A group of entitled lawmen are given carte blanche, patrolling the streets, rounding up ordinary citizens in the name of preventing violent crime, where they’re taken to black sites and never heard from again. No, you’re not watching CNN, you’re watching Daredevil: Born Again season 2, which airs its season premiere today on Disney+. Season one of the MCU show touched on the real-world parallels by electing Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio, still doing career-best work) as the mayor of New York City, despite his blatantly corrupt past, and the setup of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF). The new season, which premieres today on Disney+, fully leans into what happens when laws and norms are ignored by those in power, while still making an entertaining superhero show.

Before it made the jump to Disney+ last year, Daredevil stood out in its decidedly un-MCU-like approach to superheroics (of course, the show originally aired three seasons on Netflix before Disney+ was even a twinkle in Bob Iger’s eyes). Here was a show with brutal violence, complicated heroes, and ample usage of multiple four-letter words. But now that Daredevil: Born Again has been fully integrated into the MCU, it still manages to stand out. There is no nanotechnology which allows Daredevil to fight the forces of evil. Sure, Daredevil still has his superhuman abilities, but the show still manages to feel worlds removed from the rest of the carefully crafted universe.

Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again sees Murdock and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) on the lam hiding from the AVTF. He’s still moonlighting as Daredevil in order to disrupt Fisk’s operations, but he can’t stem the tide of the AVTF’s terror tactics. The waterfront Red Hook site, which was identified at the end of season 1 as a freeport for Fisk’s use, has been converted to a black site for the AVTF to disappear those they’ve taken without due process or a warrant. It’s nothing new for superhero media to hold a mirror up to real issues, but Daredevil: Born Again does it in a way that feels organic to the world of the show.

If anything holds Daredevil: Born Again season 2 back, it’s in its occasionally too-scattered storytelling. How much time do we really need to dedicate to Fisk loyalists and fixers Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini) and Buck (Arty Froushan), and how much more could have been spent developing the cat-and-mouse game played between Murdock and Fisk? How much do I need to care about Matthew Lillard’s scene-stealing, if inconsequential, turn as a mysterious CIA operative? Season 1’s hokey man-on-the-street cutaways helped to widen the scope of the show, and they sometimes reappear here, but are mostly replaced by an Anonymous-esque series of videos where a masked person imitating Fisk exposes his secrets – even though most of the information has already been shown.

But where the show falters in its subplots, it surpasses with its fight choreography and brutal action set pieces. With vigilantes being openly targeted, much of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 deals with the uneasy relationship between Daredevil and Benjamin Poindexter, aka “Bullseye” (Wilson Bethel). Where Daredevil prefers to use the rule of law and official channels to fight Kingpin’s corruption, Bullseye becomes a ruthless killing machine, openly targeting the AVTF and whoever he comes across. Not only does this create an open conflict between the two, but it opens a moral conundrum for Murdock and the show: what’s the most effective way of fighting fascism? Through peaceful resistance and legal channels, or by fighting fire with fire?

After the great reception earlier this year to Wonder Man season 1, Daredevil: Born Again season 2 offers a decidedly more adult approach to comic book television. Showrunner Dario Scardapane has a firm grasp on the material, and knows what fans loved from the original Netflix days. Yes, there’s at least one one-take action scene, and while it doesn’t pack as hard of a punch anymore since it seems to be a prerequisite built into the show, it’s no less fun to witness. Season 2 likely won’t win over skeptics, or convert the non-believers, but fans who are already on board will be rewarded with more of what Daredevil: Born Again does best.

Daredevil: Born Again season 2 premieres on Disney+ on March 24, with subsequent episodes released weekly until May 12, 2026.