‘Daredevil: Born Again’ season 2’s biggest burning questions that need to be answered

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season two.

Daredevil: Born Again season two was a rollercoaster of a season. Though Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) was the throughline that held the season together from start to finish, it also bounced between meta-commentary on the United States’ current constitutional crisis and starting new plot threads with very little context from season one. Other storylines from the previous season were either dropped or severely sidelined.

This second season also introduced brand new characters like Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard) and brought back fan favorites like Jessica Jones (Krystin Ritter) and Bullseye (Wilson Bethel). The second season also didn’t bring back other characters who appeared in season one, like Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). Though it’s likely that Frank’s escape in the season one finale will be addressed in the upcoming Marvel Television Special, The Punisher: One Last Kill, there are still some major questions left unanswered that will need to be addressed in season three.

Who the heck is Mr. Charles?

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One of the more mysterious figures of Daredevil: Born Again season two is Mr. Charles. Though marketed as something of a “big deal” character (in part due to the casting of Scream’s Matthew Lillard), his role didn’t truly amount to much in season two. With only a few sporadic appearances, little has been established about who Mr. Charles is and why he’s seen as a dangerous entity that even Wilson Fisk fears.

What exactly is his relationship with Fisk? How did these two people meet, and what does he have on Fisk that he can leverage? Though it’s been hinted that he works for the US government, it’s never revealed in what capacity, and his power plays aren’t really clear. What does he gain from manipulating other people in positions of power? What motivates him to do what he does? These are questions that need to be addressed in season three to better contextualize his significance to the story’s events.

Has Bullseye resumed his mercenary lifestyle?

One of the bigger storylines in Daredevil: Born Again season two is Bullseye’s redemption arc. Originally introduced as a deadly “special agent” in Daredevil season three, Bullseye became a more significant figure in the lives of Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) in the sequel series. He wasn’t just the guy responsible for murdering Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) in Born Again season one’s premiere, but he had a score to settle with Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) for betraying him.

Though Bullseye succeeded in killing Vanessa midway through season two, a good chunk of the season also focused on him feeling remorseful over his killing of Foggy. In fact, he consistently tried to make it up to both Matt and Karen. But how sincere were his efforts for redemption? Throughout season two, Bullseye was more preoccupied with hitting Wilson Fisk where it hurts. Aside from successfully killing his wife, he also targeted his Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF) for murder and even succeeded in wounding Buck (Fisk’s right-hand man) in the finale.

With Fisk now defeated, one would think that Bullseye would move on from his mercenary lifestyle. But as it turns out, he has now been recruited by Mr. Charles, seemingly as a replacement for Luke Cage (Mike Colter). Not only does it suggest that Bullseye is incapable of change, but this also seems to hint that Mr. Charles is a Black Ops official with some planned assassinations. Why else would he need Bullseye’s sharp-shooting skills? This needs a follow-up in season three.

When did Jessica Jones and Luke Cage get back together?

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When Jessica Jones finally debuted in Born Again season two’s sixth episode, her story didn’t exactly pick up where it left off. The last fans saw of Jessica in her own series, she had just stopped her best friend Trish from continuing her vigilante lifestyle because she was increasingly out of control. That series ended with Jessica making the hard decision to send her best friend to The Raft to atone for her crimes. She also left her investigation firm, Alias Investigations, to her friend, Malcolm.

When Luke Cage likewise makes a guest appearance in the Born Again season two finale, his story also doesn’t pick up where it left off. When fans last saw Luke in his own show, he had just defeated Cottonmouth’s sister, Black Mariah (Alfre Woodard), and took over her assets and criminal empire. Though Misty Knight (Simone Missick) expressed concern over Luke becoming a crime boss, Luke instead positioned himself as the new sheriff in town, in this case Harlem.

As of Born Again season two, Jessica has reclaimed Alias Investigations with Malcolm nowhere in sight, and Luke is seemingly no longer the sheriff of Harlem. Furthermore, they have a daughter together who is a few years old, suggesting that some time has passed since both of their shows concluded. Though this does make sense since Daredevil: Born Again experienced a few time jumps between seasons one and two, this also means that there is a major gap to fill for Luke and Jessica.

Daredevil: Born Again season three needs to address when Luke and Jessica reconciled, as they were previously not on good terms. The third season also needs to address how Mr. Charles succeeded in coercing Luke into working for him and why this prompted Jessica to return to her work at Alias Investigations. Even more so since she was seemingly raising their daughter as a single parent up until this point.

