Marvel has released a new clip from the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, and it once again shows Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin in tears.
This time, the crying follows the apparent death of Vanessa Fisk, which multiple episode recaps say happens at the end of Episode 5 after she initially survives surgery.
Kingpin is crying again
So here we are again.
Marvel drops another Daredevil: Born Again clip, and instead of reminding fans why Wilson Fisk used to be one of the most feared villains in the comic books, it gives us more of Kingpin breaking down emotionally.
Last year, I criticized how Born Again turned D’Onofrio’s Kingpin into a watered-down version of the character. Too much crying. Too much weakness. Too much simp behavior revolving around Vanessa. D’Onofrio even responded to me over it, and yes, he eventually blocked me.
Now the show has doubled down.
The new clip making the rounds from the latest episode (watch below) features Fisk in yet another emotional state, which comes after Vanessa apparently dies.
Based on the spoiler-filled breakdowns now online, Vanessa is wounded, survives surgery, shares a final moment with Fisk, and then suddenly dies anyway.
Worth a mention to D’Onofrio and the trolls who are sure to respond, Kingpin does actually have a good reason to cry here — just imagine how good it would have come off if it was actually his first time crying???
The ratings question isn’t going away
The bigger problem, other than Simp Kingpin, is that the Daredevil: Born Again viewership remains a question mark.
Season 1 launched with Disney claiming 7.5 million views in its first five days on Disney+, which sounded good on paper.
But the issue was what happened after that.
Daredevil: Born Again never appeared on Nielsen’s U.S. streaming top 10 originals chart (note: Disney+ automatically has Nielsen tracking turned enabled in user accounts).
We’re still waiting for Nielsen numbers for the current season, but early online chatter citing Luminate’s streaming originals chart says Born Again Season 2 is also failing to show up there.
Marvel still has a perception problem
Even with some fans saying Season 2 is better creatively, Marvel still has a perception problem.
When the big talking point around your main villain is that he’s crying again, and when the ratings story is once again about whether the show can chart, that is not exactly the kind of momentum Disney was probably hoping for.
Kingpin should feel dangerous. Instead, Marvel keeps giving fans a guy who looks emotionally shattered every other week.
Fans are also saying Charlie Cox’s Daredevil takes a back seat this season to Karen Page. True?
And if the Nielsen numbers come in looking anything like Season 1, then all the praise in the world from the usual online crowd won’t change the bigger picture.
Watch the clip:
