Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Premiere References An Underrated TV Series

JoJo Whilden/Marvel Studios

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season 2 premiere of "Daredevil: Born Again."

When "Daredevil: Born Again" picks up roughly six months after the events of the season 1 finale, a lot has changed in the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. New York City has elected and fallen victim to the power-hungry whims of Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), super-powered vigilantes like Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil have been forced into hiding underground, and they've been replaced by patrols of masked goons roaming the city and enacting martial law as part of Fisk's "Safer Streets" initiative.

When the premiere kicks off, however, it seems like nothing has changed at all — in fact, we're initially meant to believe the city has never been better. This is mainly shown through the return of "The BB Report," a documentary-like online production featuring young reporter BB Urich (Genneya Walton) interviewing random citizens on the street. Not only does this bring a street-level perspective to the story, providing insights into what everyday New Yorkers feel about the larger events unfolding around them, but it justifies the addition of BB Urich and her connection to the legacy of her late uncle Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall) from the original Netflix series.

Despite painting a rosy picture of New York under Fisk, however, "The BB Report" quickly reveals the lie. A rogue hacker abruptly takes over the news show and splices in footage of a mysterious figure wearing a Fisk mask. This bizarre act of resistance essentially mocks the new Mayor, exposing his criminal dealings and urging the city to wake up. Look familiar? Those who've watched the brilliant USA Network series "Mr. Robot" will recognize this blatant homage to the frequent "fsociety" videos, though reactions will be split over whether it's as effective here.

Peter Kramer/USA Network

Hello, friend. We can't say we expected the next season of "Daredevil: Born Again" to make us think about how we as a culture did "Mr. Robot" dirty during its original run, but here we are. The underappreciated series had both the benefit and grave misfortune of releasing just as Donald Trump rose to power, which had the unintended consequence of turning its techno-thriller storyline about have-nots fighting back against the rich and powerful 1% into a somewhat dated concept. When the series first premiered in 2015, the idea of hackers waging war against the corrupt upper class of society felt genuinely fresh and novel. Now, as evidenced by "Daredevil: Born Again" and its attempt to recapture the same magic through the "BB Report" clips, this doesn't quite hit as hard a decade later.

If anything, season 2 of "Daredevil: Born Again" only does itself a disservice by reminding us of a much better show. When "Mr. Robot" explored the mysterious "fsociety" group of hackers through Rami Malek's mentally ill protagonist Elliot Alderson, it did so with an incredibly detailed and satirical eye for detail. In one sense, series creator Sam Esmail was in on the joke. The "fsociety" viral campaign is laden with a sense of irony and self-awareness, keeping the overt political themes from ever feeling didactic or ham-fisted. "Born Again" doesn't quite have that same deft handling of tone, unfortunately, which only makes this jarring intrusion of "The BB Report" feel awfully silly. On one hand, this is obviously meant to feel off-putting and unexpected. On the other, well, the show's otherwise grounded approach only makes this stick out all the more — and not quite as intended.

Marevl Studios

Consider this one of the perils of attempting to tell such a "timely" story. In /Film's review of "Daredevil: Born Again" season 2, the shaky political messaging ranked among the top of the list of complaints holding the series back from reaching its full potential. What's frustrating is that, in the early going, showrunner Dario Scardapane is actually on the right track by bringing back "The BB Report." The sanitized portrayal of a New York City that's "back and better than ever" juxtaposes nicely with the reality of what's actually going down in the shadows, far from prying eyes. The premiere episode, titled "The Northern Star," gets quite a bit of mileage out of this exploration of propaganda and, if you will, "fake news" meant to placate the masses.

If only this sudden pivot into "Mr. Robot" territory was handled with as much subtlety and nuance. Despite "Daredevil: Born Again" featuring a much more tangible behind-the-scenes connection through editor Melissa Lawson Cheung, who worked in the same capacity on "Mr. Robot" throughout the fourth and final season, the "City Without Fear" videos (as they're referred to in "Born Again") can't help but feel lacking. The dialogue is clunky and obvious, the editing leans a little too far into amateur DIY territory, and the final results turn what could've been a potent piece of political satire into something much more toothless.

If it feels odd to knock a Marvel production for attempting to homage a show like "Mr. Robot," think of this as more of a case of holding "Daredevil: Born Again" to a higher standard. This series has all the promise in the world to be among the best of the MCU. Hopefully, it gets there. New episodes stream on Disney+ every Tuesday.