Daredevil: Born Again debuted to positive reviews earlier this month and, following yesterday evening's stellar episode, the show's Rotten Tomatoes score has once again increased.
"Sic Semper Systema" featured the return of Jon Bernthal as The Punisher along with Muse's haunting debut and, with reviews for this specific episode uploaded overnight, the score has increased from 84% to 86%.
It's an admittedly small difference, albeit one that pushes Daredevil: Born Again closer to being one of Marvel Studios' most critically acclaimed Disney+ TV shows.
The studio needed a win after Captain America: Brave New World as that drew mostly mixed-to-negative reviews when it opened in theaters last month. That was a disappointment for Marvel Studios, especially as Deadpool & Wolverine, Agatha All Along, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man were widely praised.
Cap's latest movie was the victim of reshoots, though a creative only seemed to benefit Daredevil: Born Again.
A handful of stills have also been released from "Sic Semper Systema," putting the spotlight on Frank, Matt Murdock, Mayor Wilson Fisk, and New York's new Kingpin of Crime, Vanessa Fisk.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Bernthal said Daredevil: Born Again's fourth episode is "just a toe dip" when it comes to reintroducing the character.
"It was like, Let's see if this works," he added. "Let's see if there's a real openness and a hunger to let Frank be what Frank is, which is dark enough to have the courage and the boldness to turn your back on the audience and to make it difficult, to make it enormously psychologically complex and to steer away from any cuteness or humor and to really go full bore."
"I feel like it's opened the door to getting closer to the Frank Castle that I really, really want to portray," Bernthal admitted, teasing his eventual return to the role later this season and in a planned Special Presentation on Disney+.
You can read more about The Punisher's MCU debut by clicking here.
In Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened abilities is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.
The series also stars Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, with Ayelet Zurer and Jon Bernthal. Dario Scardapane is showrunner.
"A masterpiece of epic proportions, Daredevil: Born Again delivers a powerful, unmissable take on the Man Without Fear," we said in our review. "Putting street-level heroics on the map in a way that promises to change the MCU forever, the show is sublime superhero storytelling on a whole new level."
Daredevil: Born Again's first four episodes are now streaming on Disney+.