Daredevil: Born Again, “The Scales and the Sword” Review

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here for a second round of a Daredevil: Born Again review/reaction. This post will focus on the second season’s third episode, “The Scales and the Sword.” It played out exactly how I thought it would. If you didn’t catch my thought on “Shoot the Moon,” here’s a link to the previous episode’s reaction. While some may say that an episode playing out exactly as someone believed it would is not a good thing, it works in the case of “The Scales and the Sword.” But this fact may have played a role in Daredevil: Born Again’s second and third episodes releasing the same day. They’re two halves of the same episode.

Seriously, I got the sense that Disney/Marvel ended up with an hour and a half to two-hour episode and decided to cut it into two, roughly forty-five-minute episodes. Angela dons White Tiger’s amulet and helps Daredevil escape his infiltration of Red Hook. We even get a trial scene with Duquesne (Swordsman) that goes as well as you’d expect. All of this I predicted. But again, I don’t think this is a bad thing. It proves that Daredevil: Born Again is building toward something. Many of the major plot points have yet to be revealed. And I’m certain we’ll get plenty of twists and turns before the second season’s climax.

I said it before, and I’ll say it again, Heather Glenn serves as a fantastic secondary antagonist to Daredevil. She has a haunting history in the comic books. I won’t spoil that here, but trust me, Daredevil: Born Again could’ve gone a lot darker with her storyline. It still could. I like how she navigates her trauma at the hands of Muse. It makes her sympathetic. She believes she’s doing the right thing. Her scenes around Duquesne trial are great. I loved the quick rundown we got with Heather and Buck at the ball. We may have even gotten a hint that Blake will become The Rose. Buck and Heather could be an interesting couple.

I don’t have much to say beyond what I did with the previous episode’s (“Shoot the Moon”) reaction. It was a joy to watch Daredevil use his powers during the Red Hook infiltration, and I was shocked by how satisfying it was to watch Duquesne fight alongside the Man Without Fear. “Shoot the Moon” could stand on its own as an episode. I don’t believe “The Scales and the Sword” could’ve done the same. Disney/Marvel made the right decision to release both episodes on the same day. If we had gotten “The Scales and the Sword” by itself next week, we might’ve felt a little shortchanged. I’m glad Daredevil: Born Again tied up its early loose ends with this episode, and I hope this frees up the next episode to deliver a few twists.

That’s all I have for my reaction to “The Scales and the Sword.” I did watch the episode twice like I did the previous one, but there isn’t as much to discuss. “The Scales and the Sword” serves as an enjoyable second half to the last episode. But those are my opinions. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.