Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Finale Explained: Matt Murdock Goes to Prison While Kingpin Walks Free

The Daredevil: Born Again season 2 finale ends with Kingpin free and Matt Murdock in prison, after Matt publicly reveals that he is Daredevil to bring Wilson Fisk's corrupt system down in open court. Along the way, Bullseye ends up with Mr. Charles, possibly headed for a Dark Avengers team, Heather Glenn becomes Lady Muse, and the Defenders are back.

This finale sets up a lot for the future of the MCU, including what I think could be a Daredevil appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which I get to further down. First, the courtroom.

Karen Page's trial is really Matt Murdock's plan to take Kingpin down

Karen has been arrested and is on trial. As the previous episode showed, Kingpin is doing everything by the book here. Well, kind of. They are in court, but he is still basically ruling over it, because the Anti-Vigilante Act and the Safer Streets laws he put in place basically make him the law. Combine that with the people under him doing his dirty work, like the prosecutor and Heather Glenn, and the courts are basically his.

Matt has a plan to bring it all down, but he is not there at the start. After the last court session, Kingpin had the AVTF try to kill Matt and Kirsten. They did not succeed, but they did shoot Matt. He is in rough shape with Jessica Jones trying to help him, and she tells him the city and Kingpin are out of hand and that she came back to help. He agrees they can stop Fisk together, but he has to get back into the courtroom.

Matt wants to stop Fisk as a lawyer and expose him. He also wants to expose him because he is Daredevil, one of the only people who were actually there on the Northern Star. His real plan is not simply to keep Karen out of jail. It is to bring Kingpin down completely.

Kingpin's empire starts cracking before he reaches the courtroom

Fisk begins to realise his empire is falling apart. When Buck comes in, Kingpin asks if Daniel delivered BB, and Buck says no. Kingpin seems utterly shocked and incredibly disappointed. He doesn't have many people close to him now, and Daniel was one of those he relied on. He has just learned that Daniel betrayed him and that Buck killed him, which he can tell from the look on Buck's face.

He also tells Buck that the citizens think his grief over Vanessa is clouding his judgement, and he sees the riots and the people rebelling against him. On top of that, the AVTF failed to kill Matt. So he gives Buck a new order.

That order was to dress somebody up as Bullseye and have him kill Matt Murdock outside the courtroom. Kingpin could then say that Matt Murdock was a hero who saved his life and was murdered by another vigilante, proof that the streets are not safe and that his Safer Streets initiative and the AVTF are needed. If it had succeeded, I think his plan might actually have worked. It fails because Bullseye intervenes, and I have a theory about why, which I come back to below.

Heather Glenn's book about masks is really about Matt

Back in court, the prosecutor and Heather Glenn are both basically lying for Kingpin, as Heather has in previous episodes. But she is thrown off when Matt walks in. He is her ex boyfriend who disappeared without really telling her, and that, combined with almost being killed by Muse, has haunted her and caused her a lot of PTSD.

The prosecutor has her read from her book, Men in Masks, The Psychology of Vigilantism, which she told Matt about in the first season without knowing he was a masked vigilante. The passage reads: "The vigilante's mask does not hide his public face. In fact, it reveals his private face. The real mask is what he wears in public life. The dutiful boyfriend, the responsible boss."

As she says this, the camera zooms in on Matt, because she is talking about him. She felt betrayed and felt she never knew who he really was. Her point is that the mask is the real you, the dark part that is the truth, and that comes into play in a big way when she becomes Lady Muse.

Kirsten then asks her outright if she slapped Karen, and we see the bruise on Karen's face from where Heather hit her. The question is objected to, but Kirsten's whole point was to get it broadcast so the public could see the bruise and understand that this so called professional doctor is saying what Kingpin wants. When Heather says Karen hid behind Daredevil, Matt replies: "The same way you're hiding behind the Fisk administration."

Kingpin takes the stand and Matt hears his heartbeat

During a recess, we see someone who looks just like Bullseye setting up across from the courtroom. It is actually the impostor Kingpin ordered. Then Kingpin shows up to court. Matt wants to question him, and the prosecutor welcomes it as self sabotage, because Kingpin basically rules the court and the judges have done what he says up to this point. What they don't realise is that the true purpose is to get Fisk to expose what really happened.

I really love the scene where Kingpin comes in. The doors open, and the angle and the way he walks with his arm swinging make him look huge, as Kingpin is supposed to. Vincent D'Onofrio gives a very realistic take on him, but here you can feel his weight and strength. His footsteps hitting the ground turn into his heartbeat, and Matt hears it speed up as Fisk takes the oath, which makes Matt smile. He knows Kingpin is nervous.

Fisk says that as a boy he was told to find the biggest man and take him down, but he grew up to learn nobody was bigger than the courtroom. That ties back to the Netflix series, where he was in charge of the crime organisations in New York and the law ultimately sent him to prison. Then he got out and became mayor. When Matt says he was a little surprised Fisk showed up, Fisk says he could say the same, because he is genuinely surprised the AVTF did not kill him.

