REVIEW: ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Episode 8 – “The Isle Of Joy”

Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock has always been a significant highlight and blessing to the Daredevil franchise. And while the most recent series for Disney+ has done its best to stifle the story’s best attributes, Daredevil Born Again Episode 8 is the season standout because it lets Cox lean into his strengths. It does so while bringing the showdown between Daredevil, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), and Dex/Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) to a head. “Isle of Joy,” directed by lead directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead, stumbles in the background politics but makes up for it whenever our hero and the two main antagonists work off one another.

His role in the justice system increasingly disillusions Matt, and we watch stifling frustration manifest as something impulsive and potentially lethal throughout Daredevil Born Again Episode 8. He’s out for blood and answers after he’s told that Dex was moved from protective custody into the general population and that Fisk orchestrated the move. This further entangles the two storylines as they succumb to darker natures.

Cox shines in his showdown with Dex as Matt visits him in prison. After a visit to Josie’s bar, Matt begins to realize that Foggy’s death was a targeted attempt to silence him, and Matt believes that it was Fisk who ordered the hit. One of the better parts of Matt’s character is that he doesn’t play to the strictly heroic. He’s prone to excessive force and letting his bitter, feral part of himself rule if it helps get him to justice. Aside from letting off steam that’s steadily building in him, there’s nothing to gain by slamming Dex’s head against the table.

That barely concealed aggression and bitterness make Cox’s performance so thrilling. He, more than the writing, makes the character unpredictable. It’s why his scenes with Heather are so insufferable. Heather is already such a poorly written character who is acting as a mere stand-in, but Matt is also at his least interesting when he’s around her.

Everything comes to a head at the gala in Daredevil Born Again Episode 8.

Daredevil Born Again Episode 8 finds more life in the backend when Matt attends Fisk’s gala. And it’s here where multiple key factors come to a head after slowly boiling up throughout the series. Heather is concerned, believing Matt isn’t behaving like his usual self. In a crisp and well-shot moment, Matt, while dancing with Heather, quickly cuts into Vanessa and Fisk’s dance, whisking Vanessa away. He’s begun putting together the pieces that Vanessa, not Fisk, ordered the hit on Foggy because Vanessa was in charge at the time.

It’s such a deliriously fun reveal that it sets things up perfectly for the final cliffhanger. Having made a bloody escape from prison, Dex arrives and takes aim at Fisk, only for Matt to jump and take the bullet for his enemy, setting up an exciting new potential dynamic between foes. It’s unclear why Matt did what he did, but it makes for good, engaging television. One can only wonder what was going through the hero’s head as he suffers a critical injury.

It’s such a good final ten minutes that it’s easy to gloss over some of the lesser storylines. Daniel continues to be a non-character, burdened by Michael Gandolfini’s overacting. And BB’s (Genneya Walton) storyline continues to happen in such brief intervals that it fails to leave an impact. It’s hard to care about Vanessa killing Adam because he is a non-entity, like many other supporting players. The best margin storyline is the continued exploration of the police corruption as they go to violent lengths to maintain privacy and control.

And yet Daredevil Born Again Episode 8 is the closest the show’s gotten to capturing the energy that made the first season of the Netflix series so much fun. Riddled with tension and major surprises, it understands the world’s darkness and how it infects its characters. But, more than anything, it delves into every part of what makes Matt/Daredevil such an enticing character. Because for every predictable move, he has another that catches everyone entirely off guard, continually at war with his impulses.

Daredevil Born Again Episode 8 is streaming now on Disney+. 

Previous Episode | Next Episode