Daredevil: Born Again suddenly turned into the Bullseye Murder Hour this week – and I couldn't be happier.
My feelings on Born Again have been clear from the start: the Disney Plus series, both its Frankensteined first season and its sophomore second season, have been disjointed and a pale imitation of Netflix's exceptional three-season run.
That all changed with the second season's fourth episode, 'Gloves Off', which puts Wilson Bethel's Bullseye firmly in its crosshairs as the marksman blitzed his way through the runtime, leaving bodies stacked high, while still finding time for a duel with Daredevil and a banana milkshake.
The momentum, present from the Billy Joel-backed diner cold open that showcased Bullseye as a twisted superhero-of-sorts, is something that has been sorely lacking from Born Again so far. For too long, it's been mired in memories of the Netflix original and a stale Kingpin/Daredevil Mexican standoff that leaves both sides with their fists unbloodied, dancing around an inevitable showdown.
Bullseye isn't that guy. Wilson Fisk may have swiped the 'Wildcard' moniker for his boxing entrance, but Dex is all that and more. In one fell swoop, he has accelerated the storyline from predictable beginnings to a now uncertain middle stretch that should propel Born Again's second season to a thrilling climax.
Shots fired
It doesn't hurt, either, that the glassy-eyed Wilson Bethel performance is among the MCU's best in recent years. Psychopaths are a dime a dozen in Marvel's universe, but they have rarely been as believable as Dex's murderous intentions. In one flash of non-Bullseye brilliance this week, Mr. Charles opined to Kingpin about how you should always have a plan for leaving a room alive. Bullseye is very much that guy – and is quickly becoming the MVP of a series that felt quickly in danger of leaving him behind.
Now, he has become essential – not least because he actually injects some creativity and imagination into fight scenes that were effectively still smarting from the high peaks of Daredevil's oners in both the Netflix show's first and third seasons. When projectiles can reflect and ricochet with as much impact as a well-placed skull-cracking elbow, it suddenly adds a lot more to Born Again's repertoire than some of its more inconsistent, non-violent aspects – the slow crawl of the vigilante uprising and the B.B. Report's twisted spin-off among them.
So, when Bullseye comes crashing into Kingpin's boxing match, it's clear Born Again has stopped pulling its punches. Instead, it delivers a crushing uppercut that could knock out its Netflix predecessor for good – thanks to a devastating death that reframes pretty much every relationship in the show in a meaningful way.
Better still, its placement was refreshing. This wasn't a finale shocker used to set up interest in the next season; the claret on the canvas signified a bloodletting of another kind: one where anyone is suddenly fair game.
And all it took was Bullseye shooting his shot – and hitting the mark with pinpoint accuracy.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 is now streaming on Disney Plus.
For more, check out the Daredevil: Born Again season 2 release schedule and our guide to upcoming Marvel movies.
