TV Recap: Matt Tries to Save and Old Foe in "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, Episode 5
Tensions have reached a new high at the start of this fifth episode of Daredevil: Born Again. Last week, Bullseye finally made his play, attacking the Mayor after his charity boxing match. Daredevil also got involved and stopped Fisk from killing Bullseye, but the result was a seemingly critical injury for Vanessa. Now, it's a safe bet Fisk will be on a rampage if his wife can't be saved.
The episode opens with the Fisks walking hand-in-hand on a beach. This is presumably happening in Vanessa's mind though as we soon see she is actually lying on stretcher with doctors scrambling to save her life. Later, Powell finds Fisk sitting next to Vanessa, who is still unconscious. Fisk tells Powell to keep Daredevil and Bullseye alive.
The AVTF desperately searches the city for the two vigilantes and Daredevil tries to keep Bullseye alive while evading them. Back in the hospital, Daniel gets a text from BB tell him to meet her by the vending machines. This surprises him because of course the location of Vanessa is being kept a secret from the press to avoid both a media circus and another attack. When he meets with her he tells her she is alive but in critical condition.
A renowned surgeon meets with Fisk before he tries to save Vanessa. We see flashbacks of Vanessa seeing, for the first time, the painting Wilson bought from her when they first met.
Daredevil and Bullseye remain on the run. The latter tries to convince the former to let him die, as he is struggling with the gunshot wound he sustained from Vanessa. Daredevil refuses though and forces him to keep going. We then get a flashback of Matt and Foggy meeting with a client, who as it turns out, knows Foggy from childhood. Foggy explains that this man, Ray, was the older brother of his childhood best friend. Matt and Foggy were told by their boss to get Ray to accept a plea deal and not have the case go to trial. Ray refuses though and tells them that the guys he worked with would kill him in prison.
The flashback also shows Fisk and his former right hand man, Wesley, who was killed by Karen in the events of Netflix's Daredevil series. He tells Fisk they have a problem with Ray, seemingly hearing he did not accept the plea deal. Back in present day, Fisk watches Vanessa's surgery and Daredevil and Bullseye argue again, but Daredevil keeps pushing.
The flashback brings us back to Matt and Foggy working in the District Attorney's office. They're ordered to work late, pouring over paperwork because they couldn't get Ray to take the deal. While working Foggy, finds an error with the warrant that led to Ray's arrest. They then spend a great deal of time debating the right thing to do and whether or not Ray should go free because of a mistake in the paperwork. Meanwhile, Wesley takes a phone call and tells Fisk about an asset they can hire to solve their problem of Ray potentially not going to prison. Fisk agrees.
In present day, Daniel sees a news report from outside the hospital announcing that Vanessa is in critical condition. Daniel immediately blames BB and starts to head off the media before Buck steps in and takes control of the situation. The media backs off and Buck offers to take Daniel for a hot dog. The surgeon informs Fisk that the surgery went well and that he is optimistic.
Vanessa's flashback sees her having the white painting hung at the front of her gallery before cutting to her and Wilson on the beach again. Daniel and Buck take a ride and Buck informs him they're going to Albany. It start to become apparent Buck is planning to punish Daniel for being the leak and Daniel start to grow skeptical. Buck has Daniel stop at a hardware store and heads inside. Daniel considers driving away, but decides against it. Eventually, Buck comes out from the store carrying a power saw and a shovel.
Fisk's flashback shows Wesley meeting with Buck and hiring him to kill Ray, who gets out of jail thanks to the help of Foggy and Matt. In present day, Daredevil gets Bullseye back to the church. In the flashback, Foggy meets Ray in his apartment and tries to give him money and a chance to start over. The two scenes mirror each other, as Foggy and Matt try to help guys who have cause them nothing but pain but are met with resistance. Foggy persists and gets Ray to accept the help, while Matt eventually gives in and decides to leave Bullseye behind as AVTF sweeps the building. As the flashback, sees Foggy explaining what he did to Matt, Daredevil stops to think twice about leaving his enemy behind. Foggy says they're off to Josie's to celebrate mercy and Daredevil returns to save Bullseye. Both vigilantes escape before AVTF catches up.
Daniel and Buck finally stop their car somewhere in the woods. Daniel begins pleading for his life as we again see the flashback to Buck coming for Ray. Buck tells Daniel to get out of the car and, in the flashback, enters Ray's apartment, only to find it empty. As Daniel becomes increasingly nervous, Buck opens the trunk of the car, revealing the saw and shovel he bought, along with a dead body, the body of the first mate from the Northern Star. In the flashback, Buck finds that Ray has left his apartment, seemingly taking Foggy's advice.
Daredevil get back to the Punisher's former hideout, carrying a now unconscious Bullseye on his shoulders. Karen looks in disbelief, seemingly unsure if she's willing to help Foggy's killer.
In the hospital, Vanessa wakes up with Wilson by her side. Wilson gets emotional in one of the most powerful moments of the series as the husband and wife are reunited. Later, Vanessa asks Wilson to tell the story of when they first met. He laughs when she tells him he vastly overpaid for the painting but loses his smile when she starts to ask him again to tell the story. Before she can get the question out, she freezes and her monitors begin to sound. Nurses rush in to help but in moments, she's gone. The episode comes to a close with the sound of waves from the beach Vanessa imagined herself and Wilson walking on.
It truly speaks to the quality of a product when a moment can make the audience feel such heartbreak for a character the have spent several seasons absolutely hating. The performances of both Vincent D'Onofrio and Ayelet Zurer are perfect when it comes to bringing the powerful, emotional scene to life. It's also a perfect ending because we know that things are about to go from bad to worse for the city of New York, and especially, for Daredevil.
The second season of Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+.