Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 1 and 2.One of the advantages toDaredevil: Born Againbeing a soft reboot of its Netflix predecessor is that the MCU seriesgets to treat fans to long-overdue updates to our favorite characters. The show’s two-episode premiere already deliversa more comic-accurate depiction of Bullseye(Wilson Bethel) before Daredevil (Charlie Cox) tests if he can fly in Episode 1’s horrific opening. While the effects are a little awkward, this sequence also provides some iconic shots of the hero of Hell’s Kitchen swinging across rooftops, ushering in Daredevil’s proper entrance to the MCU by completing his visual transformation into a superhero. Still, one of the most welcome changes amongthe series premiere’s main casthas nothing to do with masks, and it feels most rewarding to watchthe newly-minted Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) embrace a more prominent role in Daredevil’s story.
Throughout the three previous seasons ofDaredevil,Vanessa was by no means an accessory, but we never got to see the Kingpin’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) queen step into her own bloody spotlight. Vanessa begins in Season 1 as an art curator and is slowly immersed in the vengeful world of Wilson Fisk. After her boyfriend is imprisoned, the character is then safely stashed away throughout Season 2 but returns in Season 3 with a vengeance,insisting she be treated as an equal in Fisk’s criminal enterpriseand ordering the tragic death of Agent Ray Nadeem (Jay Ali). While this ultimately comes back to hauntthe newlyweds during Season 3’s ending, Vanessa’s growing agency and ambition injected some fresh momentum into a series that had come to revolve around familiar faces, making it all the more disappointing whenDaredevil’s cancellation meant fans wouldn’t get to seethe rise of a perfect future villain.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Picks Up With the Vanessa Fisk Fans Were Promised
While the time period for theDisney+series skips over Vanessa’s rise within the criminal underworld, the premiere nonethelesstreats us to everything the Season 3 finale ofDaredevilpromisedin terms of Vanessa’s character progression. Picking up where the previous series left off, Vanessa’s entrance during a meeting with New York’s Five Families lets us know immediately that this is a woman who has grown to wield power, resources, and seemingly as much loyalty as her husband commanded throughout the original series. Not only does Vanessa firmly settle a dispute between her subordinates, butZurer also does a phenomenal job embodying the character’s cold sophistication and cunning demeanor, quickly establishing Vanessa as a force to be reckoned within the world ofDaredevil: Born Again.
While her husband’s sudden arrival does slightly undermine the authority she has clearly worked hard to cultivate, the premiere makes it clear thatVanessa is now the face of the Fisks’ darker dealings, and it’s honestly refreshing to see. Between being described as an “investment sorceress” by Cherry (Clark Johnson) for successfully fundraising for her husband’s mayoral campaign and making their entire criminal empire look legitimate,Vanessa has come a long way from being used as a bargaining chipmultiple times throughout the originalDaredevil. While the character hasn’t yet exposed herself to the bloody,street-level violence that also makes its debutin the mature MCU series, the character’s command over New York’s criminals makes it clear that she presides over New York’s carnage nonetheless, wearing the proverbial, sadistic pants of her relationship whileher husband sheds his white suitfor a more palatable public image.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Gives Us a Deeper Glimpse Into a Marriage Between Kingpins
A welcome side effect of Vanessa’s evolution is that the power imbalance between her and her husband now seems to have closed significantly. Throughout the originalDaredevil, it was impossible not to feel even slightly concerned for Vanessa’s well-being because of her constant contact with a man who, as the premiere recalls,very much did once decapitate a man with a car door. Even once Season 1 made it clear that Vanessa was just as cruel as her husband, she still lacked the sort of power base that could provide her with an equal standing with the man she loved. In both the time sinceDaredevilSeason 3 and the time sinceKingpin was last incapacitated by Echo(Alaqua Cox), however,Vanessa has more than filled her husband’s void. Her transformation into a criminal kingpin in her own right makes for a more balanced relationship, one which makes her screentime inDaredevil: Born Againeven more of a delight.
We see the new dynamic between Vanessa and her husband multiple times throughout the premiere, butthe best example is the rooftop scene directly following Kingpin’s election as mayor. This scene raises the possibility that Vanessa might have had an affair withan unknown character named Adam, but more importantly, this scene also demonstrates the updated nature of the pair’s relationship. No longer is Vanessa being excluded from her husband’s business, and rather than having to force her way into the Kingpin’s decisions,Vanessa is actively standing on her own merit.
These ideas are mostly communicated visually, with the shot of the pair standing side-by-side looking down at the city symbolizing their more balanced reign, butthe circumstances surrounding this scene also make it clear that this moment represents a mutual triumph. While D’Onofrio’s character spends time shoring up votes andverbally sparring with Cox’s Matt Murdock, Vanessa spends the premiere mostly in the shadows,appearing sparingly enough not to be forgotten but not too much to make a target of herself. The result is a powerful screen presence for someone who has been waiting for three seasons of television to be recognized as a legitimate threat in her own right, one which doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Those ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Opening Credits Have a Deeper Meaning
The devil is in the details.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Is Setting Up a More Well-Rounded Arc for the Fisks' Future in the Series
Vanessa’s expanded role as both a profitable criminal mastermind and wife is exciting because it promises to give fans a deeper understanding of someone who has been withtheDaredevilcast since the beginning, andDaredevil: Born Againcertainly appears to be embracing the character’s narrative potential. Aside from the character’s organizational savvy, the therapy session Vanessa and Kingpin attend with Dr. Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) atthe end of Episode 2is rife with storytelling possibilities. Not only will these sessions undoubtedly unveil hard truths about the happy couple, butDr. Glenn’s relationship with Matt is also bound to produce a violent dilemma. If Vanessa and Kingpin find out about their therapist’s love life, Vanessa’s decisiveness is bound to test the limits of her husband’s new, supposedly lenient outlook on life.
None of these developments would be nearly as exciting or as harrowing ifDaredevil: Born Againhadn’t doubled down on the biggest missed opportunity ofDaredevil’s cancellation. What’s more, by giving Vanessa more agency and depth, the series is also filling the void of strong female characters left in the wake of Elektra’s (Elodie Yung) Season 2 death inDaredeviland Karen Page’s (Deborah Ann Woll) early exodus to San Francisco. WhileDaredevil: Born Againmakes a welcome addition withNikki M. James' matchmaking Kirsten McDuffie,it’s much more rewarding to experience the growth of a character we know, even if Vanessa’s continued success may spell doom for Daredevil’s personal relationships.
Daredevil: Born Again
