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Spoilers for the Daredevil : Born Again ’s first two episodes lie ahead, so read on accordingly. The long-awaited Daredevil: Born Again made its debut amid the 2025 TV schedule this week and, so far, fans and critics alike are “overjoyed” and “traumatized.” The two-episode premiere delivered a lot, including the tragic death of Franklin “Foggy” Nelson in the prologue.
Since that sequence, Matt has yet to put on his infamous costume again, though he let out some rage at the end of Episode 2 and punctuated it with a scream. That shocking yell was discussed when Charlie Cox spoke to CinemaBlend. The episode in question, “Optics,” involves Matt making the decision to represent Hector Ayala, who’s also known as the vigilante White Tiger.
Ayala stands accused of assaulting a police officer and killing another, though the man is shown to be innocent. In the process of defending Hector, Murdock draws the ire of some crooked cops, one of which was involved in the altercation. This all culminates in a confrontation between Matt and the cops in the apartment of a witness to the fight.
After Matt takes down the thugs, he lets out that cry. CinemaBlend was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with Charlie Cox, alongside Vincent D’Onofrio, during Born Again ’s press day. The ever-cerebral Cox – who’s been playing Matt for years now – shed light on his decision to scream during the installment (which is streamable with a Disney+ subscription ).
As he explained, it had to do with the duality of Murdock and his devilish alter ego: Yeah, it was a really fun sequence to shoot, actually. And funnily enough, it happened very, very early on in the process. I think, look, it's not some new idea.
I think that Matt, whichever version of him he is embodying, I think he feels like half a man and that he's doomed to live like that for his whole life. You know, he's always going to feel torn and pulled in two different directions. Neither one of those people are 100% authentic, and they cannot coexist, just by the nature of his religious background and his chosen profession and all those lots of reasons they can't coexist.
They have to kind of exist in isolation of one another, but the feelings are always there. So far, it’s been shown that Matt somewhat struggles to be able to contain the more volatile side of his personality, which he used to be able to channel, in some ways, through his work exploits as Daredevil. What the British actor seems to be describing is a man who cannot truly be whole, because he’s trying hard to bottle up one half of who he is.
The result, as Charlie Cox describes it, is someone who could be on the verge of a breakdown: And so when he has gone through a period of his life, which we've seen over the course of the iteration of the show, we've seen him deny a version of himself multiple times and try to find the balance. When he does deny himself, it's almost like a ticking time bomb, you know, or a kettle that's about to boil, and when it does, therefore reach a boiling point, it's an explosion. You know, there's no other way for it to come out of him.
Oh, that's the way I see it, at least. And I think that it feels like the rage and the expression of kind of relief mixed with anger, I think, is the cathartic element to it. Disney Plus + Hulu Bundle: $10.
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While new and eligible returning customers won't be able to enjoy the discounted rate for quite as long, you'll still get the sub-$3 bundle for the first four months of your subscription (over Black Friday, the reduced Disney Plus price ran for a whole year). Expires March 30 The sight of Matt Murdock screaming before the camera cuts to black is certainly intense, and I didn’t see it coming. Yet I can understand how that fight (which adds to the show’s violence ) and the scream would provide Murdock with a certain level of catharsis.
Plus, Murdock did try to contain his rage early on and was beat up as a result. On a broader note, Charlie Cox’s shrewd decision is a testament to just how much he’s aware of Murdock’s complexities. Marvel TV boss and series EP Brad Winderbaum agrees with that notion: Charlie understands Matt Murdock better than anybody, just like Vincent understands Wilson Fisk better than anybody and, to me, that scream at the end of Episode 2 is really a realization for Matt, that that he can't have it, that it's not his, that it's a lie, and that he is going to eventually not be able to to sustain what he thinks is this ideal of Foggy Nelson.
Needless to say, that’s a tough balance for Matt to strike, and he’s going to have to do some serious soul-searching. But kudos to Charlie Cox for truly committing to that scene and truly making it a visceral piece of work. Check out new episodes of Daredevil: Born Again when they hit Disney+ on Tuesdays at 9 p.
m. ET/6 p.m.
PT. Also, be sure to read up on upcoming Marvel shows . CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News.
