The season finale of Daredevil: Born Again was certainly a wild ride from start to finish. A majority of the season set up for Matt Murdock accepting that Daredevil is a part of him and putting on the suit again after a full year. On the other side of the coin, Wilson Fisk spent the entire season battling against trying to be the better man he claims he is instead of the kingpin of crime. The finale expertly delivered the return of both Daredevil and Kingpin, both more dedicated than before. Kingpin, particularly, rose to new levels of violence that were both unexpected for a Disney and bone-chillingly hard to watch, establishing that Fisk is no longer a law abiding mayor, as much as he claims to be. In fact, Fisk declares New York a police state under martial law, essentially giving himself and his lackeys freedom to kill as they please.
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However, there was one particular moment in the closing minutes of the finale that truly hammered home just how unhinged and self-serving Kingpin is, in a way that not-so-subtly held up a mirror from the MCU to the current state of our world.
Warning! This article contains heavy spoilers for the Daredevil: Born Again finale
Kingpin’s Cruelty Reaches New Heights in the Season Finale
After enacting a curfew, declaring martial law, murdering the Police Commissioner, and sending out his glorified kill squad–the Anti-Vigilante Task Force–to apprehend (or kill) his enemies, nothing stands in Fisk’s way anymore. Not bureaucratic red tape, or due process, or any fear of the law at all. Fisk and his wife Vanessa, who is as much of the Kingpin as Fisk is, walk through the same property where Fisk had been keeping Adam–Vanessa’s past lover–prisoner. The two parade through the warehouse in their finest clothes as if they are untouchable, but the further they walk, the more horrendous the reveal is.
Lining the walls of the warehouse are cages large enough to be used as a kennel for a big dog. However, as Fisk and Vanessa walk past in their finest clothes, the truth of the matter is shocking: the cages hold everyone who spoke against Fisk– people would not support his policies, politicians who would not pay bribes, and even a vigilante who fits into both categories: Jacques Duquesne (the Swordsman). The rows of cages seem to go on for what feels like an eternity due to the shocking nature of the scene, until Fisk comes to stop at the very last one that contains a chained-up Frank Castle (The Punisher).
“The Fisk pair is as psychotic as ever, killing left and right, locking people up in CAGES and casually having dinner after is INSANE!” one user on X wrote.
“Lowkey hitting close to reality,” another added.
Another fan took issue with it from a different angle, “I have so many problems with that final scene of Fisk with all the vigilantes in cages—it betrays everything Wilson Fisk is. He doesn’t want to lock you up, he doesn’t want to limit you. He wants you to know that even in the best moment of your life, he’s still better than you
Frank Castle Will Never Submit So Easily
Earlier, amidst the chaos created by Fisk shutting down the entire power grid to Manhattan, his Anti-Vigilante Task Force tracks down Frank’s whereabouts and arrives armed to the teeth to try to take down the Punisher. Frank has no intention of submitting to them and mercilessly cuts down a good portion of the task force before they manage to get the better of him, knocking him unconscious. When Frank comes to, he is tied to a chair in front of the task force and given a choice: lead the Anti-Vigilante Task Force or suffer the consequences.
REALTED: How Daredevil: Born Again’s Post-Credit Scene Sets Up an MCU Punisher Story
For the audience, the implication is that Frank will be murdered. Frank rightfully points out that the task force knows nothing about him or the pain he’s suffered; that they have no right to idolize him and co-opt his own logo to commit acts of violence simply because they are crooked cops let off their leash by Fisk. Frank’s adamant (and colorful) refusal to be part of their twisted kill squad ends with the task force ganging up on him, leaving his fate unknown for the moment. It is only when Frank is seen chained up in one of Fisk’s cages that his fate is revealed.
Art Imitates Life in a Harrowing Way in the Daredevil: Born Again Season Finale
The image of human beings in cages is one that harkens to real life politics and some of the darker side of what a government is capable of when those in power distance themselves from the “other.” The amount of Fisk’s power and the fact that he is essentially untouchable makes it easier–even justifiable in his mind–to dehumanize and imprison his adversaries in cages like animals.
The Daredevil: Born Again season finale held up a dark mirror to society, showing the lengths a man of great power and little morals–like Kingpin–will go to get what he wants.
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