- "We put Poindexter away and it changes nothing, all right? We defend Hector Ayala and he's still murdered, probably by the same cops who are out there assaulting citizens, by the way, all right? Leroy Bradford goes away for eating a box of caramel corn. Heather's assaulted by Muse and she thinks Fisk is right. And now this asshоlе, this privileged sociopath can get away with ripping off teachers. We're not serving justice here, you know? We're babysitting chaos. This, us, what... what we do, it feels useless."
- ―Matt Murdock to Kirsten McDuffie
Isle of Joy is the eighth episode of the first season of Daredevil: Born Again.
Synopsis[]
At his inaugural Black and White Ball, Mayor Fisk tightens his grip on New York City.
Plot[]
Serving his sentence at Rikers Island, Benjamin Poindexter gets picked up by the guards and taken out of solitary confinement. Despite Poindexter's protests, he gets transferred into general population, together with all other inmates.
Taking Vanessa Fisk to Red Hook Pier, Wilson Fisk informs her that the funding for his redevelopment project is happening and thanks Vanessa for her efforts to make it all happen. Fisk then brings her to a hidden location at the pier and shows her Adam, where Fisk kept him prisoner. While Adam pleads and begs for them to let him out, Fisk addresses Vanessa and acknowledges his shortcoming as a husband, giving Vanessa a choice to decide Adam's fate. Instead of letting Adam go, Vanessa chooses to kill him and the Fisks reconcile their relationship.
Heather Glenn still struggles to process what happened when Muse attacked her, and talks to Matt Murdock about Muse, Daredevil, and the violence that they breed, although Murdock insists that Daredevil and Muse are nothing alike. Buck Cashman suddenly shows up at Murdock's place and gives Glenn her invitation to the Black & White Ball, organized by the Fisks. Murdock questions how does Glenn know Cashman and asks if the Fisks are her clients, to which she refuses to answer. Murdock claims that she should not trust Fisk as he only seeks to use her to support his anti-vigilante narrative, and Glenn argues with him. Glenn suggests Murdock to accompany her to the ball if he is so concerned, but Murdock does not answer and goes to work.
Arriving at the office, Murdock talks to Kirsten McDuffie about Thomas Madison's case, on which they have been working for a while. McDuffie then informs Murdock that Poindexter has been put into general population and Murdock is only glad to hear that. She also mentions that Poindexter has been requesting a chance to talk to Murdock, but warns him that he should not indulge him regardless. Murdock asks if they knew who ordered Poindexter's transfer and McDuffie confirms that it was an order from Fisk's office.
Fisk holds a meeting with Cashman, Sheila Rivera, and Daniel Blake and congratulates them with the success the office achieved, particularly, the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Rivera points out that the AVTF's excessive methods are a subject to lawsuits, but Fisk is unbothered due to their results. Commenting on the good publicity the AVTF has been getting, Fisk praises Blake for how he handled BB Urich and her coverage of the events, and decides to appoint Blake as a Deputy Mayor for Communications. Rivera tries to interject and claims that Blake is unfit for such a position, but Fisk does not listen and says that people like him are the future of New York City.
Murdock and McDuffie hold a meeting with Madison, who has been accused of defrauding teachers, but Murdock picks up on his flippant attitude and his lie that he was not aware of his actions being fraudulent. Murdock angrily tells Madison that even though they are his lawyers, they would not dabble in perjury and defend a client who they know is lying. McDuffie talks to Murdock about his outburst, wondering if it was somehow related to Poindexter and asks Murdock what has been going on with him lately. Murdock tells her that after all the injustices they witnessed with Hector Ayala or Leroy Bradford, and how Fisk only gets more public support, all what Murdock & McDuffie has been doing feels pointless.
Murdock goes to the closed Josie's Bar and has a drink with Josie, where he is found by Cherry, whom McDuffie asked to keep tabs on him. They talk about Fisk moving forward with his anti-vigilante platform and moving Poindexter into general population, and Murdock thinks that they have been missing something and it all must be somehow connected. Cherry insists that it has been proven that Poindexter was acting alone to get revenge, and asks Murdock to move forward. When Josie mentions that Foggy Nelson has been drinking their special O'Melveny's bottle on the night he died, Murdock finds it strange and realizes that Nelson already knew that he was going to win the case and somebody silenced him.
