After years off our TV screens, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen made a long-awaited comeback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Daredevil: Born Again. Charlie Cox reprised his role as the titular vigilante from Netflix series Daredevil, while Vincent D'Onofrio also returned as the villainous Kingpin in a new saga that brings the old foes back across each other's paths. With the fate of Hell's Kitchen once again on the line, it's going to be a high-stakes war, but with Wilson Fisk now inserting himself as New York City's mayor, that fight is tougher than ever.
Daredevil: Born Again has also seen the hero of the show suffer a great deal of tragedy, while also presenting him with a new opportunity to help people, as he took on the case of Hector Ayala, a.k.a. The White Tiger, in a bid to prove his innocence after a run-in with corrupt cops.
We're back in New York for the third episode, titled "The Hollow of His Hand", and here's everything that goes down in the Disney Plus series.
Proving a hero innocent
After his run-in with Officer Powell in the previous episode, Matt Murdock is more determined than ever to prove Hector Ayala's innocence. The two share a nice moment prior to the trial reconvening, as Hector recalls memories that make him feel peaceful, hopeful, speaking out what the White Tiger stands for. Matt tells him he's going to ensure that he is reunited with his family.
Matt also happens to run into Officer Powell in the hallway. The corrupt cop threatens to reveal how good a fighter Matt really is by explaining how he assaulted him, but the lawyer counters, reminding Powell that evidence tampering is illegal and would completely tank his case. They're at a stalemate and Matt knows it, shoving past him in the hallway.
Powell stands his ground in the courtroom, claiming that Hector killed his partner that night and that there was no witness. Matt begins to cross-examine him and he knows exactly how to play it, telling him that it was a ghost town on the platform and questioning the notion of Hector randomly deciding to rush two cops. He also asked him if he knows a man by the name of Nicky Torres. Powell says he doesn't but he's rattled, taking time to answer the question and losing that arrogant look that was once on his face.
Meanwhile, Cherry has Matt and Hector's witness in protective custody. They arrange an elaborate scheme to protect him and get him to the courthouse to testify in case they are followed. Sure enough, they are, but when Powell opens the vehicle, Nicky is nowhere to be seen. The plan works as Nicky gets to the courthouse safely to testify. Unfortunately, he is too spooked by all of the cops watching him and lies, refusing to corroborate Hector's story.
Matt decides that the only play now is to have Hector tell his story, but even Hector isn't aware of the full extent of what that means. As he is on the stand, speaking about how he was bringing his wife home flowers when he saw the commotion, Matt tells the jury that Hector is a good man. He says that his attempt to rescue Mr. Torres from the police attack isn't the only example of that, pulling out the White Tiger mask to announce to the court that Hector is indeed the White Tiger.
Hector is heartbroken, betrayed by Matt's revelation as it no longer means he can operate as the White Tiger. The judge isn't happy either, nor is the District Attorney as all three has previously agreed that Hector's heroic activities would not be referenced. But now the judge had no choice but to allow the White Tiger revelation to be admissible as it the jury already knows now (and so would another jury if they declared a mistrial).
With that, Matt was able to successfully prove to the court that Hector, as the heroic White Tiger, was a good man, even using testimonies from the police (including Officer Morales!) to highlight their point. Although the prosecution argued that even good men can do bad things, the jury ultimately found Hector innocent, seemingly ending this nightmare for the Ayala family.
A crook in charge
The Kingpin may have been elected mayor but his empire isn't running as smoothly as he wanted it to. On the crime side of things, in-fighting has begun as the crime families Vanessa had been overseeing are now trying to grab the power that she once had as her new political future has ruled out any criminal activity - something that continues to put a strain on her relationship with husband, Wilson Fisk.
Fisk, however, argues that the chaos could be good as the criminals could wipe each other out, but Vanessa argues that whoever is left at the head of the table could come for him. But the Mayor isn't interested in blood feuds as he now as new things to think about.
But things aren't peachy for him in office either, for he's not happy to hear that Hector Ayala has been found innocent. He decides to allow himself to be interviewed by BB Urich, claiming that vigilantes are not heroes and that a man who killed a police officer (which we know is misinformation) should not be walking free. Clearly he is attempting to win the police's favor, because we all know Fisk likes to have law enforcement officials at his beck and call.
Given that he knows Matt Murdock is the lawyer who made this verdict happen, we suspect the old Daredevil / Kingpin feud is far, far from over.
Who killed White Tiger in Daredevil: Born Again?
That takes us to the concluding moments of the episode. Free at last, Hector Ayala decides to do the one thing he has been longing to do since his imprisonment: Go out and protect people. So, against the recommendation of his legal team, he decides to don the White Tiger suit again in what is a particularly moving moment. Hector looks great in the suit and takes to the streets, ready to save whoever is in need. But as he stops, a gun is pointed directly at the side of his head. A shot rings out and White Tiger falls to the ground, dead. The perpetrator walks towards the camera; we don't see his face, but we do see the symbol on his chest. It's that infamous skull, leaving us all wondering if The Punisher really did the unthinkable.
We know Jon Bernthal will be reprising his role from the Marvel Netflix shows, and from the looks of the trailer, he'll be having a confrontation with Matt at some point in the series. That being said, is Matt confronting him over killing Hector Ayala? It's possible; Frank Castle has a temper and he's not particularly a fan of the way that heroes conduct themselves as he prefers a colder, more direct approach. And yet, we can't help but feel that this doesn't add up.
The Punisher may have a twisted moral code when it comes to killing, but it is a code. He brutally kills the guilty, refusing to believe that evil can ever truly change. What he doesn't do, however, is punish the innocent. Sure, he's not a people person and he's not exactly a friendly person either, but he doesn't kill his fellow vigilantes. He had a pretty love / hate friendship with Daredevil on the original series, but he considered "Red" something of a friend after their early animosity died down, so it's hard to believe he'd kill a good man like White Tiger in cold blood.
But still, that is The Punisher's symbol. And it's not the first time we've seen it on the series. Remember in the second episode, the symbol was seen tattooed on Officer Powell's arm, suggesting that the corrupt police officers are using the symbol to justify police brutality. Has a copycat risen up and stolen Frank's symbol for even deadlier antics, or is something else in play here?
Either way, it's pretty clear that The Punisher's arrival on the show is imminent. And he might have some explaining to do to his old pal Red.
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney Plus.