Bullseye kills the impostor while Matt exposes the system

At that moment, Bullseye shows up and kills the fake Bullseye, along with all the AVTF in that building, ricocheting knives off the floor and walls. He doesn't go straight for the kill; he has fun with it. When he finally kills the impostor, he throws his knife right into the bullseye on the mask, into the middle of his head. I love that little detail.

In the courtroom, Matt's questions are less about Karen and more about getting the court to see that the whole system under Kingpin is wrong. He points out that Bullseye was once in Fisk's employment, showing the hypocrisy. Fisk asks, "Do you really want to do this, Mr. Murdock?", essentially asking if he wants to reveal who he is and make it about the two of them. Matt says absolutely.

Matt argues there is zero proof Daredevil did anything to the Northern Star, only the word of Officer Powell and the District Attorney, both in Fisk's employment. The judge overrules an objection, starting to see what Matt is doing. When the judge meets the counsel in her chambers over a filmed testimony saying Kingpin ordered the ship sunk, Kingpin speaks to Matt from the stand knowing he can hear him from the other room, which shows how well he knows Daredevil. Kingpin says he can get Matt thrown in jail forever, and Matt says he could say the same.

When the prosecutor insists there will be no appeal, Matt calls him out for saying that in front of the judges and says he might as well hand Fisk the robe and gavel. That strikes a chord, because the judges are the law, not Kingpin, and they allow the testimony to be shown.

"I am Daredevil" ends the case

The testimony states that Daredevil was on the ship but that it was sunk on Mayor Fisk's order, making Daredevil the only living witness. Kingpin realises Matt is about to reveal himself and says he welcomes going down that road. Matt asks what happens if the people of New York think Daredevil is a hero, which is part of his plan: Kingpin called Matt Murdock a hero, so if Matt is Daredevil, Kingpin has kind of called Daredevil a hero too. That is why Kingpin laughs.

Jessica Jones then walks in with the governor, who Kingpin knows is going to revoke his Freeport charter and get him out of office. He snaps and says it is none of their business what he brings into the city, and that he is doing what he thinks is right. Then Matt says it: "I am Daredevil." Nobody believes a blind lawyer is a masked vigilante until he throws his cane, bounces it off a couple of walls and catches it. He establishes that Kingpin and the laws he set are corrupt, and the court dismisses the case.

Buck takes the bullet and New York goes to war

At the court entrance, Kingpin refuses to back down even after the governor tells him she has revoked the charter, saying he is not going down without a fight. Powell tells the shooter to take the shot, but Bullseye answers "Wrong Bullseye" and fires at Kingpin. Buck gets in the way and takes the shot.

Kingpin adapts, addressing the city to say another vigilante attacked and shot his aide and that masked people are coming to attack. He is painting civilians as the bad guys and basically calling for a war. Then BB's report says the opposite: Kingpin and the AVTF are the villains, and the city is under siege by them. The actual police force shows up with masked civilians to take their city back, and Daredevil suits up.

Notice Kingpin cupping Buck's face. It is very intimate, because Buck is really the last person Kingpin actually cares about. He has the prosecutor, Heather and the AVTF, but he doesn't truly care about them. He orders the AVTF to kill Karen and Matt rather than let them leave.

Outside, Cole has a change of heart. He realises Powell has been lying to him, he watched Powell shoot Saunders, and when Powell tells him to shoot the cops and civilians in the face, he turns. I'm really glad he did. I felt he was going to have a pretty decent redemption arc, and he contributes to saving the day by letting the police and the crowd into the building.

Kingpin fights before he finally takes the deal

Sheila takes a call from the Attorney General: if Fisk renounces his citizenship and leaves New York, they won't press charges. Kingpin decides his other option is to destroy everybody. I love the moment he opens the door, says "Boo!" to the person in front of him and punches him across the room into a wall. The scene is phenomenal at showing how ruthless and strong Kingpin is as he crushes skulls and breaks backs.

Meanwhile, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, who seems to have her full strength and durability, and our new White Tiger take on the AVTF. When the sides meet, Fisk makes one last plea, nobody believes him, and the crowd attacks until Jessica and Daredevil intervene. With his mask off, Matt tells him it is over for both of them, that he believes Fisk loves the city as he does, and that if he does, he should take the deal, or they will go in a circle and more people will die.

Fisk reluctantly agrees. I like his line, "You'll understand if I don't shake your hand," and Matt answering with "Yeah, Wilson," calling him by his first name because they truly know each other. This battle has gone on for an incredibly long time, and it is most certainly not the end of it.