Arriving at Rikers Island, Murdock meets with Poindexter and asks if he was hired by Fisk to kill Nelson and if he wanted Poindexter dead because he knew too much. Poindexter does not reply directly, implying that if he stays in general population, he would die before Murdock gets to know the truth. He says that if Murdock wants to know if Fisk hired him, he would have to represent Poindexter and get him out of prison, to which Murdock responds by slamming his head against the table in rage. Poindexter laughs through pain and thanks Murdock, before the guards come and escort him away, as Murdock says that Poindexter did that to himself.
The Fisks hold the Black & White Ball at Gracie Mansion with the AVTF handling the security for the event. Rivera assures Blake that she has nothing against his promotion and only thinks of it as premature, but Blake tells her that he is no longer worried about what Rivera thinks anymore. He then goes to talk to Urich, who is still upset at what happened between them before, telling her that he is now Deputy Mayor for Communications. Jack Duquesne talks to Artemis Sledge, who previously had a rather hostile talk with Fisk, noticing that she was nervous and her husband being absent. Glenn, who decided to accept the invitation, is upset that Murdock did not come and did not even give her a heads-up.
Poindexter is taken to a prison doctor to tend his wound, but Poindexter reveals that one of his teeth got broken and he uses it to injure the guard and breaks free. Poindexter then proceeds to kill the guard and the doctor, before stealing the uniform and escaping from Rikers Island.
Vanessa approaches Glenn at the ball, thanking her for what she did for their marriage, and says that she and Fisk had managed to resolve their issues. Murdock eventually arrives at the ball to check on Fisk, while Glenn voices her frustrations with him being emotionally and physically distant from her. Murdock overhears Fisk pressuring Duquesne into supporting the redevelopment project, using his secret life as Swordsman as a leverage. A journalist discusses as a waiter snaps a photo of Fisk, who then orders Connor Powell to take care of him, and Powell uses excessive force to punish him. Phil Gallo tries to intervene, threatening to charge Powell with assault, but Powell is unbothered and claims that the AVTF only answer to Fisk, not to Gallo.
As Fisk continues to have his private conversations with potential investors, Urich calls it corruption and Blake asks why cannot she just be happy for him. As Blake would not side with her, Urich approaches Gallo, asking questions about the AVTF. Gallo replies that the AVTF was all Fisk's creation and in turn accuses her of twisting the narrative in Fisk's favor by reporting on Muse being taken down by the AVTF, which was false. He then asks if Urich knew that Fisk was a prime suspect in her uncle's murder, and she replies that she does, which was the reason why she was trying to get closer to Fisk. She then tells Gallo that not everything she published was written willingly and says that if there was anything he wanted to come out, he should contact Urich.
Glenn says that Murdock is acting strange, even accounting for his issues with Fisk, while still not answering if he was her client. Murdock insists that Fisk sought her out to keep tabs on him, but Glenn remains skeptical about that and tries to stop Murdock from acting out and confronting Fisk at the ball. As Fisk and his wife takes the center floor for the first dance of the evening, Murdock tells Glenn that Fisk is a monster and she would not be safe until it is over. Cashman finds out that Poindexter escaped from the prison and informs the Fisks, so Vanessa admits to her husband that there is something she needs to tell him. Overhearing them, Murdock realizes that Vanessa was the one who hired Poindexter to kill Nelson, as she was the one running his empire at the time.
