Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Episode 4 Suggests Bullseye Might Genuinely Be Trying to Be Good

I do think Bullseye might actually genuinely be trying to be good, with trying being the key word. I thought this episode was very good, and there are full spoilers ahead.

The opening paints Bullseye in a better light than the Netflix version did

I love how this episode starts, because it is all about Bullseye, and it mirrors season 3 episode 5 of the Netflix Daredevil series. That was not the episode that first introduced him, which came a few episodes earlier, but it was the first time the show really dove into his origin. It showed that Bullseye is meticulous and all about precision, which makes sense, because that is what makes him so powerful: his precision with his shots, his knife throwing, with everything.

Both scenes show that this is who he is inside. His cooking is precise, and when he makes his bed it is perfectly precise too. In the Netflix episode he makes sure the cups he just washed face the exact same way, handles pointed in the same direction, and the photos on his wall are perfectly balanced. The difference is the tone. The Netflix scene is somber and dark, with dark music, showing us he is a threat. Here the music is light and he is very friendly with his neighbor.

He even makes an egg for his neighbor's cat, which is another big sign this might be a different Bullseye. He has tortured and killed animals in the past because he is sadistic, and we have learned he killed many animals as a kid. This Bullseye seemingly really likes the cat. Across the episode, it does not seem like he kills a single person who is not an AVTF officer. I think the whole episode is trying to show that he is not a bad guy anymore. He was manipulated by Fisk in the Netflix series and by Vanessa in Born Again season 1, and now he is trying to get revenge on them while taking out the bad guys.

One small detail: in his apartment he is warming up and rotating his shoulder to work the kinks out. This is most likely from Daredevil stabbing him multiple times with many different knives in Born Again season 1 episode 1. The wounds were not directly in his shoulder but in his back, toward the right side on his shoulder blade, so that is most likely where the pain comes from.

Bullseye's diner attack kills AVTF officers and nobody else

The diner is one of the most epic scenes we have seen so far. He scopes it out, looking right and then around the room, and sits at the bar, probably for tactical reasons, since he can jump over it for cover, which he later does. He is very kind to the waitress and seems happy, and since he is sadistic, he is probably happy because he knows he is about to kill a bunch of AVTF officers. He notices a knife and fork to his left and many knives and forks to his right, and once he has it all figured out, he calls the task force hotline and says Frank Castle is there. That tells us Frank, the Punisher, is still on the run. He adds that Frank has a gun and smiles, because he knows he is not going to use a gun at all.

He drinks his milkshake in one sip, and he never turns around. He hears the sirens and sees the squad cars in the reflection of the diner equipment, puts on his gloves, puts a toothpick in his mouth and then loads it into a straw as his first strike. The task force searches the building for the Punisher until they notice the man at the counter does not have his hands up. When he turns, the officer realizes it is Bullseye, and the toothpick goes right into his eye.

If you go frame by frame, he puts on his mask, grabs the silverware to his right and throws the spoon into the eye of the officer next to him, while the fork and knife from that same set bounce off the back wall into the two officers behind. Ricocheting knives, and apparently silverware and really anything, including bullets, is one of Bullseye's specialties. He bounces two more pieces off a table somebody is sitting at to kill two more officers, then jumps the counter for cover. I also noticed that the AVTF do not really care about the people around them; they are not shooting civilians directly, but they do not exactly care if anyone is caught in the crossfire.

Behind the counter, the waitress is lying on the floor, and he is still kind, telling her, "That was a great milkshake." He ricochets the top of a straw holder off the wall into the hand of an officer reaching for his gun, pops two forks off the counter, and then a dog starts barking. He tells the owner that dogs at a restaurant are unsanitary. I was very concerned he might kill the dog, more concerned that he would kill the dog over the person. But he chooses not to kill the person or the dog or anybody else in the diner besides the AVTF. When a man begs not to be killed, he tells him not to worry: "I'm one of the good guys." He then sticks the forks into an officer's legs, and that officer tells everybody it was Bullseye, not Frank Castle. Before leaving, he squirts his bullseye symbol on the door in ketchup, so they know it was him. He is basically telling Kingpin and Vanessa he is coming for them and everyone under them.

