RECAP: ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 Episode 6 – “Requiem”

Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6, entitled “Requiem”, is directed by Angela Barnes and written by Devon Kliger & Jesse Wigutow. In a season of highlights, “Requiem” is another to add to the list: a consequential episode that asks how much cruelty the titular hero, played by Charlie Cox, will let slide to avoid taking a life. As always, due to the dense plotting in Daredevil Born Again Season 2, there’s a lot to get into, so we’re gonna go character by character to hit all the highlights. 

When Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6 begins, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is mourning the death of his beloved wife, Vanessa. As a doctor attempts to comfort him, an enraged Fisk grabs the doctor and crushes him in an aggressive bear hug. Not only does this show what Fisk can get away with, but it also demonstrates the callousness he’s capable of now that his Northern Star (no pun intended) Vanessa is gone. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard) learns that the AVTF has stolen the weapons from the Red Hook port that Fisk’s operations were supposed to be transporting for him. Angered, Charles needs another weapon of his own, so he sends his goons to capture none other than Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter).

Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6 dabbles in fan service. 

Jones dispatches the men and goes to find Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), where she tells him that Mr. Charles attempted to recruit her and her daughter, who is revealed to have powers, into his own superpowered team. She refused, and he apparently didn’t like that, so now she’s looking to hit back. 

What follows is a very fan service-y fight sequence where Daredevil and Jessica Jones lay waste to the AVTF facility, where Mr. Charles’ stolen weapons are located. The choreography is exciting as ever, with Daredevil’s more nimble, precise movements clashing well against Jessica Jones’ brash, smash-and-go style. An interesting wrinkle here is that Jones’ powers are not working properly around Charles’ manifest. Either way, all the weapons are destroyed, and the two go their separate ways. 

While it’s fun to see the team-up and I’m sure this isn’t the last time we’ll see her, I’m a bit disappointed by the use of Jessica Jones in Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6. Krysten Ritter (Sonic the Hedgehog 3) gives the role her all.

While it’s nice to see Krysten Ritter again, Jessica Jones’s story is abrupt. 

Yet so much time has passed since her own show and The Defenders that having her just abruptly join the story without a reintroduction, no less with a full daughter (could this be her baby with Luke Cage?), feels unearned in a way that the intricately woven manner of this season has avoided. Regardless, her subplot this episode does give us an indication that Mr. Charles’ endgame might be to de-power heroes. 

On the other side of town, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) stays in the hideout when Dex/Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) begins to wake up. Overcome by anger, Page is about ready to murder Dex when Matt stops her. Furious, Page frankly tells Matt that his constant insistence on leaving his enemies who continue to cause harm alive has led to the deaths of innocents. The thing is… she’s absolutely right. And the next scene Matt is in absolutely confirms this. 

In one of two climaxes of Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6, Matt as Daredevil goes to confront Fisk/The Kingpin. Matt offers him an option that won’t involve killing- both of them leave New York City, leaving the populace all the better for it. Fisk refuses, leading to a fight between the two that is everything fans of the series would want.

The series thrives in its brutal combat. 

The desperation, the brutality, the precision in the combat… impeccable. What really makes this fight so momentous is that you can feel the history between these characters and the exhaustion that has come from their indefinite rivalry. 

However, even when he has him on the ropes, Matt can’t seem to kill Fisk. While Karen might be right about the damage Matt’s refusal to act has done, it is a line he can’t cross. What consequences this might have yet to be seen, but I truly hope that Matt will be vindicated in his approach and can find a way to uphold his morality while also breaking the Kingpin’s never-ending stranglehold on New York. 

Now, onto the other climax of Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6. During a protest around City Hall, Karen Page sneaks in and projects the Red Hook testimonies onto the side of the building, revealing exactly what Fisk did to the crew of the Northern Star and how the AVTF has been operating.

The bleak ending adds to the excellence of Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6. 

Sensing an opportunity, AVTF officer Connor Powell kills Saunders. Saunders, who has been working with Daredevil to frame it as a vigilante action, uses the opportunity to capture Karen Page. 

This bleak ending in Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6 is as reminiscent of the federal government’s overreach in “quelling” protesters as it is dramatically compelling, showing just how far the AVTF and Fisk’s operation will go. If Matt is not willing to go as far against them, this battle might truly be lost. 

Daredevil Born Again Season 2 Episode 6 is once again exhilarating television that questions the effectiveness of its main hero’s methods while showing the circumstances that necessitate their change. With only two episodes left, I can’t wait to see how everything wraps up. 

All episodes of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 are now streaming on Disney+.

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