Murdock interjects to take Vanessa for a dance and accuses her of ordering Nelson's death, vowing that she will pay, but Vanessa only laughs and asks if Glenn knew that he is Daredevil. Fisk then takes Glenn for a dance, telling her that Murdock may have a secret that he does not want her to know. Poindexter takes the position at the balcony and takes aim at Fisk, preparing to kill him, but Murdock picks up on that and saves Fisk by jumping in and taking a bullet in his stand. Fisk and Glenn are shocked, and while the guests scatter and the AVTF rushes to neutralize Poindexter, Murdock bleeds out on the floor.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin
- Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne
- Margarita Levieva as Heather Glenn
- Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson (archive footage; uncredited)
- Wilson Bethel as Benjamin Poindexter/Bullseye
- Zabryna Guevara as Sheila Rivera
- Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie
- Genneya Walton as BB Urich
- Arty Froushan as Buck Cashman
- Clark Johnson as Cherry
- Michael Gandolfini as Daniel Blake
- Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk
Guest Stars:
- Susan Varon as Josie
- Hamish Allan-Headley as Officer Connor Powell
- Michael Gaston as Commissioner Phil Gallo
- Lou Taylor Pucci as Adam
- Jeremy Isaiah Earl as Sergeant Cole North
- Katherine Lanasa as Artemis Sledge
- Kevin Craig West as Guard Charlie
- Dwayne R. Grant as Rikers Surgeon
- Tom Caserto as Waiter
- Max Woertendyke as Guard Franklin Battle
- Andrew Call as Thomas Madison
- Aaron Gold as Prison Guard
- Morgan Lee as Band Singer
- Elijah Caldwell as Band Player
- James Furino as Band Player
- Chino Ramos as Band Player
- Aaron Michael Ray as Band Player
- John Carrafa as Choreographer
- Ashley Blair Fitzgerald as Asst. Choreographer
- Bria Williams as Female Dancer
- Jaclyn de Nicola as Female Dancer
- Alex Nordin as Male Dancer
- Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva as Male Dancer
- Daniel Reardon as Male Dancer
- Matthew Sanders as Editor
- Luis Moço as Ollie
- Cisco Lopez as New Yorker
- Kevin Paul Woods as New Yorker
- Sheree Lewis as New Yorker
- Steven Bitterman as Gala Guest (uncredited)
- Zach Catanzareti as Gallery Member (uncredited)
- Frank Todaro as Black and White Ball Announcer (voice; uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- New Jersey (mentioned)
Events[]
- Red Hook Laundering Scheme
- Murder of Adam
- Assassination of Luca (mentioned)
- Attack on Josie's Bar (mentioned)
- Anti-Vigilante Campaign
- Black & White Ball
- Arrest of Leroy Bradford (mentioned)
- Murder of Ben Urich (mentioned)
Items[]
- Rabbit in a Snowstorm
- Bulletproof Vest
- O'Melveny's
- Fiddle Faddle (mentioned)
- Chanel No. 5 (mentioned)
Vehicles[]
To be added
Sentient Species[]
Creatures[]
- Dogs (mentioned)
Organizations[]
- Murdock & McDuffie
- New York City Police Department
- New York City Department of Correction
- New York Bulletin
- The New York Examiner
- The New York Criterion
- Red Hook Port Revitalization Project (mentioned)
- Cready, Glaughlin, and McKagan (mentioned)
- Schutzstaffel (mentioned)
- American Civil Liberties Union (mentioned)
- New York City Council (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Luca
- Muse
- Thomas Madison's Mother
- Thomas Madison's Grandmother
- Thomas Madison's Girlfriend
- Hector Ayala
- Leroy Bradford
- Karen Page
- Benny Cafaro
- Benjamin Hochberg
- Arthur Sledge
- Ben Urich
- Fiorello La Guardia
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Stillness and Panic | Hanne Kolstø | |
| Jazz Trumpet Melody | Craig Riley | |
| December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) (The Four Seasons cover) |
The Velvet Note | |
| People, Let's Get Together | Zach Jones | |
| Flavor | Spencer Ludwig feat. Grace Turner | |
| There Will be Tears, Pt. 1 | The Mandells | |
| Bright Moments | Bright Moments | |
| Ain't No Weak Woman | Whitney Shay | |
| Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry cover) |
The Velvet Note | |
| Manhatten (Ella Fitzgerald cover) |
Hal Leonard Big Band | Wilson Fisk dances with Vanessa Fisk. |
| Brothel Tango (from Dust) |
Kiril Džajkovski | Matt Murdock dances with Heather Glenn. |
| Storm Clouds Rising, Let's Go Home | Florida Mass Choir | Bullseye shoots Matt Murdock, causing panic at the Black & White Ball. |
Videos[]
Clips[]
To be added
Trivia[]
- Despite being the eighth episode of the season, this episode is the second to consist entirely of new footage shot during the 2024 creative overhaul; the first episode was the season premiere, Heaven's Half Hour.
- Principal photography for this episode was shot a year after the previous episode's principal photography.
Behind the Scenes[]
- The blue lighting that appears during Benjamin Poindexter's scenes was not a filter added in post-production, but an actual blue light on set that was toggled during filming.[1]
- In an unused version of the scene, Matt Murdock attacked Poindexter intentionally to send Poindexter to the infirmary, in order to give Poindexter more time before having to return to general population.[1]
References[]
External Links[]
| Season One | Heaven's Half Hour • Optics • The Hollow of His Hand • Sic Semper Systema • With Interest • Excessive Force • Art for Art's Sake • Isle of Joy • Straight to Hell |
| Season Two | To be added |