The fifth episode of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 is now streaming on Disney+, and with a number of inevitable confrontations looming as we enter the season's final stretch, "The Grand Design" allows time for some self-reflection from our main characters.
Major spoilers ahead.
While Matt Murdock reminisces about his late friend Foggy Nelson (more here), Mayor Wilson Fisk thinks back to the events that led to his first meeting with Vanessa, who lies in critical condition following Bullseye's attack in last week's episode.
The Kingpin's flashback features the return of James Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), who was gunned down by Karen Page in the Netflix Daredevil series.
Wesley puts his boss in contact with both his future wife and Buck Cashman, AKA "British Wesley." It turns out that Fisk and Vanessa did not meet by chance, as the Kingpin went to her gallery looking for a way to diversify his criminal empire. Buck, meanwhile, was hired to eliminate Foggy's childhood "friend" Lional, aka Ray, whom the "Avocados at Law" were doing their best to keep out of prison.
Back in the present, Vanessa wakes up and appears to be doing well. She asks her husband to tell her the story of how they met, before quickly deteriorating and ultimately flatlining.
Though Vanessa was complicit in the Kingpin's criminal dealings and in some ways every bit as ruthless as her husband, she did keep him from indulging in his worst impulses to at least some extent. With his beloved wife gone, will Fisk still care about maintaining his public mask of integrity?
During an interview with Variety, actress Ayelet Zurer confirmed that her character's death will send the Kingpin to a "whole new level of crazy."
“Personally, it was just a really gut-wrenching experience where I had to say goodbye to everything that we were working on in the last ten years. It was emotional.”
“Every person on the team had to call me directly to explain why — and how,” Zurer added. “They were often so emotional about it. But I really felt like it was important for the story, too. To have an explosion that sends Vincent’s character, Kingpin, to a whole new level of crazy.”
What did you make of this episode? How do you think Fisk will react to losing Vanessa? Let us know in the comments section.
Across eight gripping episodes, survival, resistance and redemption collide as the battle for the soul of New York begins," reads the season 2 synopsis. "In Season 2, Mayor Wilson Fisk crushes New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil. But beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild."