Ryan Kirksey
The following recap contains spoilers for the Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 finale, S2E8, “Southern Cross” (written by Dario Scardapane & Jesse Wigutow and directed by Iain B. MacDonald). Spoilers also include information from Daredevil: Born Again Season 1.
It appears that Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again ended brutally with more bloody violence, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) free and Daredevil (Charlie Cox) in prison. But in actuality, the season ended where Matt Murdock first began all those years ago: inside a courtroom. Despite all the spillover action that happened after Karen Page’s (Deborah Ann Woll) trial and her exoneration, Matt Murdock’s bombshell decision in the courtroom is what inevitably led to the events that closed this season.
In a calculated move to win Karen’s freedom, Matt Murdock reveals to those inside the New York City court, and, in turn, the whole world, that he is Daredevil. After Fisk’s side admits that Daredevil was present when the Northern Star freighter sank, Murdock saw a door open that would free his friend and partner, and didn’t really seem to think twice about revealing his identity so he could serve as a firsthand witness to Fisk importing illegal arms and sinking the boat on purpose.
That move did earn Karen Page her freedom, but the end of the season leaves us with the question: at what cost? Page’s freedom caused the city to see the real Fisk, but to help minimize any violent rebellion, Fisk is given a plea deal to leave New York and never come back (yeah, right). At the same time, Matt Murdock is arrested and jailed for the violent crimes committed by the vigilante Daredevil.
The city seems to be saved for now, even though it put Murdock in jail and let Fisk go free. Was it worth it? Sacrifice for others and grace shown to those who don’t deserve it have not only served as Daredevil’s ethos for 60 years, but also have been a theme of this second season. As Kingpin and Daredevil finally pause their battle to talk about the grace they can bestow upon the city if only they would both stop fighting, it’s now clear what this often up-and-down season of Marvel television was really about.
The title of this eighth and final episode of the season, “The Southern Cross,” is an odd one. At first glance, one might think it has something to do with the cross of Christ and the Catholic guilt that has been a part of Matt Murdock since he was a child. But I don’t think that’s part of the meaning at all. The Southern Cross most often refers to a four-pointed constellation visible in the Southern Hemisphere. It makes a cross when you connect the four points, and is most commonly referred to as the Crux.
The crux of this season, as it were, could go back to another idea when we think about the cross: mercy. In this season, Daredevil shows unnecessary mercy to Bullseye by letting him live and letting him have a job to redeem himself. He shows mercy to Kingpin multiple times. Instead of killing Kingpin or throwing him in jail (he could have done either in the finale), Murdock encourages Fisk to get out of town and shows him mercy by not even forcing him to stand up for his criminal acts.
This is where the theme of mercy loses the plot for me a little bit. Murdock shows Bullseye mercy this season, but it’s something Karen could never do. At least Bullseye has shown real remorse for his role in killing Foggy Nelson. He was brainwashed by Vanessa Fisk at the time, and he not only talked the talk, but walked the walk by killing dozens of AVTF agents this season.
Kingpin, on the other hand, seized power through fear and tyranny. He murdered countless innocent people. He broke countless laws. Kingpin turned the city into a riot zone by declaring a form of anti-vigilante martial law and becoming the unilateral decision-maker. Does he deserve to die? In the minds of probably everyone else, the answer is yes. For Matt Murdock/Daredevil? The answer is no. He believes in this ideal so much that Daredevil even fights off citizens on his own side to make sure they don’t reach Fisk and have a chance to kill him in the final battle.
Should mercy extend as far as Fisk has taken his crimes? According to Daredevil, it does. But do his followers also believe this, or are they just as bad as the Fisk followers? In some kind of upside-down version of January 6, 2021, the Daredevil followers storm the New York City courthouse, filming themselves and destroying property right until the moment when Fisk confronts them and sends countless red-horned rebels into a brick wall.
Considering Fisk’s white suit was stained crimson, Daredevil’s followers could smell blood literally and figuratively as they attacked. Daredevil had to intervene violently to get those people off Fisk. When Fisk is at his lowest, Daredevil finally confronts him to debate whether the best mercy they can provide to all New York Citizens would be to leave the city and their feud behind. Kingpin gets his reprieve. Daredevil winds up in jail.
But their work seems to have turned New York City into a safer place. As the episode comes to an end, we see the city at some point in the near future. The streets are clear. The AVTF agents are also behind bars. BB Urich (Genneya Walton) has taken up her uncle’s old post as a reporter at the New York Bulletin. Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) has taken a job with Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard) to work for the CIA overseas, which has allowed Luke Cage (Mike Colter) to return to his wife Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) and their daughter. All seems well.
But where mercy ended up putting Daredevil was inside a jail cell, with Kingpin free to return at any moment. This time, his arch-nemesis won’t be free to battle him. And what about Dr. Glenn (Margarita Levieva) donning the Muse mask from Season 1? There is precedent for a second iteration in the comic stories. Maybe that’s where The Defenders come back into the story in Season 3, the final season, which is expected next year.
Daredevil and Kingpin are destined to battle forever. They’ve been doing it for over 60 years in the comics, so how dare we think it will end with a couple of short television seasons?
Daredevil can’t help but try to give Kingpin mercy, and Kingpin can’t fight his nature to control, to dominate, and to take over. Did the fact that the two would end up in separate places, but with a path back together again, seem a bit predictable? Of course it did. Letting Wilson Fisk live to fight another day makes sense because it upholds the series’ modus operandi. Some might call it the Crux of the entire show.
