Daredevil: Born Again's Kingpin Storyline Is Inspired By One Of The Best TV Shows Ever

Spoilers for "Daredevil: Born Again" to follow.

"Daredevil: Born Again" has introduced Michael Gandolfini as Daniel Blake, communications aide and fanboy to the now Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio). He's one reason that watching "Born Again" might make you think of "The Sopranos" — Michael is, of course, the son of the late James. Gandolfini Jr.'s breakout part was playing a young Tony Soprano in "The Many Saints of Newark," literally stepping into his father's shoes.

Fisk himself is a Tony Soprano-ish character; a tall, overweight but imposing mob boss with some parental issues. Granted, Fisk's are about his abusive father who he murdered, while Tony is haunted most by his mother Livia. Tony also never had a masked vigilante like Matt Murdock aka Daredevil (Charlie Cox) to deal with. (But can you imagine?)

Tony can be all smiles and jokes, while Fisk is more awkward; what they do share is a scary temper. "Born Again" brings them even closer together when Fisk sits down on the couch.

After the death of Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), Matt's girlfriend Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) moves to San Francisco. So, in "Born Again," Matt rebounds with Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva). In the comics, Heather is an idle heiress, but the show reimagines her as a therapist. I thought I knew where this was going; Heather will psychoanalyze Matt and his double life, a la Bruce Wayne's therapist girlfriend Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) in "Batman Forever."

That may still happen, but for now Dr. Glenn is seeing different patients: Fisk and his wife Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), who are trying to work through some troubles in their marriage.

Huh, a mob boss in therapy. Where have we seen that before? And no, I don't mean "Analyze This" (although the star of that movie, Robert De Niro, was once eyed to play Tony Soprano).

So, what's wrong in the Fisk household? Wilson had gone radio silent for a long time (he did take a bullet to the face back in "Hawkeye"), leaving Vanessa to step in and hold his empire together. But the trust was broken on both ends; the lonely Vanessa took a lover, Adam, while she waited for her husband to return.

"Born Again" episode 3 focuses more on Matt defending Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes) in court. But the Fisks' subplot continues to weave in. In an early scene, the Fisks are sitting down for breakfast, the table emphasizing the distance between them a la the estrangement montage in "Citizen Kane." (If you've ever attended even a single film class, you know the one.) During their therapy session, they likewise sit on opposite ends on the couch.

It's safe to say "Daredevil: Born Again" is cribbing from the best with its homages. The premiere also featured a face-to-face between Matt and Fisk right out of "Heat." But will Fisk and Vanessa's scenes with Dr. Glenn produce anything as revealing or compelling as the therapy scenes in "The Sopranos"?

David Chase wrote "The Sopranos" drawing on his own experiences in therapy. He, too, had an abusive mother, Norma, and sought a therapist to deal with the stress she caused him, much like Tony does. Tony's nightmares and therapy show an existential terror of death; every day could be the day he gets arrested or killed. The ambiguous ending of "The Sopranos" makes you fear the uncertainty of death in the way that Tony has for the whole series.

The big question of "The Sopranos" is if Tony can change for the better. By the end of the show, the answer is "no, of course not." Fisk claims that he's trying to be better too, but his run for Mayor is as much about amassing more power as it is helping his hometown. Therapy will likely be as fruitless for him as it was for Tony Soprano.

"Daredevil: Born Again" is streaming on Disney+. New episodes drop on Tuesdays.