'Daredevil: Born Again' 2 Episode 1 ending explained: Matt Murdock's identity protected by mystery sniper
'Daredevil: Born Again' kicked off its much-anticipated Season 2 on March 24 on Disney+. The premiere episode, titled 'The Northern Star,' is written by Dario Scardapane and directed by Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson. Season 1 ended with Mayor Wilson Fisk declaring martial law over New York City with his anti-vigilante task force (AVTF) hunting down vigilantes and squashing any resistance to his authority. With his unchecked power, Fisk takes control over the Red Hook port to smuggle illegal goods and high-grade weapons through the East River on his ship, the Northern Star.
In the show's second installment, Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock is determined to fight back with Karen Page, Frank Castle / Punisher, and other vigilantes. In the opening moments of Season 2, he breaks into the Northern Star ship, but the captain decides to sink the ship and its goods, giving Murdock just enough time to escape. As Fisk's brutish AVTF agents raid Cherry's apartment at the end of Episode 1, Daredevil comes to the rescue. He fights off the Kingpin’s anti-vigilante task force, but is knocked to the ground when he sees Cherry having a heart attack. The officers waste no time in pulling off his mask to discover that Daredevil is the blind lawyer Matt Murdock. But before they can react, a sniper shoots all the officers dead, protecting the vigilante's secret identity for now. The distant sniper throws a knife close to Murdock, which reads, "You're welcome," along with the Bullseye logo. This indicates it is Benjamin Poindexter, aka Dex, who seems willing to put their past rivalry aside and work together to take down their common enemy, Fisk.
Murdock isn't the only one fighting against Mayor Fisk's radical control of the city. The pro-Fisk BB Report from Season 1 continues to keep New Yorkers informed, but the latest broadcast is hijacked by a reporter wearing a Fisk mask and listing his corrupt activities to the public. Now there are only a few people bold enough to pull off something like that - BB Urich and Karen Page top the list of dissidents, but viewers will have to wait and see if it's some other vigilante. Elsewhere, Dr. Heather Glenn, the city’s mental health commissioner, gives Jack Duquesne a psych evaluation before his trial. Jack, aka Swordsman, was arrested by the AVTF under Fisk's anti-vigilante Safer Streets Initiative. However, the District Attorney Hochberg asks Glenn to manipulate Jack's data and classify him as a sociopath under Fisk's orders, which she agrees to do. Throughout the episode, Glenn keeps hallucinating about the serial killer Muse, who attacked her in Season 1, and drinks to cope with the nightmares.
Fisk announces to the public that Daredevil was behind the ship's sinking, and the episode reveals that the corrupt CIA director, Valentina Fontaine, is helping Fisk smuggle weapons through Red Hook. She sends Mr. Charles to New York to cover up the operation and keep Fisk out of trouble. Charles and Fisk meet to discuss how to get the guns from the bottom of the river. Charles suggests hiring a crew to do the job and then killing them in an 'industrial accident' to leave no trace behind. Catch new episodes of 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. only on Disney+.