Why Bullseye is hunting Kingpin and Vanessa

As a refresher, Bullseye was introduced in season 3 of the Netflix series while working for the FBI. When Kingpin worked out a deal with the FBI and was being transferred from prison, enemies ambushed the convoy and killed the agents, until Poindexter showed up, killed everybody on his own and saved Kingpin's life. Kingpin then slowly manipulated him, including killing the girl Poindexter liked so he could have full control over him. When the FBI found out he had been helping Kingpin, they fired him, and Kingpin took him under his wing, even having him dress as Daredevil and kill people to frame Daredevil.

By the end of that season, thanks to Daredevil, he realized what Kingpin had done and went to kill him at his penthouse, leading to a three way fight that ended with Kingpin breaking his spine. We saw the spine rebuilt at the end of that season. In the comics he gets an adamantium spine, and the Netflix series used its own name as a play on adamantium, so I wonder if they will ever tell us that, now that he is in the MCU, he did get an adamantium spine.

In Born Again season 1 episode 1, Daredevil tried to kill him, and no doubt he survived that fall off the building because of his metal infused spine. He went to prison, where Vanessa worked out a deal to get him out to kill Foggy. That resulted in him almost being killed, thrown off a building by Daredevil, and she completely abandoned him afterward. In a nutshell, that is why he is after Kingpin and Vanessa, and they know it.

Jack Duquesne backs Daredevil and Angela del Toro gets her own responsibility talk

A BB report tells us about a big charity fight with Kingpin, which is really a distraction from things like the transfer of highly illegal weapons and money being laundered through the charity. At the safehouse, the people Daredevil, Karen and the new White Tiger, Angela del Toro, rescued are giving Karen testimonies that Kingpin kidnapped them and kept them prisoner. Meanwhile Jack Duquesne, aka Swordsman, proves once again that he is an awesome guy. He tells Daredevil he is not sticking around, but he has given Karen an account number, basically offering his wealth to use whenever they need it. He also tells Daredevil he is not like him, and that Daredevil is now a symbol of hope for the entire city.

Karen has an SD card with everything BB needs, but everybody is looking for Karen, so Angela offers to take it. First, Daredevil calls her over, holds the White Tiger necklace that belonged to her uncle, Hector Ayala, and asks whether she understands the responsibility that comes with it. I love this, because it is a superhero giving a new superhero an Uncle Ben talk: once you put on that necklace, with great power comes great responsibility to protect people. When he asks if she is ready, she answers, "Were you?" I love that, because most people are not ready for that power. They get thrown into it and try their best.

With luck on their side, the first mate of the sunken ship finds them. He tells them it was Kingpin bringing all these weapons illegally into New York City, into Red Hook, and that he had orders to sink the ship if Daredevil came aboard, which is what happened. That is a big win for Karen, Matt and the whole city, because now they have proof from the man who was there that Kingpin ordered it and that the cargo was indeed weapons. He gives his testimony in front of Kirsten, but Kingpin hears about it and sends one of his men, who kills him and the two officers protecting him. Luckily, not for him but for the city, the testimony was already secured.

Vanessa sees through Kingpin's excuse and wins over the governor

Wilson sends Vanessa away so she does not attend the fight, because, as we learn, the fight is giant bait to lure Bullseye and Daredevil so they can be killed or captured. He disguises it as needing her to speak to the governor, who has the power to revoke the Red Hook charter that lets them basically do whatever they want without oversight. Vanessa sees through it, and Kingpin is not shy about admitting he does not want her there because Bullseye is coming and it is not safe. By the end of the episode, he was totally right.

One thing I love is the use of colors, white and red. At the governor meeting, Kingpin is described as a raging bull, and he is the white bull, while Vanessa is the red flag you wave to get the bull to rush at you, in a sense controlling it. The governor says she understands how Kingpin is, but she wants a feel for Vanessa. Vanessa says she cannot promise to keep him under control, because he loves the city and has big plans, but she promises she loves her husband and can bring out the best in him. That puts the governor at ease: she will not back Kingpin alone, but she will back Vanessa and Kingpin. Basically, her faith is in Vanessa, not Kingpin.

