The devil works hard, but Spoiler warnings work harder. Read either if you haven’t watched the last episode of “Daredevil: Born again”.
Is it possible that we have looked back the Netflix series “Daredevil” through rose tinged glasses? Controversial, I know. I will pay these charges, Natch, because I have never been so high in the first place; Originally, I hit the series after season 1 and I only returned to make a good marathon in the head of “Born Again”. (For what it’s worth, I would say Season 3 was really up to the media threw After two relatively struck or missing seasons.) What constantly frustrated me, however, is how the different writers and showrunners approached the dichotomy in the heart of Matt Murdock by Charlie Cox. Yes, the different sequences of bare action and the fighting of ruthless corridors have stolen a large part of the spotlight, and rightly so. But whenever I think back to the highest tops of the Netflix show, which first comes to mind No His violent beats like the devil of Hell’s Kitchen at night – is his incessant efforts to work within the limits of the system as a unpretentious lawyer.
Something tells us that the showrunner and writer of “Born Again” Dario Scardapane feels in the same way, because “Daredevil: Born again” shone (at least) at least) by emphasizing man rather than the mask. This was the most obvious in episode 3, which improved in the Netflix program by devoting an entire hour to the trial of Hector Ayala / White Tiger (played by the late Kamar de Los Reyes). Do not forget to return in the first season when Matt delivered This passionate and poignant monologue “A man is dead” To a delighted jury, raising questions of morality and hard facts in a world with shades of gray while being forced to defend a person of, ah, a dubious moral? This is precisely the type of sequence in which Cox shone and which gave viewers an in -depth overview of Matt as a character … But we did not have enough of these scenes in the rest of the series.
“Born Again” is finally badly enr for by transforming his central exploration of vigilantism into a convincing audience drama.
Episode 3 of Daredevil: Born again puts vigilant in trials
If you thought that Daredevil had had trouble, taking punishment from criminals as often as he does, which pale almost compared to the legal challenge that Matt Murdock is confronted throughout episode 3 of “Born Again”. In a criminal affair that everyone by Ada Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) to close the allies and the personal investigator Cherry (Clark Johnson) warns him to get involved, Matt rushes headlong in a trial that will not simply or break his client Hector Ayala. The result will inevitably serve as a referendum on the activities and the legal status of all vigilantes around the world. No pressure!
After having reluctantly returned to his own vigilant paths at the end of the second episodeBeating some corrupt police officers in a bloody pulp in an act of self -defense, Matt clearly has personal issues invested in the outcome of this particular trial. Did he see the reflection of himself while pleading in the name of Hector? The desperate defense he goes up to erase the right name of his client an attempt to erase his own conscience? These are only a few of the fleshy ideas and themes that the episode (directed by Michael Cuesta and written by Jill Blankenship) has in mind, and he finds the most fascinating way to explore these concepts.
How? Not by all the usual punches and the action of superheroes, but by increasing the tension by the arguments of the courtroom, the testimony and the truth have its day in court. In fact, the episode does everything possible to tease a prototypical piece that we would touch with a program like this, before zigting intelligently when we expected him to Zag. The whole defense is based on the testimony of the key witness Nicky Torres (Nick Jordan), the man attacked by the cops and Who Hector was trying to save this fateful night. The only problem is to take him to the courtroom in one room, despite a whole police army which prefers to see him dead. In the best bait and switch of the episode, Cherry leads the cops on a joyful prosecution and seems to be thwarted … Only so that Nicky arrives safely, without the need for last minute heroism.
The white tiger scenario ends with a controversial punch
Of course, it would not be an episode of “Daredevil” if everything had happened 100% at the end. There is undoubtedly no more tortured superheroes than Daredevil (with the exception of the perpetually dark Batman, at least), and episode 3 of “Born Again” underlines how a victory can still turn into a net loss. Unfortunately, he does it thanks to the death of a fairly essential character of Marvel Comics who could end up rubbing many people in the wrong direction.
It all starts to go in the form of a pear when Matt feels the case turning against him after his star witness refused to cooperate on the stand. Forced to put Hector on the stand, the defense team tries to convince the jury on its side of history. When this does not seem to be sufficient, Matt takes measures in his own hand and “out” Hector as the white tiger in front of the courtyard. Once he justifies this aggressive decision to the judge and earns permission to move forward, his strategy moves to the highlighting of all the undeniable good that Hector made in the streets of New York as a white tiger. Again, we are entitled to one of the classic and brand of the lawyer. Few actors in the franchise can transmit seriousness to the pure heart and coxthat the creative team of the episode understands and fully uses their advantage.
Matt’s actions take place even better than they could have hoped for and Hector is recognized not guilty of any of the accusations … But, tragically, the victory turns out to be short-lived when it is murdered in the streets by what certainly seems to be the Punisher himself. It’s an ignominy end for a hero with a serious importance in the comicsAnd the one who will undoubtedly prove to be a divisor between the fans. In terms of its impact on Matt, however, it is just to wonder if this intestinal twist will mark a brutal passage to work in the system with outright alert and once again like Daredevil. Even if this is the case, at least Matt (and the creators of “Born again”) can say that they have tried the dramatic road of the courtroom.
New episodes of “Daredevil: Born Again” Stream on Disney + every Tuesday.
