The new Marvel superhero series, “Daredevil: Born Again,” revives the beloved cancelled Netflix series “Daredevil” and the character of the same name, with some glaring flaws here and there.
Announced in 2022, “Born Again” was originally meant to be a soft reboot of the Netflix series that ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2018. However, after a change in direction and a complete overhaul in showrunning, the show aims to be more of a direct successor to the Netflix series and act as a pseudo fourth season. I would describe this first season of this series as a bit of Frankenstein’s monster, as it combines pre-overhaul and post-overhaul elements naturally. However, it provides a stark contrast between the two materials.
For context, the original ”Daredevil” show is probably, in my opinion, one of the best (if not the best) comic book shows ever made. Each season had 13 episodes, which was the perfect length for story and character arcs, which also provided room for some of the best writing in any Marvel television series to the point where it could rival a film series in terms of its quality. In addition, the cast and cinematography provided a realistic and gritty setting that added atmosphere to the world and made the setting of Hell’s Kitchen just feel alive. I think the approach of making it feel more like a crime drama and less like a superhero series was really to its benefit, as it made stories feel more grounded and mature despite some supernatural elements. It also made for interesting themes and stories, all in all, which I think were extremely well written and got better throughout the show’s run. Overall, I would give the entire original show a light to decent 9 out of 10 score.
However, the show wasn’t simply meant to end at three seasons long, as it was cancelled by Disney in 2018, soon after the third season was released to the disappointment and anger of fans who called for a renewal and for Disney to make a fourth season for years. In 2021, as a concession to fans, Disney included a cameo from Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox) in the film “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, teasing a return of his character and show to the MCU, which is what we have now.
This new show, “Born Again”, has elements that feel straight from the Netflix show, especially from the first and last episodes of the first season. However, other moments feel more like generic Disney+ Marvel shows that are more bland or underdeveloped as a whole. This inconsistent tone is definitely noticeable if you keep a close eye on the series, and this is a result of the “Frankenstein” I described earlier; many elements in season one are remains of the “pre-overhaul” era of the show before they decided to get a new direction and writing team. These “pre-overhaul” parts of the show can be good, but they kind of just feel stale and meaningless for most parts with underdeveloped characters and unmeaningful stakes. Without getting into spoilers, new characters that are introduced in the “pre-overhaul” segments don’t live up to characters that were introduced in the original Netflix show due to little screen time and little meaningful development or interactions with other characters.
In contrast, the “post-overhaul” segments feel alive, dark, mature, and more in tone and direction of the original series, feeling powerful and impactful. While “pre-overhaul” parts try to feel dark by having 18+ violence akin to the violence, some of it falls flat due to a lack of stake or build-up to what’s happening in most fight scenes, it feels like. Meanwhile, in “post-overhaul” cuts, they really build tension and stakes with longer sequences and better “one-shot” fights, which feel more like the original show with a certain cinematography that pushes a gritty atmosphere in many shots.
I also believe these post-overhaul scenes have much better writing and dialogue than “pre-overhaul” scenes and just feel more emotionally developed and more in line with the characters themselves and their whole personas.
I do think this show does carry over some excellent parts from the Netflix show such as bringing back the entire cast of the original which was a great decision in my opinion as it continues the continuity of the original story and I really enjoyed the cast’s performances in the Netflix show so it was a delight seeing everyone reprise their roles once again for this new season.
With the show renewed for a second season in 2026, it looks like the show is going in a fantastic direction as it will no longer be held back from poor or mixed direction as now there is one unified focus that is much more set on a tone more acknowledging of the original work. With this new, darker, and better-written direction in mind, I can’t wait to see what this next season will be about as they hint in the season finale that they are setting up for something huge. It looks to me like this season two they’re building up towards will be on par with the original Netflix series, which to me is big praise. Overall, I would give this new season a decent to strong 7/10. It’s not bad at all and is actually probably one of the best original Marvel shows on Disney+ right now. However, it has some glaring flaws and is not as good as the Netflix show in my opinion, but it is noticeably being held up in terms of quality thanks to the “post-overhaul” segments.
