Let’s Talk about Daredevil Episode 1-8
Muse is dead. Daredevil has returned. Mayor Fisk is angry and not afraid to bend the rules.
A police task force of the dirtiest cops in town is calling the shots, and they’re apparently above the law due to Fisk’s blessing.
So, a lot has gone wrong for Matt Murdock lately…and it’s about to get worse. The Bullseye is about to make his return.
Let’s talk about Daredevil 1-8, the one with the shocking end.
The Enemy of My Enemy Still Sucks
The episode begins with Benjamin Poindexter aka Dex sitting in his prison cell.
The man known as Bullseye has a cell with a view, which speaks to his priority status as a dangerous killer.
Well, that’s about to change, as Dex learns he’s moving to GenPop, the general population part of the prison.
That’s going to be terrible news for a lot of people since Dex can turn anything into a little weapon. People are about to die.
The implication is that Mayor Fisk is responsible for Dex’s switch, almost as if Kingpin wants Bullseye dead.
We’ll learn later in the episode that this idea isn’t quite right, but it makes sense in the moment.
Speaking of Fisk, he’s taking a victory lap over the fact that his dock development is happening. He has the money.
At this point, the Fisks have a confession about their awkward year, and it leads to…unpleasantness.
Fisk reveals to his wife that he’s holding her lover prisoner. Once again, this story parallels Daredevil’s life.
Murdock is having an awkward conversation with his girlfriend, Heather, who considers Daredevil no better than Muse.
That’s objectively ridiculous since one of them tried to kill her while the other saved her, but we’ll just go with it.
Buck interrupts the conversation by delivering an invitation to Heather at Matt’s house.
Murdock freaks out at the knowledge Kingpin knows Heather and Matt are dating, which is valid.
Heather has no idea what’s happening and thinks Matt is melting down, which is also true.
The Family That Kills Together
For his part, Kingpin shows his prisoner to Vanessa. For people who watched Daredevil, this scene is shocking.
The once innocent art lover has crossed over to the dark side, something reinforced in this scene.
Fisk proves to his wife that he has kept his word. He didn’t kill her love.
At this point, Vanessa takes the matter into her own hands and murders her ex.
Vanessa and Wilson Fisk are quite the pair, aren’t they? And she isn’t the sentimental type. This is some black widow behavior.
That dude mated with her, and then she killed him. In between, her husband held him captive.
I don’t think the juice was worth the squeeze. Speaking of which, Heather insists that Matt join her at the Mayor’s ball.
That’s what the invitation was for, and she gets a plus one. Murdock is understandably reluctant, but she won’t take no for an answer.
Daredevil and Kingpin are going to the big dance, just not together. That showdown is finally here.
A Reunion between Enemies
Before that conversation can occur, Matt meets with another face from his past. Dex has requested his presence in jail.
The dude needs an attorney and calls on the blind man to assist, never expecting Murdock to show up.
Dex is impressed and tries to say as much before the lawyer interrupts.
Matt wants to know why he’s there. More importantly, he has pieced together that Foggy’s death wasn’t accidental.
Someone paid the Bullseye to kill Foggy, who was the target all along in the series premiere.
Dex doesn’t reveal who it was, although the name Fisk gets bandied about, which provides the needed tell.
Dissatisfied, Murdock roughs up the handcuffed prisoner and exits, leaving Dex in need of medical assistance.
This fact proves important, as Dex heads to the doctor’s office. You can guess what happens next.
Yes, Dex kills the person who bandages his wounds and then two other cops for good measure. The Bullseye is free.
So, this will be a big night for Daredevil. He’s spending the evening with two of his greatest enemies, Bullseye and Kingpin.
Dancing the Night Away
We cut to the mayor’s party, where Daniel apologizes to BB. She lets him know that she’s mad but semi-accepts his apology.
The sudden reversal in BB’s behavior is temporarily confusing, but there’s an explanation in the offing.
To understand, I should mention that the dirty cops are providing security at this event.
Someone snaps a picture, which is a no-no. So, the cop that Murdock almost killed takes the offender to a kitchen.
A physical assault starts almost immediately afterward, which causes the chief of police to arrive and threaten the cop.
The man sneers and proceeds to shove the victim’s hand in a deep fryer. It’s an act of defiance symbolizing something else.
The dirty cops of Fisk’s task force are the ones calling the shots in the NYPD now. It’s Fisk’s vision for NYC come to life.
Speaking of the mayor, he’s dancing with his wife when someone interrupts. It’s Matt Murdock.
The lawyer has grudgingly accepted Heather’s invitation for the dance, but he’s behaving erratically.
All he cares about is what Fisk’s saying, even as Heather complains to him about his odd actions.
Matt basically makes her dance with him. Then, he changes partners, and his actions become clear.
The attorney has deduced the identity of the person who called for Foggy’s assassination. It’s Vanessa Fisk.
So, that explains that. She’s every bit as dirty as her husband now and has even crossed a line that Wilson never did.
Speaking of the confused mayor, he doesn’t understand Murdock’s angle, but he does speak with Heather.
Fisk clearly wants her to figure out that her boyfriend is Daredevil. Before that can happen, an uninvited guest arrives.
Saving the Day
Bullseye has arrived at the party, and he’s dressed as a police officer. So, he’s above suspicion.
That’s why Dex has plenty of time to find a gun and take aim at his target, who is one of the Fisks. It’s hard to say which one.
This section is cinematic but annoying. Throughout his appearances, Bullseye has killed people instantly.
This time, for no apparent reason, he slowly takes aim, allowing someone to interfere with the would-be assassination.
While the whole thing goes down, Daniel tries to hit on BB once again, and it goes badly once again.
BB sneaks away to speak with the police chief, who is livid over the dirty cops. He’s ready to say too much.
However, he mistakenly believes that BB has sold out to Fisk, noting that the mayor was the chief suspect in her uncle’s murder.
She knows. Here’s where BB grows much more interesting. She’s well aware of the accusations involving Fisk and her uncle.
Apparently, BB is in search of justice and pretending to be friendly to Daniel and Fisk to get some dirt on them.
As fate would have it, the police chief is just the person for this information. They become fast friends.
Back on the dance floor, Bullseye is almost ready to take aim at his victim.
Before he can finally pull the trigger, an action that takes about, oh, 45 minutes, Murdock intervenes…but not that way.
The Daredevil hears the gun sounds and quickly identifies the likeliest target. He dives in front of the mayor.
Bullseye accidentally shoots Matt Murdock while aiming for Wilson Fisk.
The episode cuts with a confused Fisk reconciling the unlikely series of events that just transpired.
Final Thoughts
Here’s where I confess that I thought this was the final action of the season finale.
I’ve been on vacation and lost count of the number of remaining episodes. We’ve still got one left!
That’s a relief because this would have been a MAJOR cliffhanger had season one ended with Murdock bleeding in Fisk’s arms.
So, we have another episode to resolve the showdown between Fisk, Bullseye, and Daredevil.
I’m here for it because every episode of Daredevil: Born Again thus far has been excellent, especially the last three.
This show is cooking, and I can’t wait to see how season one ends.
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