Daredevil: Born Again Episode 8 Recycles A Bullseye Moment From The Netflix Series

This post contains spoilers for "Daredevil: Born Again" episode 8.

When the Devil of Hell's Kitchen returned all those weeks ago in "Daredevil: Born Again," he wasn't alone. Dropping in to cause chaos and add one more kill to his hit list with the death of Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) was Benjamin Poindexter, aka Bullseye (Wilson Bethel). Well, now the man who put an end to one-half of the Avocados at Law has busted out of the slammer and, in no time at all, set his sights on the newly appointed Mayor of New York City, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio). Music played, champagne poured, and a special day was ruined courtesy of a former ally to Fisk who had his sights set on the most powerful man in New York. Call us crazy, but doesn't this sound all very familiar?

Back at the tail end of Netflix's third "Daredevil" season, Poindexter, having gotten wise to Fisk's corruption and abuse of his talents (although it didn't take much), turned on the man who he thought was helping him in spectacular fashion. In a violent act of revenge at the wedding of Wilson and Vanessa Fisk, Dex proceeded to go on a murderous rampage, wrecking the evening and killing a number of FBI agents in the process. 

While the body count might not have been as great in the new Disney+ season, there's something that feels incredibly old hat about how things have gone down, and it could see "Daredevil: Born Again" end on a more sour note than expected.

In what is a clear case of history repeating itself, Bullseye's action here make him feel like another wasted character, just like Muse and the storyline that went with him. At best, this could've been a clever case of the show referencing the past with Bullseye making light of previous mistakes and turning into an even more rewarding watch for the audience. Instead, it highlights other issues in the story, particularly the big bad of "Daredevil: Born Again" not being as sharp as he once was.

Is the security detail covering Fisk really that bad? Has Kingpin's time in office made him let his guard down so low that he didn't even consider someone as lethal as Poindexter could take a shot at him, whether he had broken free or not? Is Bullseye really that lazy to re-attempt the exact same thing he did so long ago? Why not wait it out and strike once the mayor has his guard down and is, most importantly, nowhere near a blind lawyer who's cool with taking a bullet for him?

The changing of dance partners and Murdock's obsession with his longtime rival was compelling enough without the pretty banal retreading of Bullseye taking another shot at Fisk. Our only hope is that following Matt Murdock's shocking hero dive this week, somehow "Daredevil: Born Again" mixes things up after this minor misfire from a villain that should, by this point, be more on target than ever.

The "Daredevil: Born Again" season 1 finale hits Disney+ on April 15, 2025.