Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Episode 5.
Only five episodes in, and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 has managed to rectify many of its first season mistakes. We could go on about how Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) feels like himself again, or how the full-time return of Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) is a step in the right direction, but that’s only the beginning of it. **“The Grand Design” recaptures the magic of the original ***Daredevil *by cleverly balancing superhero action, courtroom drama, and religious themes that speak to the Marvel hero’s entire being. While the episode at large is an impressive homage to the Netflix show, there’s one sequence in particular that really seals the deal.
Earlier, “The Grand Design” gives viewers a glimpse of a time when Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson helped his old childhood bully, Lionel “Ray” McCoy (Nathan Wallace). After getting him out of any extra jail time, Foggy took things a step further by sacrificing Nelson & Murdock’s savings to help Ray get out of town before his old mob contacts could kill him. It’s this example of pure mercy that encourages Matt to be a better man. In the end, he goes back for Bullseye, regardless of his own personal feelings regarding Foggy’s killer, choosing to save his life. It’s no wonder that “The Grand Design” is a triumph of an episode. Between its basic structure, powerful ideas, and strong returning cast members (Henson is perfect as ever), it has managed to catch lightning in a bottle. What really makes this flashback scene stick out, this momentary recollection on Matt’s part, is the internal conflict it represents for the titular hero.
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Daredevil in the streets and in the sheets.
After spending much of last season rediscovering his faith, Matt has struggled under the rule of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) to be the man who Father Lantom and his mother, Sister Maggie Grace (Joanne Whalley), knew he could be. But thinking back on what Foggy did for Ray, a man who once tormented him as a child and couldn’t care less about him, he is reminded that mercy is not for those who “deserve” it, but for those who need it. Although Foggy wasn’t Catholic, his example of what it means to be merciful spoke to Matt on a deep, spiritual level back then — and it does the same in the present.
Matt knows that without his help, Fisk’s Task Force will kill Bullseye — and while a part of him may want the assassin dead, he is reminded by Foggy’s example (not to mention the stained-glass depictions on the literal church around him) that** “mercy” is far better than revenge**. As Cox recently put it in an interview with Collider:
“I don’t believe that, in his right mind, Matt wants anyone dead. I think the preservation of life is sacred to him. No matter who that person is. And so that’s part of the turmoil that he lives with. That’s part of the torment, is not feeling such animosity towards another human being, but also knowing that the remedy for that is to pray for them and to give them and to give them another chance. That’s why he’s such an interesting superhero, because of his unwavering faith.”
Matt’s struggle to forgive Bullseye is brilliantly contrasted with Foggy’s merciful act toward his old childhood bully. This is the type of material where Daredevil, as a character, absolutely thrives. The original series was often full of moments like these. Even Daredevil and Bullseye’s discussion about God’s providential plan feels remarkably similar to *Daredevil *Season 3. With “The Grand Design,” Matt Murdock has once more been “born again,” hoping to be the type of hero who would make Foggy proud.
Daredevil: Born Again ](/tag/daredevil-born-again/)
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Dario Scardapane
Matt Murdock / Daredevil
After Charlie Cox’s cameo appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home and supporting role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Daredevil: Born Again gives Matt Murdock his first show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil: Born Again continues the story that started in Netflix’s three-season Daredevil series and sees Wilson Fisk ascend to mayor of New York City.