And Importance To Daredevil: Born Again Explained
The MCU Gets A New Superhero
With Matt Murdock not suiting up as Daredevil after Foggy’s death, White Tiger is responsible for adding superhero drama to the new MCU series. Hector Ayala did not have his suit or the amulet that gives him powers, but he rushed to a stranger’s help without thinking. Unknowingly, the two men beating the victim were undercover cops, and one of them fell in front of a speeding train accidentally while fighting Hector. Now, Matt has chosen to represent him, later discovering that the secret Hector was keeping from him was the fact he was White Tiger.
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White Tiger’s story could be what will eventually get Matt to come back as Daredevil. As the corrupt cops who Hector fought are saying there was no one else there before he arrived, Matt has to find the witness. He watches one of the cops to see when he will make a move. Matt reaches the witness and gives him directions to meet Cherry, his associate. Matt then thrashes the cops in plain clothes. That leads to a big reveal that one of them has a Punisher tattoo, a thread that will lead to Jon Bernthal’s return as Frank Castle.
Wilson Fisk’s NYC Mayor Campaign And Plan Explained
A Version Of Marvel Comics’ Devil’s Reign Seems In Order
Wilson Fisk’s mayoral campaign ended with him being elected. Daredevil: Born Again took some time to set up his staff, giving Fisk a more expanded role than in the original Netflix series. His main promises to the population are that he will get criminality back under control and that he hopes to cure the city of the diseases that are vigilantes. The latter seems to be his ultimate goal. After seeing his criminal empire toppled by Daredevil in the past, Fisk wants to rid New York of vigilantes, using his role as mayor to do so in Daredevil: Born Again.
Daredevil: Born Again episodes stream on Disney+ weekly every Tuesday.
Daredevil: Born Again
9/10
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Michael Cuesta, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Chris Ord