The Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again had a lot to live up to from the moment it was announced. With the massive success of Netflix’s Daredevil adaptation, fans were clamoring for a revival from the moment Netflix announced the cancellation in 2018. Seven years later, The Man Without Fear is back on the small screen and earning praise among fans and critics alike. The Disney+ adaptation — which stars the original cast from Netflix — stays true to the dark, gritty tone that made its predecessor stand out from anything else Marvel had done before then. But, the one thing that sets Daredevil: Born Again apart from its counterpart is the pacing and lack of action outside of the first 15 minutes of the premiere.
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The series revolves around Matt Murdock refusing to take up the mantle of Daredevil again after a crushing loss, and instead focuses on his everyday life as a lawyer.
Daredevil: Born Again Is Taking Its Time for a Very Good Reason
Netflix’s Daredevil was known for exquisite and edge-of-your-seat fight scenes that occurred at least once in every episode. However, Daredevil: Born Again takes a very different approach. Out of the four episodes that have already aired, Matt is in the Daredevil suit for maybe ten minutes total. There are no fight scenes and no city-wide threat that Matt battles against in every episode. Instead, the focus is on Matt himself and who he is outside of Daredevil. Foggy’s death impacted Matt on such a deep level that he cannot bear to even say Foggy’s name, much less go back to his vigilante days that Foggy so desperately wanted Matt to leave behind.
[RELATED: Daredevil: Born Again Proves Matt’s Best Power Is Being a “Really Good Lawyer”]
The exploration of Matt as a person is essential to understanding what makes him a great hero. Though Matt throws himself into his work as a lawyer, trying to uphold order within the confines of the law instead of through vigilante justice, viewers can feel that Matt’s frustrated, that his best efforts are simply not enough. Even after a crucial win in defending Hector Ayala/White Tiger, the lengths to which Matt went to secure Ayala’s freedom and innocence were rendered useless in the end, as Ayala is gunned down on the street.
Though there are some who are frustrated that a show about Daredevil has featured very little Daredevil so far, the series is reminding us that there can be no Daredevil without Matt Murdock. The identities are two sides of the same coin, which is exactly what Daredevil: Born Again explains. By casting aside the Daredevil identity, Matt thinks he can go on and live a normal life with everything else behind him. But his experiences over the first four episodes are opening Matt’s eyes to the fact that his way of thinking is merely a pipe dream; he cannot discard being Daredevil in the same way he cannot discard the ability to breathe.
To Understand Daredevil, Viewers Have to Understand Matt Murdock
Evil and injustice will always exist, and Matt will never be able to ignore that, which is a reality that Frank Castle — The Punisher — tries to get Matt to accept in Episode 4, “Sic Semper Systema.” The slow burn of watching Matt come to this realization while also trying to heal from the deep wound of losing Foggy is vital to the type of Daredevil he will be when he eventually does put the suit back on.
The iconic comic arc that inspired the show’s title — Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller — sets the precedence for separating Matt from the suit. After a string of devastating personal disasters and losses, Matt does not act as Daredevil for almost the entire series, except for the very beginning and end. This is a theme that has occurred in many other Daredevil comic runs that test Matt’s will and faith.
In keeping Matt out of the Daredevil suit for this long in Daredevil: Born Again, viewers are able to see Matt for who he truly is. He is not someone like Thor or Captain America. He does not have superpowers or fancy technology. He is an everyday lawyer who struggles with his morality and disappointing his loved ones. The deep dive into Matt as a character is essential to build up the type of Daredevil he will become when he dons the cowl again, making the payoff all the richer.
New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again premiere Tuesdays on Disney+.
What do you think of the pacing of the series? Let us know in the comments below!
