‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season Finale: The Punisher Is Back

SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains details from Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again season finale episode “Straight to Hell.”

UPDATED: Well, this New York City in the season finale of Daredevil: Born Again has more problems on its hands than tariffs on Madison Avenue, and that’s because it’s under martial law, effective immediately by Mayor Fisk, err Mayor Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).

And while he’s not threatening to build a wall from New Jersey, and have them pay for it, he’s serious when he means it: No more vigilantes. Got it? He’s just been saying it all season long. His task force is out on the streets, and there’s a curfew in effect at 8 p.m. to make sure the message gets across.

After trying to stay out of his reds for most of the season due to the death of Foggy (Elden Henson), Daredevil aka Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) plans to take this city back from the big guy and his runway-model wife, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), especially as they try to turn the Red Hook port into a free-wheeling city-state where they can launder money and do as they please.

Here are some of the takeaways from tonight’s season finale, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead and written by Heather Bellson and showrunner Dario Scardapane:

— First of all, Daredevil lives. He got shot in the chest after jumping in front of Fisk, but he can still climb out of a hospital bed and escape to his apartment.

— Bullseye is out there on the lam, after putting a bullet in Matt, which was intended for Fisk. We learn at the top of the episode that Vanessa sprung him from a mental hospital a year ago to go after Foggy and his client Benjamin Cafaro, aka Dumb Benny. Vanessa tells Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), “The case he’s involved with would shine unwanted light on some of my business practices. You are the very best at this type of thing. That’s why I came. Your history with my husband isn’t part of this.”

— Frank Castle aka The Punisher returns. This was anticipated. With Fisk sending Buck out to kill Matt Murdock aka Daredevil after the guy took a bullet for Fisk, Punisher/Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) shows up to protect Matt at his apartment. Of course, a police force is sent in to kill Matt, and together with Frank, the duo beat the living sh*t out of the whole gang, even though they’re carrying semiautomatic weapons. Last guy standing among the baddies is Cole North (Jeremy Isaiah Earl). Matt picks up a bullet shell with the Punisher’s insignia on it. He puts two and two together. It was Cole who murdered Hector Ayala. Frank wants to kill Cole, but Matt insists “no.” The two argue until a grenade rolls in and forces them to jump out of the apartment.

— Matt and Karen still have feelings for each other. Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) sent Frank in to protect Matt from any harm while he was laid up in the hospital. Matt admits he heard Karen and Frank’s heartbeats together; he gets a little jealous. There’s no there there, as her heart is with Matt. She’s the shoulder who tells him to battle on and that Foggy would want it that way.

— Who’s Luke? The commissioner gets into the back of his SUV. “Wait Luke? Haven’t seen you in a long time, not since you were a rookie, right?” It’s not Luke Cage. Luke (Stevenson Jean) answers, “Yeah, a long time ago.” Commissioner notices the Punisher tattoo on his neck as fresh ink. “Are you part of the task force?” he asks. Luke answers, “The mayor recruited me. Just tryna survive.” How does Luke factor into Season 2?

— The Commissioner is dead. After being a nag, nag, nag to Fisk, where does that lead Gallo (Michael Gaston)? With a crushed head by the big guy.

— Can’t trust a girl. No, we’re not talking about you BB Urich (Genneya Walton), even though you’re the Marvel gotham reporter who is bound to decimate Fisk in some fashion in the press. No, we’re talking about you, Dr. Heather Glenn (the sublime Margarita Levieva). She just thinks her Matt has gone mad with his kooky theories about Mayor Fisk. However, this therapist is blinded by the darkness, much like Theo Rossi’s Dr. Julian Rush is a crazed ally to Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone in DC Studios’ The Penguin. Fisk anoints Heather his Commissioner of Mental Health because the city is gonna need therapy after all this martial law and beating up of vigilantes. Season 2 prediction: It’s not going to end well for Matt and Heather. Heather, wake up! Good guys dress in red, not like Alex from Clockwork Orange (there’s a definite nod to that with Fisk in his white suspenders and blood-splattered white dress shirt after the shooting).

— You can beat him up, but you can’t lock him up. Tonight’s Marvel epilogue teases that while Frank Castle/Punisher is locked in the downstairs Red Hook prestige jail of the Fisks (Tony Dalton’s Jack Duquesne aka Swordsman is a few cells down), he has no plans of staying. Frank wound up there after trying to tussle with the mayor’s anti-vigilante task force who don’t wear brown shirts, rather Punisher insignia shirts. After beating the holy crap out of Frank, the task force asks him to join — because they’re obsessed with him. He turns them down and winds up in this basement cage. No bother. In the very end, Frank calls the guard over, extends his hand to shake his, and begins to bust the guard’s arm. Tee off to The Punisher special that’s in the works from Marvel Studios. Bernthal is co-writing the special alongside Reinaldo Marcus Green, who will also direct.

Daredevil didn’t build this city, he didn’t build it on rock ‘n’ roll, but you could say that he’s coincidentally speaking on behalf of Blue State voters when he sums up his feelings in a voice-over about his NYC under the reign of Fisk at the end of the episode. “I can’t see my city. But I can feel it. The system isn’t working. It’s rotten, corrupt. But this is our city. Not his. And we can take it back together. The weak … the strong … all of u s… resist, rebel, rebuild. Because we are the city. Without fear.” Season 2 is currently in production.

This article was updated and corrected from a previous version that misidentified a superhero from the Netflix Marvel shows. We apologize for the mistake.