Ever since Marvel Studios revived Matthew Murdock with Daredevil: Born Again, the show has done a commendable job preserving the spirit of the original Netflix series. Born Again is moody and violent and, like the original, it also contains thoughtful insight into the deeper human elements in superheroes and their villains.
However, one major weakness is that Daredevil: Born Again‘s new characters just aren’t as captivating as the old ones. Murdock’s relationship with his new law partner, Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) isn’t nearly as fun to watch as his friendship with his best pal Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson). And the scenes with intrepid young blogger/video maker BB Urich (Genneya Walton) don’t carry nearly the same weight as the ones with her world-weary uncle, Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall). There was one exception to that rule, however: a new character fit perfectly into Daredevil’s world and expanded the story in exciting new directions. A character who the show just killed off.
[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again season 2 episode 7.]
Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) was introduced in the first episode of Daredevil: Born Again as a young, enthusiastic supporter of the mayoral candidacy of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). He liked that Fisk “gets shit done” and thought it was cool he wasn’t a conventional politician. While Daniel was naïve and misguided, he helped explain why normal people would support Kingpin. And after three seasons of watching Fisk crush people’s heads in car doors, that perspective was a necessary one.
Early in season 1, Fisk took a shine to Daniel and elevated him from a member of his campaign to a mayoral aide once he became elected. Once he got close to the seat of power, Daniel realized he liked the fancy parties and the political wheeling and dealing that occurs in that environment. In a telling scene, BB Urich says to Daniel “You know, I can’t tell if you’re an idiot or an operator.” Daniel’s stumbling reply is, “I don’t know what I am.”
Along with his sycophantic relationship with Fisk, Daniel’s other significant relationship was with BB, who he had a crush on, while she mostly seemed to be using him for political access. BB was clearly conflicted about how she manipulated the guy, and you could see how his feelings for her, which lead to him leaking information about Fisk, would be his downfall.
That finally came to pass in Daredevil: Born Again season 2 episode 7 when Daniel realizes how BB is using him, thanks to some nudging from Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan), Kingpin’s enforcer who has sparked up a genuine friendship with Daniel over the past two seasons. From Cashman, Daniel gets the order to kill BB, but can’t go through with it and lets her go, knowing that he’ll be the one to die instead. In the final scene with Daniel and Buck, a fight between the two ends with Buck shooting and killing Daniel, putting an end to the most interesting character that originated with this new series.
Throughout the entire character arc of Daniel Blake, James Gandolfini has done a phenomenal job portraying a regular New Yorker who gets caught up in Fisk’s allure. While we’ve known he’s on the wrong side of the struggle for New York’s soul, he’s been sympathetic, funny, and likeable, and it’s all a credit to Gandolfini’s performance. And as his most high-profile role since young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark, Daniel Blake allowed Gandolfini to step out of his father’s shadow a bit, which is difficult not only because of James Gandolfini’s incredible work on The Sopranos, but because of the striking physical resemblance between father and son.
Still, as much as I enjoyed the character, I think it was the right call to kill Daniel off. While Born Again suffered for killing Foggy Nelson season 1 — and I fear it may suffer in the long run for taking out Kingpin’s wife — Daniel’s arc felt complete and, in retrospect, doomed from the start.
Daredevil: Born Again is streaming on Disney Plus.
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