Born Again Is Underusing Bullseye So He Better Be Back In Season 2
Warning! This article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 1, episode 8.
has been delivering some incredible action over the last eight episodes, but Bullseye remains criminally underused in the show. With the migration to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
, there were a lot of fears that the spark from the original Netflix series would disappear. True, early on, Charlie Cox was announced to be reprising his role, and Vincent D’Onofrio was tagged to come back as Kingpin, but beyond that, the casting and continuity were completely up in the air.
Now, it’s an absolute triumph that the series has brought back pivotal characters like Foggy and Karen, despite them only appearing in one episode, and the addition of Benjamin Poindexter, aka, Bullseye has been a wonderful way to bring continuity in from season 3 of the Netflix series to Daredevil: Born Again. But, with that being said, these characters have ended up playing considerably smaller parts than they could or should. They deserve more, and if it doesn’t happen in season 1, they need to come back in season 2.
Bullseye Has Been Totally Underused In Daredevil: Born Again
Bullseye Could Have Been A Much Bigger Part Of The Reboot Show
Bullseye has so far shown up in a total of two out of eight episodes. That is episode 1, when he turns up, kills Foggy, and then ends up in prison. Then, in episode 8, Bullseye manages to escape prison, track down Kingpin, and crash his black-tie event where he very nearly assassinated the new mayor of New York. However, thanks to Matt Murdock’s swift skills, he managed to block the attack just in time, even if it was at a great personal risk to himself.
Related
Daredevil: Born Again is paying tribute to the Netflix original series in the best way with some clear connections to Matt Murdock’s previous story.
But in both of these episodes, Bullseye’s presence has elevated the plot, and taken things to a new extreme. His presence, his effortless ability to intimidate and inflict pain, and his endless ability to get under the skin of others have all made him an iconic villain, despite being so underused. Even if he returns in the finale episode, that makes up a total of a third of the season, and that is not nearly enough time to dig into this character and their incredible potential.
Why Bullseye Deserves To Be In More Episodes Of Daredevil: Born Again
Wilson Bethel Is Absolutely Incredible As Benjamin Poindexter, AKA Bullseye
Kingpin is an incredible rival for Matt Murdock on a mental level. The two characters, Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, have so much in common in terms of their motivations, mental states, and their compulsion towards violence. However, in terms of a physical match, Benjamin Poindexter has a much closer skillset. In fact, that made him the ideal candidate to pretend to be Daredevil throughout season 3 of the original Netflix show. He is an exceptional fighter, has spectacular aim, and seems to have a superhuman awareness of his surroundings and targets.
This makes him a perfect foil to Daredevil, and one that proves to be an intense challenge whenever he appears on-screen. However, even more than that, Bullseye has a vendetta against Fisk. He behaves and acts in many ways like other vigilantes like The Punisher, but his motivation, brutality, and inhibition make him a dangerous figure who crosses lines Daredevil strives to avoid. On top of that, Wilson Bethel, the actor who plays the part in the show, is an incredible fit for the part, and does a great job opposite Charlie Cox and D’Onofrio.
Thankfully, Daredevil: Born Again Sets Up Bullseye To Return In Season 2
Bullseye Is A Bigger Character Than Just One Season Of Daredevil
While the final episode will likely make some big moves, and establish what comes next in season 2, it seems unlikely that Matt Murdock will be able to take down Bullseye in his weakened state. Having taken a serious injury in order to protect Wilson Fisk, Matt is in no shape to go into a battle against such a spectacularly matched rival. And since Bullseye avoided capture at the end of episode 8, it seems like he may retreat, in order to avoid being recaptured and sent back to prison.
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Daredevil: Born Again episode 8 was an excellent installment and finally convinced me that Marvel’s overhaul of the show was the correct choice.
Daredevil: Born Again seasons 2 and 3 are both confirmed to happen, so the writers and creatives behind the scenes have plenty of room to expand and explore the stories of these characters. There is no need to rush a resolution. Instead, Matt and Fisk need to have some serious screen time in the finale, and Bullseye needs to have more time for his story to be properly expanded upon. In the comics, he is a long-time rival to Daredevil, so keeping him around for the future of Daredevil: Born Again is an ideal plan.
9/10
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Michael Cuesta, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Chris Ord
