Recap: Hector's Fate is Decided in Intense Third Episode of "Daredevil: Born Again"
Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again is really starting to heat up. With the odds stacked against Matt Murdock and his team in the Hector Ayala case, things are starting to get intense for the man who is trying to leave his vigilante past behind him. And with Fisk trying to save both his marriage and his city, it’s only a matter of time before their paths cross again.
This third episode opens with Matt meeting Hector in prison. Hector tells Matt about a beach in Puerto Rico where you can hear a certain type of frog sing. Matt promises he is going to get to see that beach again. Hector seems unsure.
After the title sequence, we see two men driving a truck. They get cornered by a gang and a man comes to their window asking for their keys and wallets. We learn the men driving the truck are also members of a gang, one of the crime families of New York. One of the men puts up a fight and both of them are killed. The peace between the families is crumbling without a Kingpin in charge.
After another BB Report asking citizens about crime in the city, we see Wilson and Vanessa having breakfast, They are interrupted by Sheila who informs them of the killing at Red Hook. After she leaves, Vanessa tells Wilson the families need someone at the head of the table. Wilson argues they should let them kill each other but Vanessa says whoever is left standing will come after him. Wilson says it’s not their concern, but we see his hand has fresh scars on it, as though he has recently been in a fight.
Matt is confronted in a bathroom in the courthouse by officer Powell, the officer who attacked Matt in the end of episode two. It turns out Matt did not actually kill him. He threatens to tell the judge Matt is interfering with a police investigation but Matt turns the tables and threatens to tell the judge about his attempted attack on the Nicky Torres, the only witness of the alleged cop killing.
Cherry meets a friend at a safehouse where they’re stashing Torres before he can testify. In court, Powell testifies that no one else was on the subway platform with him and his partner when Hector attacked them. Matt cross examines and asks Powell if he knows Torres. Powell says he does not but Matt points out Torres has been an informant and worked with him directly. It’s clear Matt’s defense is based completely on Torres testifying. Matt hears an officer in the room say “Torres cannot testify." We see that the officer has a tattoo on his neck resembling the Punisher skull. One of the officers who attacked Matt had the same tattoo on his wrist.
Cherry and their friend start to move Torres en route to the courthouse. Cherry drives a black van and notices he is being followed by a cop. The officer pulls Cherry over and makes him open the back of the van, revealing that Torres is not with him. The other man helps Torres out of a cab and into the courthouse.
Torres takes the stand and Matt asks him about the night of the incident. Torres is clearly under pressure from the NYPD and he lies, saying he was home that entire night, much to the delight of the cops in attendance. Matt’s whole defense is crumbling.
Buck meets with members of the crime families and informs them Fisk won’t be joining them. He passes along an order for one family to pay another $1.8 million as restitution for what happened. There is some pushback but Buck informs them he “works for the man."
Matt, Kirsten and Cherry meet to discuss their plan after Torres lied on the stand. Matt says they simply need to let Hector tell his side of the story and hope the jury is sympathetic. Meanwhile, Vanessa tells Wilson she gave the order that Buck delivered to the families. They argue over her urge to maintain the peace between the families and Vanessa thinks she is being punished for Adam, which Wilson refutes. Their argument stops when Heather enters for their next therapy session.
The next day in court, Matt questions Hector on the stand. After he lets Hector tell his story, Matt takes a wild swing and asks Hector if he is the vigilante known as White Tiger, while holding the White Tiger mask up for everyone to see. The judge calls both lawyers to his chambers. He scolds Matt for arguing the White Tiger persona was not relevant to the case before it began and now exposing that information. With the information out there in the public, the judge has no choice but to allow it. Matt may have created a new defense but he has also created a new enemy in DA Hochberg.
A BB Report shows a man saying he does not think Hector will get a fair trial. We then see Matt meeting with Hector in prison. He tells Hector if he’s acquitted, he can no longer be the White Tiger. Hector tells him the White Tiger is who he is and he can’t stop.
The next day in court, we hear from witnesses who have been saved by the White Tiger in the past. Both sides give their closing statements to the jury and it still seems very much up in the air as to whether Hector will be found guilty or not. Later, the jury gives their verdict and Hector is found not guilty on all counts.
Fisk watches on television as Matt rushes past reporters asking him questions about the case. He asks Daniel to bring back his friend BB so he can talk to her again. Meanwhile, Matt makes dinner for Heather. He tells her a story about how he and Foggy would celebrate their wins with a glass of an expensive whiskey. Heather proposes a toast to Foggy and they share a drink.
Fisk talks to BB, calling the Ayala verdict an “absolute miscarriage of justice." We see Hector suiting up once again as the White Tiger and taking to the streets as we hear Fisk calling vigilantes a threat to society. He references his promise to the city and this verdict demands that he keeps his promise. Meanwhile, Hector responds to a scream and heads off to help but is instead shot in the head from point blank by a man in a hood. The man walks off and we see the Punisher skull on his chest. Heartbreakingly, the credits are accompanied by sound of the frogs Hector referenced at the beginning of the episode.
This was a tough ending to stomach. Is Frank Castle really the man who killed Hector Ayala? Why are some of these police officers wearing such a similar skull? And, perhaps most importantly, is Fisk behind Hector’s killing? It would certainly be a strange team-up if he and the Punisher are really working together. And if that is the case, how will Matt respond?