Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 has killed Vanessa Fisk, dealing a blow to the Kingpin of Crime that's likely to completely change the trajectory of his story moving both in the remaining episodes and heading into Season 3.
In the comics, Vanessa dies after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Before her death, she orchestrates the downfalls of both her husband and the Man Without Fear, but that doesn't stop Wilson from doing everything in his power to bring her back.
Over the years, Vanessa has been resurrected by The Hand, cloned by The Jackal, and very nearly the recipient of a resurrection, courtesy of the Tablets of Life and Destiny and Death and Entropy. In 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, we watched as Fisk tried to find her doppelgänger from a parallel reality.
When we put some of these possibilities to Daredevil: Born Again star Ayelet Zurer and asked if a return is on the table, she replied, "If I were a writer, I’d say yes. But I’m not the writer, so who knows? It depends on where the show is going and what they want to explore. So, to be continued."
Agreeing that the "shockwaves" will continue to be felt even after Vanessa's death, the actress briefly commented on the impact her character has had on Heather Glenn. With only three episodes remaining, she seems to be on her own descent into villainy.
"I didn’t have a huge amount of that, maybe one or two scenes this season—I can’t quite remember—but it was definitely clear where things were heading," Zurer mused. "We also developed a bond off-screen, as friends, which made working together really interesting."
Back to that incredible scene in episode 4, "Gloves Off," where we see Vanessa turn to reveal that a piece of glass is impaled in her head—and the striking visual of the blood that flows down her white dress—Zurer talked to us in detail about shooting the standout sequence:
"First of all, it took four or five days, if I remember correctly. It was the longest scene we shot because it had so many components. I have to say, the director did an amazing job on that episode. It was actually quite sad. At first, it was fun. The boxing, the environment, the excitement of the stunts. Even the gun moment had a certain intensity to it."
"But once we got to the part where she’s lying down, and he collapses beside her, knowing what was coming in the next episode, it became very emotional. The next episode was really the heartbreaking one for us, because we knew it was the last. It was inevitable, in a way. It’s crazy, because you’re telling the story of these two villains—really complicated human beings—but at the same time, it’s so emotional. And honestly, it’s fun."
While many fans feel that Vanessa got her comeuppance after her role in Foggy Nelson's murder, everyone is sad to see Zurer, and the character, go. Still, if the comics have shown us anything, it's that the villain's story isn't necessarily over yet.
A brutal, relentless tour-de-force, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is a Marvel masterstroke that sees Charlie Cox take the Man Without Fear to unprecedented heights, delivering the definitive take on Daredevil," we said in our 8-episode review published last month.
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming weekly on Disney+.