The AVTF raids Kirsten's firm while the trap is set

The charity fight is a ruse: Kingpin can take money from it, but it is really a trap. Daredevil and Karen realize this, and Daredevil says he is going to find Bullseye. Bullseye, meanwhile, sits in his apartment as the news covers the fight, and just as Kingpin wants, he sees a public place where he could kill Kingpin and Vanessa, who should be there to support her husband.

Before Kirsten witnesses the first mate's testimony, the AVTF barges into her law firm and Matt's too, which once again explains their status. Kirsten threatens to bury them in lawsuits and paperwork if they do not have a warrant, and they point to Kingpin's safer streets initiative. They do not need a warrant. They do not even have to knock. They can do whatever they want.

Kingpin makes an enemy of Mr. Charles and the CIA

Kingpin is furious when Mr. Charles shows up unannounced, telling him he is not on the schedule today. Mr. Charles is there on behalf of the CIA and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Their agreement was that Kingpin would let the CIA use the free port to move weapons to Guinea Bissau in Africa largely undetected, so there is clearly a regime there they are arming. But Kingpin has kept the weapons in New York, claiming that if they go out on another boat, Daredevil will sink that one too.

Kingpin is lying, because he knows Daredevil did not sink the ship. He ordered it sunk if Daredevil was aboard so he could blame Daredevil, most likely to keep the weapons himself, which is exactly what Mr. Charles is complaining about. Kingpin says he will hold up his end, but a shootout follows, which tells Mr. Charles he cannot trust him. Mr. Charles also laughs at Kingpin calling it his city, which gets the response "Do not mock me." His point is that Kingpin may be the mayor, but above him is the governor, whom they have already shown they control, and they are the CIA. It looks like Kingpin has made an enemy of Mr. Charles, Valentina and possibly the CIA. Not good enemies to have.

A coin leads Matt back to Clinton Church and Bullseye's confession

Daredevil goes to the diner hoping for a lead, and I love that he deliberately dresses as an AVTF officer, because thanks to Mayor Fisk's laws, an AVTF officer has absolute authority even over the cops, so he can send them away. He is wearing sunglasses too. Sitting where Bullseye sat, he smells something on the bar, rubs his finger on it, and jumps the counter to find the source: one of the coins we have seen Bullseye carry, and he has many. Matt is taken aback because it is a coin from the church he grew up at.

So he returns to Clinton Church, where the last time Bullseye was there, apart from the start of this season, he killed Father Lantom and tried to kill Foggy and Karen. Matt meets the seminarian Bullseye visited in a previous episode seeking absolution. Matt says he found the token at a murder scene, and the seminarian says they give these to all their patrons, so he cannot know whose it was. But Matt hears his heart ramp up. Bullseye came seeking penance, held a knife to him, and did not kill him. So perhaps Bullseye is on a better path, if you do not count killing the AVTF and trying to kill Kingpin and Vanessa.

The seminarian says he cannot share a confession and that it is not their job to judge whether someone deserves grace. That resonates with Matt, because he is not the judge, in his faith or in his work as a lawyer. He replies that he is not arguing about grace, but Bullseye will hurt people and he needs to stop him. Asked what he will do with him, he says, "Not kill him." Unlike the Punisher, he is not judge, jury and executioner. Through the conversation, he learns Bullseye lives right across the street, close enough to hear the bells and watch the seminarian, and Matt homes in with his senses to hear Poindexter in the apartment hallway, again being friendly to his neighbor.

Daredevil and Bullseye prove evenly matched, and Bullseye offers one good deed

As Matt leaves, he flicks a coin into a little basket, just as Poindexter flicked one into a cup someone was holding at the start of the episode. This shows the similarities between them and how equally matched they are, though if anything Matt has the upper hand after defeating him many times. Back in his apartment, as in the Netflix series, Poindexter puts on something to listen to as part of his calming routine, and because everything is exactly where he thinks it should be, he notices the small details that are off and realizes Daredevil is there.

