‘Daredevil: Born Again’ – Unmasking The Complex Morality Of Matt Murdock

[WARNING: Article contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again.] It would be very easy for me to discuss the myriad of reasons why I still believe to this day that the original Daredevil series from Netflix was and remains the best Marvel television series out there. If the first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are any indication, the show will continue in that same vein. One of the ways in which the story of Matt Murdock truly compels is the way in which it handles his complex morality.

“I was raised to believe in grace, that we can be transformed into a better person. But I was also raised to believe in retribution.”

Matt (Charlie Cox) says those words to Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) in the new series’ first episode. In doing so, he lays out what will be the overarching theme of the entire show. Raised Catholic, Matt Murdock has an underlying desire, if not need, to be and do good. Still, a darkness dwells within him. It’s one born of the aforementioned belief in retribution, coupled with an animalist brutality. Daredevil: Born Again will undoubtedly showcase Matt’s journey in balancing the angel on his one shoulder with the demon on the other.  

Will Daredevil: Born Again break Matt Murdock?

There’s never been any question that Matt’s moral compass has always been a little… off. One does not commit such raging acts of violence without suffering some disassociation from societal norms. Matt Murdock seemed, in the opening scenes of Daredevil: Born Again, to have ventured back into the light. Nevertheless, one act of tragedy sees Matt lose his best friend (and magnetic north to his moral compass) Foggy (Eldon Henson). That loss cut straight into Matt’s soul, causing him to, or at least attempt to, break his one “golden rule” of not killing. Foggy’s murderer (Bullseye) survives, though, leaving the rule intact. But did the act of dropping “Dex” off a building set Murdock down an unredeemable path?

As we see through the first two episodes, Matt Murdock falls right back into his old ways…. Despite his genuine efforts to leave the Daredevil in the past. As trailers for the series have suggested, it may very well be a losing battle. Having the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) remind Matt of how exacting justice makes him feel certainly won’t aid in Matt’s efforts to escape his inner violence. Perhaps Matt and Frank are far more alike than Matt cares to admit. Daredevil: Born Again will likely see Matt make a determination, one way or the other.

Through two episodes, though, one thing is abundantly clear. The new series already picks up and carries everything that made the original series as good as it was. Something tells me that witnessing Matt Murdock unwrap the truth of his own morality is only going to get better from here.

The first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now streaming on Disney+.