I'm sure for many Daredevil Born Again (2025) is turning out to be such a great series by Marvel, way more than anyone probably expected, on episode 3 the series takes a different approach and this I love from it, instead of focusing more on Daredevil this time it focus more on Matt at the courtroom giving us a full blow drama case with action sequences on the streets and still with quite the emotion punch. The episode focus on the trial of Hector Ayala , aka White Tiger, as Matt tries to navigate the legal system when their main witnesses shows up and all of the sudden change his mind, this gives the audience a deeper meaning to the legal proceedings developing more the character of Hector and the struggles Matt goes through as a layer, the kind of situation that makes him explode in rage like when he is wearing the Daredevil mask and just goes off.
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The pacing of the episode had to be different than the first two as we getting more drama out of it so I was not expecting any fights, the episode will make you think again about the meaning of what is really to be a hero when Matt is force to expose the White Tiger and they start talking about the things he has done for his community because "It was the right thing to do", from protecting cops, to a women in an alley, to jumping into a car in flames to safe a family and now been expose against his will so he could stay out of jail. There is this moment when I felt like the justice system itself was against people been a hero or do good for others, for many reasons it was like everyone was against Hector without a factual prove just because a cop said he killed the other cop in the subway, they never show a video or got any other witness but it is the case that nobody that was there at that time had Hector back neither.
The trial takes an unexpected turn when Matt's star witness Nicky Torres gets cold feet on the stand, who was the victim of the police beating that Ayala try to stop, but he lies about what happened due to fear of getting beat up by the officers in the courtroom at the time. This moment perfectly shows how the system can be manipulated by those in power and this latter on goes father from the court room to the streets, justice taken by the hands of no other than Fisk himself. In a desperate move that shocked everyone Matt was force to reveal White Tiger's identity to the court by showing his mask at the court, knowing exactly how Hector might feel been Matt, Daredevil. This bold strategy allows Matt to change the narrative in his favor or at least planted the doubt on the jury mind, focusing on Ayala's heroic actions and positive impact on the community rather than the alleged crime. The trial concludes with Ayala being pronounce innocent of all charges, a victory that feels both triumphant and bittersweet given what we know is coming, some way or another, retaliation by a broken and corrupt system.
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Matt has abandoned his Daredevil persona following Foggy's death, believing he can do more good as a lawyer than as a vigilante or may be because he felt he puts everyone around him at risk when playing the vigilante card and rather not do it by been just a blind lawyer. He has been thriving financially and has even found new love and friendships in his post Daredevil life, another aspect that I felt change just too fast, same way as they put Bullseye in jail that easy. There is a scene where a conversation between Matt and Hector, explains why Ayala wants to continue being White Tiger even after his identity is exposed, I thought his days as White Tiger where over, it really gets to the heart of what makes someone a hero.
Vincent D'Onofrio doesn't get much screen time as Wilson Fisk in this episode, but his presence is like this big dark cloud looming and his reaction to Ayala's innocence sets up what's next, a double effect for what happens and suppose to who really show up?!, continued development of new characters like Cherry and Kirsten McDuffie, though I would agree that they haven't been given quite as much weight as Karen Page and Foggy Nelson had in the original series.
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The ending of this episode is a shocking jaw dropping one, after winning his case and being declare not guilty of all charges, Hector Ayala decides to put on his White Tiger costume once more and return to the streets, despite Matt's advice not to do it or at least figure out if he can do more without the mask but its different for Hector, everyone already know who the White Tiger is, different to Daredevil that only a few knew and will keep his secret. It should have been a triumphant moment showing an innocent man continuing his mission to protect the innocent despite having his identity exposed. Instead it becomes one of the most shocking moments when Ayala is suddenly shot in the head by an unseen assailant, on sight. The camera then reveals that the killer is wearing a vest with the Punisher logo spray painted on it, immediately makes me question about whether this is actually Frank Castle or someone using his symbol, reason for this is because this symbol is different from tattoos that we have seen some cops have on their wrist and neck. This moment completely changes the trajectory of the show, demonstrating that even when you legally get a win, having to smart out the corrupt system, they will still find the ways to get you.
It's one of those rare times where it feels like a TV series; specially a MCU one, is giving just too much information episode after episode but in fact that is how animated series were in the past. So far we have seen Daredevil, Fisk, Bullseye, White Tiger and now the Punisher? men this is just too much to process just on three episodes, specially when the first two were released the same day. Although the hole Punisher plot could be just corrupt authorities using his logo as a kind of gang rather than be part of a Punisher movement from Frank himself, so this make me think that if the real Punisher shows up he will directly collide against this corrupt group of cops. Fisk reaction to the trial and making declarations to reporter BB makes it clear that he wont change the city, he will only control it as he see fits and I really doubt he has anything to do with Hector's murder, but he double down on his promise to backup the police and end up the vigilantes in New York, since HE sees them as cowards who hide behind a mask. Overall the series is turning out to be fascinating, proving that the MCU TV series might be back or is it just a lucky shot? at least the series really understands what made the original series so good, been dynamic not only focusing on a single character or the hero, giving enough screen time and power to villains to make Matt and Daredevil hurt, keeping things in balance between hero and villains, wins and looses.