He pulls the CD out of the player and throws it, bouncing it, but Daredevil catches it and throws it back into the wall, and Bullseye even turns to look at it. In the fight they throw the exact same punch at the same time and hit each other in the head, showing their combat styles are not that different either. Daredevil seems to have the upper hand, but Poindexter keeps telling him he is on his side, and he sort of stops fighting and lets Daredevil hit him, possibly showing he is not really that bad anymore. Sure, he could turn at any moment.

When the neighbor walks in asking what Daredevil is doing to her darling, it shows how kind Benjamin has been to her. Unfortunately he turns on her so Daredevil will calm down and let him explain. He brings up what that woman had him do to Daredevil's friend, and Daredevil snaps: "Don't you bring him up, not like this." I found that a very peculiar line. It implies Daredevil might be open to hearing Poindexter's side in another setting, just not mid fight, with a gun to a woman's head. Bullseye says he had to get his mind back, and it sounds like he kind of has. His one good deed is to do what Daredevil will not: kill Kingpin, the biggest problem for Daredevil and the city, as payback for Foggy and for the innocent people he has killed. Matt does not believe in killing and tells him to calm down, and Poindexter says he is calm. I actually do think he is in the right frame of mind and simply wants to make up for what he did.

Angela slips BB the evidence as Daniel grows suspicious

Outside the fight, BB spots Angela and pretends she is super famous and that his family watches her all the time, using that as an excuse for a photo while he slips the SD card into her coat pocket. It looks like Daniel might notice at first, but then he jokes that he did not realize he was on a date with a celebrity, which they both deny.

I do think he probably caught it. He has already been really suspicious of her. We know she is working under the Kingpin mask, and I think Daniel pretty much knows it as well. He is really happy to see her because he obviously likes her, but I do think he is suspicious.

Kingpin chose Fogwell's Gym to lure Matt Murdock

The fight is at Fogwell's Gym, where Matt spent a lot of time as a kid because his father, Jack Murdock, trained there. Jack was supposed to throw a fight but refused because he wanted to make Matt proud, and under Kingpin's order he was killed. Matt kept going back to Fogwell's after his father died to train and release his frustration. Kingpin knows Daredevil is Matt, knows he had Jack killed, and knows the gym is special to Matt, so staging the charity fight there is meant to anger him and lure him in. This is all carefully orchestrated, and it shows how smart Kingpin actually is.

Getting his hands wrapped, Kingpin refuses a mouth guard: "No, he'll never lay a glove on me." In the comics Kingpin is not actually fat; it is supposed to be pure muscle, and the same goes for the MCU version. He is incredibly powerful and has been training. When one of his men gets the call about the first mate, Kingpin sends him because they cannot have loose ends, confident that Powell, Cole and a group of Taskmaster are enough, and he even says they have to leave a spot open for Bullseye and Daredevil to come.

Kingpin's brutality in the ring and the glass shard that hits Vanessa

Kingpin beats his opponent badly, and between rounds the man is shocked both by how strong he is and that it is the mayor beating him. You would think the mayor would go easy and not show the public he is capable of such violence, but he does, and the crowd is shocked. Again there is the color scheme: he is all in white, with red blood getting on him. Vanessa arrives, also in white, and can see he did not hold back and might have killed the guy. Her face says she knows this was bad for him. Yes, it is a boxing ring, but he was ruthless.

Against his wishes, she gets on stage and kisses him so everybody sees they are a unit and that he is a normal person, not the violent man they just watched. She also wants to face Bullseye. When he arrives, killing the AVTF on his way to her, Kingpin orders her out, but she refuses, pulls the gun she was given in the last episode and actually shoots Bullseye. It seems lucky that Kingpin blocks what Bullseye throws at her, but it looks like it was made of glass, and a shard sticks into Vanessa's temple.

The temple is a highly vulnerable area where the skull is thinnest, with the meningeal artery beneath it. If that artery ruptures, it causes a brain bleed that can kill you pretty quickly, and given where the glass went in and all the blood, it looks very serious. Luckily for Kingpin, Daredevil stops Bullseye from killing him too, taking him out through the window into the street, and we see both of them run as the episode ends. I really loved this episode. This one and episode three were absolutely phenomenal, and the season has been phenomenal so far.

Is this Bullseye genuinely trying to be good, or is his one good deed just revenge by another name?