Where did Frank Castle go after he escaped Wilson Fisk’s custody?

One key character that had a recurring role in Born Again season one was Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. He was especially instrumental in saving Matt from an assassination attempt in the season one finale. He even went on to kill a handful of Fisk’s AVTF officers before getting captured himself. Although Season one’s end credits scene saw Frank violently escape custody, he surprisingly didn’t return for season two.

Frank’s absence is odd considering he is an important witness in Fisk’s crimes as mayor. He should have at least appeared in the season two finale for the court scene to validate claims of Fisk’s underground prisons where he kept illegally abducted New York citizens. This needs to be addressed in season three, especially if it doesn’t get addressed in The Punisher: One Last Kill. From the trailer that’s been released for The Punisher special, it looks like that story is going to build on developments from the character’s Netflix series, with no hint of a followup on his escape from Mayor Fisk.

What is going on with Heather Glenn, Matt Murdock and Karen Page?

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One of the biggest dropped storylines in Daredevil: Born Again season two is Matt’s season one romance with Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) and his sudden romance with Karen. This stands out even more in the courtroom scene of the season two finale where all three people were under the same roof together.

Between Born Again seasons one and two, there’s been no build-up between Matt and Karen to the point of a romance blossoming between them. At best, the Matt and Karen relationship builds on their romantic tension from the Daredevil Netflix series, but this tension was largely absent in Born Again season one. This wasn’t helped by the fact they were initially separated by Foggy’s murder for most of season one. There definitely needed to be more development between Matt and Karen in the present timeline to make the romance feel earned in season two. Even after this season’s finale, it still feels like there is a major gap to fill.

Season three can easily fix this by devoting at least one episode to showing how Matt and Karen reconciled after the latter returned from San Francisco and what circumstances led to them deciding to get romantically involved. This same season three episode also needs to address the other major question of Heather Glenn. What exactly is going on with her? Between the three characters, Heather took on an inexplicably more villainous role in season two.

Heather went from being an ethical, level-headed therapist in season one to one who suddenly compromised those ethics in favor of Fisk – an actual criminal. She’s also become more driven by jealousy towards Karen, which is coming out of nowhere. Both of these women had not interacted prior to Heather’s evaluation of Karen in season two’s penultimate episode. Yet they were both aware of each other’s standing with Matt and even tried to hurt each other by poking at each other’s emotional wounds.

Furthermore, Heather’s PTSD from Muse’s attempt to kill her in season one remains largely unaddressed. It’s been acknowledged here and there throughout season two, but has not been presented in a way that explains her sudden heel turn. It especially doesn’t explain why Heather would choose to work for Fisk, the latter of whom is far more likely to expose her to people far more dangerous than Muse. Between the three, Heather’s actions need the most explaining in season three, but this can only work if she is featured more prominently in the next season than she was in season two.

How will Daredevil and Kingpin return to a more familiar status quo?

Of course, the biggest question that will be the story of Daredevil: Born Again season three is how the heck Matt is going to get out of the legal pickle he got himself in. The biggest turning point of the season two finale was Matt revealing his secret identity in public court during Karen’s trial. Though his doing so did succeed in getting Fisk to resign as mayor, it also saw him get arrested for his supposed crimes as Daredevil.

What this will mean for Matt moving forward will have to address a few key developments: what will happen to his law firm with Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James)? Is she still going to want to keep him as a partner since Daredevil activities would risk both her own life and career as a lawyer? Will Matt be disbarred as a consequence of his vigilante justice? What will it take for him to get readmitted into the bar again? Will he need to forfeit being Daredevil or will he choose to give up a career in law? What will this mean for his relationship with Karen, now that she’s back to working as a journalist again?

The other character that’s unlikely to stick to his new status quo is the Kingpin himself. It’s pretty much a given that exile will not keep him out of New York for long. So what new alliances will Fisk have to make to regain control of New York’s criminal underworld? What will this mean for BB Urich, since she was the journalist who exposed Fisk’s crimes in the form of satire? Will she also be in danger in the same way her uncle, Ben Urich, was when he crossed Fisk in the Netflix Daredevil series? Things aren’t looking great for BB, especially since her friend, Daniel Blake, lost his life for refusing to give her up to Fisk.

All in all, whilst season two ended on a much stronger note than the one it started on, it also left some major questions left unanswered. Whilst the season two finale left a strong hook for season three’s storyline to pick up, it will still need to tie up its biggest loose threads so that the story can flow more organically.