Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio are back — and critics who’ve seen all 8 episodes are calling it one of the best things Marvel Television has ever produced.
Hell’s Kitchen opens back up tonight. Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 hits Disney+ at 9pm ET, and if the critical response from the early screener crowd means anything, this is the Marvel Television season fans have been waiting years for.
The consensus from critics who watched all eight episodes before the embargo lifted is striking — not just in how positive it is, but in the specific language they’re using. Words like brutal, timely, and disturbingly relevant show up again and again. One outlet that reviewed the full season called it “more brutal, bloody, and narratively sophisticated than Season 1” and specifically singled out its examination of political corruption as “disturbingly timely.” Another critic called it a “huge win for Marvel Television” that comes close to matching the original Netflix series at its peak.
That word — timely — is doing a lot of work. Season 2 picks up six months after last year’s finale, with Wilson Fisk’s grip on New York now formalized. He’s Mayor. He’s enacted an Anti-Vigilante Task Force. He’s using the full machinery of municipal government to hunt Matt Murdock, and he’s doing it legally. The story isn’t about a crime lord operating in the shadows anymore — it’s about institutional power turned against the people it’s supposed to protect. That’s not just a superhero plot. That’s a story that lands differently depending on when you’re watching it.
Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have been doing this particular dance for over a decade across the Netflix run and Season 1. What critics are responding to is the sense that this season finally unleashes both of them fully — no creative overhauls mid-production, no tonal whiplash, just a showrunner in Dario Scardapane who knew exactly what he wanted to make and made it. We broke down the suit, the comic precedents, and what Season 2 was setting up in our full Season 2 guide here — that context pays off tonight.
Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones is back, and this is one the reactions keep flagging specifically. Jones was last seen in MCU live-action in 2019’s Jessica Jones Season 3. Seven years. Her role this season is reportedly comparable in weight to Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in Season 1 — which is to say, substantial. Critics called her addition “much needed” and noted that her chemistry with Cox is one of the season’s highlights. Matthew Lillard joins as the new villain Mr. Charles, which is exactly the kind of left-field casting that sounds strange until it’s on screen and clearly works.
Is Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 good? Based on every critic who’s seen it: yes, measurably better than Season 1, and possibly the best thing Marvel Television has produced. Whether it holds through all eight episodes remains to be seen — but the setup is strong, the performances are operating at peak level, and Scardapane has something to say about the world that the show is uniquely positioned to say.
New episodes drop every Tuesday through May 5, followed by a Punisher special presentation on May 12 — Jon Bernthal returning as Frank Castle in a solo story Bernthal co-wrote himself, bridging directly into Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That connection is deep and deliberate, and we mapped out exactly where it leads.
Season 3 is already in production. This is the longest-running live-action Marvel Disney+ series ever made, and after tonight it’s clear that Daredevil has earned that run. The Man Without Fear found his footing. Now he’s fighting for New York. Worth watching every frame of it.