Matt's prison ending may set up Spider-Man: Brand New Day

We've been hearing a lot of reports recently that Marvel has plans for a big street level crossover with the Defenders, Spider-Man and villains, and I assume Kingpin would be one of those villains, if not the main one. Matt is arrested for the so called crimes of Daredevil and ends up in prison with the rest of the AVTF, who don't like him and will go for him.

In the Brand New Day footage available then, Peter Parker was fighting the Hand, typically a Daredevil villain that Matt fought in the Netflix series. Peter knows Matt, who was his lawyer, even if Matt probably doesn't remember Peter because of Doctor Strange's spell. With Matt's arrest all over the news, I suspected the Hand could be after him in prison, and that Peter might find out and go to defend a person he knows is good.

In one shot, Spider-Man leaps at Hand ninjas and some seem to be jumping below him, as if somebody has been edited out. If so, I think Daredevil makes the most sense. I don't think it is Sadie Sink's character, the Hulk would handle the ninjas too easily, and I don't think the Punisher is jumping at the Hand like this. We might finally get the Spider-Man and Daredevil team up. The trailer also showed Sheila as mayor giving Spider-Man the key to the city, which suggests vigilantes are legal and even celebrated, so perhaps Spider-Man helps Matt out and Sheila pardons him. I don't think Matt stays in prison for long.

Luke Cage arrives and the Defenders are back

Luke Cage has officially arrived in the MCU, and he is Danielle's father, as she yells daddy and runs into his arms. Jessica and Luke are together with their daughter, much like in the comics. The only Defender missing is Danny Rand, Iron Fist. However, leaked set photos from Daredevil: Born Again season 3 showed all of the Defenders together, including Finn Jones as Iron Fist, so it seemed they would have a pretty decent role in season 3.

Luke has superhuman strength and unbreakable skin thanks to a sabotaged experiment, and I assume he is the same character from the Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Defenders series. He was a fugitive who rebuilt his life, became something of a celebrity and now fights crime and corruption in New York. He and Jessica have a complicated past: she killed his wife while under Kilgrave's mind control, and he ultimately forgave her. Alias Investigations, Jessica's detective agency, might be back in business in season 3.

I really love that they are bringing all of that back. We learned around season 1 that the plan was to treat these as different characters from the Netflix show, but Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio fought to keep the continuity connected. Now we are getting the entire Defenders back, which is awesome.

Bullseye joins Mr. Charles, possibly for a Dark Avengers team

Luke was working for Mr. Charles, who has found a replacement: Bullseye. I absolutely love this. I was already thinking Bullseye could join a Dark Avengers team, possibly formed by Mr. Charles and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Mr. Charles, called Mr. Robertson on the plane, works for the CIA but also seems to work with or for Valentina. After the Thunderbolts, she probably got in the government's good graces, but the New Avengers are too public facing to do her dirty work. A new group, either a new Thunderbolts or a Dark Avengers team, makes a lot of sense. Whatever it is, I'm glad Bullseye is sticking around.

Matthew Lillard has said in interviews that this character was made up for the show. The only Robertson I know is Robbie Robertson from the Daily Bugle, and this clearly isn't him. My theory is that because Mr. Robertson promised the governor he would take care of the Kingpin problem, he hired Bullseye to take out Kingpin and tipped him off, which is why Bullseye was there to get rid of the fake. I can't wait to find out what they are doing on that plane.

Heather Glenn becomes Lady Muse

A lot of people thought it was weird that Muse was killed off so quickly, since he is such a big Daredevil villain, but they had a plan the whole time, and I have to say it makes sense. In the comics, the female Muse is literally haunted by the spirit of the old Muse, which is basically what we saw this season, done here through psychology, guilt and PTSD.

She puts on the mask and sees herself in the mirror without it, smiling. That goes back to her book: those who wear masks are the true people. This is them telling us who she really is. Leaked season 3 photos had also shown her as Lady Muse.

BB's new job at the Bulletin is the scene I kind of hate

BB gets a job at the New York Bulletin, where her uncle Ben Urich worked before Kingpin killed him. She seems to be in his exact office, and we get a cameo from Mitchell Ellison, the editor in chief who worked closely with Ben.

I'm not going to lie, I kind of hate this scene. She has a picture of her and Daniel on her desk, but it is entirely her fault he died, since she was leaking everything. I really loved Daniel. He was likable, he just wanted New York to be better, and he did the heroic thing by not giving BB up.

Matt is happy in prison while Kingpin is miserable on a beach

The season ends with Kingpin on a beach and Matt in a prison cell. Matt is happy. The war for the city is over and New York won't be terrorised anymore, so he doesn't care that he is in prison.

Kingpin is free on the beach Vanessa wanted to visit, but he is unhappy because he has nothing. He lost Vanessa and he lost New York. That is probably why he will come back to New York in season 3, and possibly in the rumoured Spider-Man and Defenders crossover, which I for one could not wait to see.

Did the finale land for you, and do you agree that BB's desk photo of Daniel was the wrong note to end her story on?