Commentary: The Meta Nature Within The ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Diner Scene
by Frank Martin
Subtext is a great tool for storytelling. Of course, creators want to make a great story within the confines of the work itself. But nothing exists in isolation. Stories — especially film and television — exist within a larger framework of production within our world. A lot of times, creators try to separate the goings on of our world from their creation. But it’s also cool to use subtext to give little hints and references about the real world outside of the story itself. It was especially cool to see Daredevil: Born Again do it in a very fun way.
This revival picks up picks up five to six years after the final season of the Netflix Daredevil. After separating himself from his criminal enterprise, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) seeks to become the new mayor of New York. And after the death of a close friend, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) decides to hang up his Daredevil costume. Nevertheless, Fisk’s announcement gives him concern that the Kingpin will use the mayor’s office in a criminal way. There’s a mutual respect between them, so in episode 2 of Born Again, Matt and Fisk sit down at a diner to exchange pleasantries and warn each other to stay out of one another’s lane.
Taking it at face value, this scene was a lot of fun. It had a hero and a villain who have a lot of history to catch up on while also creating tension between them. But there’s also a lot more going on under the surface. These two actors have gone on a pretty incredible journey with these characters. After the Netflix show ended, they reprised their roles in two separate Marvel Cinematic Universe entries each, completely separate from the Daredevil show. They’ve gone on a sort of tour of the MCU completely on their own, before coming back for this program. It was very cool to see them subtly acknowledge this fact on a meta level in a way that only the MCU could allow.
Daredevil: Born Again again streams Tuesdays on Disney+