TV Recap: The Trial of Karen Page Begins in Penultimate Episode of "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2

Things have finally reached a boiling point in the city of New York following the death of Vanessa Fisk. With the resistance arching on City Hall and Fisk dealing with the loss of his wife, everything feels as though it is about to explode. And when things turned violent in the streets, Karen Page was taken by AVTF in the chaos. Now, while Daredevil has support from much of the city, he is going to have to find a way to get Karen back.

The episode opens with a look around the city the morning after the chaos. Notably, we can see the former Avengers tower in the skyline. It's unclear who owns it now after the events of Thunderbolts, but with Val's absent involvement in this story, it seems we can assume she no longer has that presence in New York. And if that is the case, what is her involvement with the New Avengers?

Daredevil listens to the noise around the city, presumably searching for Karen. Fisk checks Vanessa's jewelry case to find that one earring is missing. We saw Dr. Glenn put that earring in her bag last week. Before leaving Fisk's bedroom, we see the same rose next to Vanessa's side of the bed, only now it is dead and decaying. Perhaps this is a nod to the idea that Vanessa was the MCU's version of The Rose and we won't actually be seeing Fisk's son any time soon. Though, I would think it is still a possibility.

Karen surrenders her belongings before being put in a cell. Luckily for her though, it's a cell in a legitimate jail and not an AVTF holding facility. Fisk meets her in her cell and verbally attacks her, calling her a criminal. Karen shows that she's not afraid of him and he grabs her by the throat. Still, she taunts him, telling him he took it too far and the city knows it. He finally releases her and leaves, telling her to use her one phone call wisely.

After the title sequence, Charles wakes up to find Jessica Jones staring at him. She threatens to kill him for sending men to her home and Charles begs her not to. He turns a corner though and tells her he heard her powers aren't what they used to be. Charles then reminds her he is her only connection to Luke, confirming it is Luke Cage who agreed to work for him and Val. Charles tells her Luke is overseas. The conversation shifts to Fisk and Charles tells her he's no longer working with him and that the Governor wants him out. He goes on though to imply that Fisk is likely to try and have the Governor killed.

Jessica meets with Matt to tell him about the probable hit on the Governor. They also meet with Cherry, who tells Matt where Karen is being held. Before Matt can run off to rescue her though, Cherry stops him and tells her she is safe and was booked legitimately. Jessica asks Matt if he still plans to hit the precinct where Karen is being held and he tells her he might have another way. Jessica tells him she has to get home, removing herself from what's left of this fight.

Daredevil frees Bullseye and proposes a good deed for him to balance the scales. Bullseye tells him he can't make any promises, but seemingly accepts his offer.

Karen is met in her cell by officer Brett Mahoney, a friend in the precinct. He leads her outside, where Daredevil is waiting. They discuss their plan and realize the best way to beat Fisk is in court in what will surely be a very public trial. Matt tells her they're going to have to cross some lines to stop Fisk, just not the ones she thinks. Karen pushes back, but Matt assures her it's their best option. It seems Matt is ready to step back into the light.

Hochberg meets with Fisk to go over the charges against Karen and Fisk urges her to get her convicted of all of them. They're interrupted when Dr. Glenn enters the office and Fisk sends Hochberg away. Fisk shows Glenn the earring, seemingly knowing she took the other. She apologizes but Fisk cuts her off and allows her to take the earring, completing the set.

Karen arrives at the courthouse, led by Kirsten, who will be representing her. Meanwhile, Daniel and BB are still in Staten Island arguing over what BB has done and the danger she put both of them in. Daniel tells her Buck is waiting for him to deliver BB to him and she should be scared. He says he has a friend with a place they can hide but uses the opportunity to text Buck.

The trial begins and both Hochberg and Kirsten make their opening statements. Before the trial continues though, Kirsten announces she has co-counsel. Matt Murdock enters the courtroom, creating a stir in the audience. Fisk watches the trial on television, seeing Matt step back into the public eye. Matt and Kirsten question AVTF agents Powell and North, with Kirsten bringing up their attack on Matt's apartment from the end of season one. It becomes clear their goal is simply to expose Fisk's crimes and win the court of public opinion, as Kirsten hints that the cameras in the courtroom are serving as their jury.

The Governor makes a call to the Attorney General and tells him to get started on suspension paperwork for Fisk. Meanwhile, Daniel and BB arrive at their safe house. However, BB sees that Daniel is uneasy and questions him. He admits to her that he and Buck buried a body and then tells her he can't have anyone knowing he did that. She clearly understands that Daniel is actually about to deliver her to Buck and pulls back, questioning him again. Daniel thinks again about his decision and decides to let BB go instead.

As court adjourns, Matt realizes the AVTF isn't leaving. With the cameras off, is appears they plan to attack Matt and Kirsten. Police escort them to the parking garage but AVTF attacks them there. Matt is shot in the leg but they all get away.

At the Governor's mansion that night, we see a masked man sneak up on her. He grabs her and begins to choke her before two knives hit his arm and a third plants itself in his skull. Bullseye reveals himself to the Governor and gives her a salute. It appears that one good deed Daredevil proposed was saving the Governor's life.

Daniel meets with Buck, who sees that BB is not with him. Daniel tells him he doesn't know where she is and it becomes clear to Buck that he now has to kill Daniel. He attacks him and Daniel pleads with him to stop, but it doesn't appear that is going to happen.

Karen meets with Dr. Glenn for a court mandated psych evaluation. Karen refuses to answer her questions and instead steers the conversation to Matt, without actually saying his name. She clearly tries to get a rise out of Glenn, who starts to become hostile, bringing up Karen's troubled past. Karen breaks first and brings up the fact that Vanessa had Foggy killed as Glenn starts to see another hallucination of Muse. Glenn snaps and slaps Karen, who laughs in her face. It appears Glenn is letting violent tendencies creep into her mind at the thought of Muse. She storms off, leaving Karen with a smile on her now bleeding face.

Buck continues to try and force information out of Daniel but he refuses to give BB up. Buck point his gun at Daniel and offers him a last chance. Meanwhile, Matt crawls into a church and prays. Daniel asks Buck how long it will be before he's the one lying on the floor with a gun pointed at his head. Matt prays in voiceover as we see Jessica enter the church. It seems she is back in the game. As the prayer ends, Buck pulls the trigger, killing Daniel. Before he leaves, Buck looks back, seemingly lamenting the fact that he had to kill a young man who was becoming his friend.

It's funny the way things can seem to be trending up for Daredevil and his resistance and yet this series can still manage to hit you with a gut punch at the end of an episode. Karen got the upper hand on Dr. Glenn, the trial is giving them a chance to expose Fisk in the public eye and Fisk's team is killing each other. And yet, the big takeaway is that Daniel turned out to be a good man and now he is dead. It's a tough pill to swallow before heading into next week's finale.

Season two of Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+.