Born Again Season 2, Episode 5

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 5

Daredevil: Born Again season 2 just released one of the MCU series’ best episodes of all time, perhaps even better than the episodes from the original Daredevil series on Netflix. Featuring a massive status quo shift with devastating consequences for the rest of the season, the episode also contains some solid Easter eggs and references.

Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 5 is truly a remarkable episode of television from start to finish. Additionally, there are some great callbacks to the very first season of Netflix’s Daredevil as viewers are shown the “Grand Design”, an incredibly fitting title for the new episode. Here are the biggest and best Easter eggs, MCU reference, and Netflix nods we found in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 5.

“Grand Design” – Connecting To Daredevil Season 3

The title of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 5 couldn’t be better, as the entire episode deals with the greater plan and “Grand Design” that’s in motion for multiple characters and events, both in the past and present.

Likewise, the “Grand Design” title also ties incredibly well with Matt Murdock’s eulogy for Father Lantam at the end of Netflix’s Daredevil season 3, when he describes God’s plan and his Grand Design as a beautiful tapestry, one which humanity only ever gets to see from the back, offering us only a glimpse of the true beauty God has in the works on the other side.

Fisk And Vanessa On The Beach – “I Hate Sand”

Fisk and Vanessa On Beach Daredevil Born Again Season 2, Episode 5

The episode opens with Wilson Fisk and Vanessa walking barefoot on the beach, connecting to their previous conversation in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 4 (where Fisk admitted he hated sand, and feeling it between his toes). However, it seems as though Wilson was enjoying the time with his wife all the same. Additionally, it’s fun to mention that Fisk’s hatred of sand is something he apparently has in common with Darth Vader.

The Origins Of Rabbit in A Snowstorm

Vanessa Marianna and Wilson Fisk in front of Rabbit in a Snowstorm

This episode also features some major flashbacks to the events before and during Netflix’s Daredevil season 1, beginning with the reveal that Vanessa chose to display the iconic “Rabbit in a Snowstorm” painting against the wishes of her boss, believing that she could sell the painting several times more than its original worth (which of course, she does to her future husband).

The “Rabbit In A Snowstorm” painting was featured multiple times in the original Netflix series, as well as in Echo and Daredevil: Born Again, an incredibly symbolic piece representing not only Fisk’s love for Vanessa, but also Wilson’s traumatic childhood as a boy.

“Even The Best Avocados”

Daredevil Season 1 - Avocados At Law.jpg

The flashback to Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson opens with Foggy making a joke about the duo being Avocados, confirming that this new flashback takes place after the beloved “Avocados at Law” joke made in the original Netflix series, but still just prior to the events of the first season and the start of their own firm. In the original show, Foggy Nelson mistakenly confused the Spanish word for lawyer, “abogado“, with the fruit “avocado”.

Wesley Makes A Surprise Return In New Daredevil Flashbacks

Wesley in Daredevil Born Again Season 2 episode 5

Actor Toby Leonard Moore returns as Fisk’s original right-hand man Wesley for this episode’s brand-new flashback sequences. Although Fisk wanted to turn to Bitcoin to diversify and launder his criminal empire’s growing funds, Wesley convinces Fisk to look at art, a decision that leads to Fisk’s first meeting with Vanessa (“Grand Design”).

In the original Netflix series, Wesley was shot and killed by Karen Page in Daredevil’s first season, a major loss for Wilson that impacted him greatly, seeing as how Wesley was one of the few people he could trust.

Night Nurse — Will We See A Claire Temple Cameo?

Attempting to save Bullseye’s life in spite of everything he’s done, Daredevil mentions a nurse who can help with Dex’s wounds. This is no doubt a reference to Claire Temple aka Night Nurse.

Played by Rosario Dawson, Claire appeared in multiple Marvel shows during the Netflix era. Seeing as how Dawson is still very much involved with Disney playing Ahsoka Tano in the Star Wars franchise, it would certainly be exciting to see a future cameo appearance, if not in the remaining episodes of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, then perhaps in the next season alongside the return of The Defenders with Mike Colter’s Luke Cage, Finn Jones’ Iron Fist, and Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones.

Buck’s Origins With Fisk Revealed

Buck and Wesley in Daredevil Born Again Season 2 episode 5

The flashbacks to the events just before Netflix’s Daredevil season 1 reveal that Buck Cashman was originally hired as a hit man by Wesley for Wilson Fisk years prior, explaining how Buck would eventually come to be Fisk’s new right-hand man in the MCU’s present with Daredevil: Born Again.

Daredevil: Born Again fans had considered Buck to be Fisk’s “New Wesley” since his debut in the first season, though it’s pretty cool to see that it was Wesley himself who got Buck connected with the Kingpin years prior.

Murdock & Nelson?

Marvel's Spider-Man Every Daredevil Easter Egg & Reference Nelson & Murdock Office

The flashbacks in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 5 also reveal that Matt and Foggy’s firm was originally going to be called Murdock & Nelson, only for Matt to be inspired by Foggy’s act of mercy helping Lionel “The Lion” McCoy. Matt then decided that their firm should be called Nelson & Murdock instead.

Likewise, it’s also Foggy who inspires Daredevil in the present MCU to not leave Bullseye behind for the AVTF, choosing to extend the same mercy even when it’d literally be so easy to walk away. Without a doubt, Daredevil going back to save one of his biggest enemies who’s caused him so much pain is easily one of the best Daredevil moments of all time, and it’s all thanks to Foggy Nelson.

Fisk’s Cufflinks

Footage from Netflix’s Daredevil season 1 is reused to show Fisk and Vanessa’s first meeting in the art gallery in front of the “Rabbit In A Snowstorm” painting. This includes a key shot of Fisk’s cuff links, the same cuff links his abusive father wore before Wilson killed him as a boy. Wilson took the cuff links as a dark memento of his origins and upbringing.

Ocean Waves

Tragically, we hear ocean waves as Daredevil: Born Again season 2, episode 5 closes with the ending credits, connecting to Fisk and Vanessa’s happier times on the beach, contrasting with Fisk’s incredibly heartbreaking loss of Vanessa in the present.

Going forward into the final three episodes of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, the consequences of Vanessa’s death are going to be huge. Without Vanessa to anchor Fisk, there’s no telling how dark New York’s mayor will become. Most likely, the war against the city’s vigilantes will escalate even further, though that will hopefully lead to greater resistance efforts in turn.

In any event, the loss of Vanessa a decade after her MCU debut in the first season of Netflix’s Daredevil is going to change the entire series, in all likelihood, giving us the most unhinged and brutal version of Wilson Fisk, the likes of which we’ve never seen before in the MCU (and that’s saying something).

New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 release Tuesday nights on Disney+ from Marvel Studios.

Release Date: March 4, 2025
Network: Disney+
Showrunner: Dario Scardapane
Directors: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Writers: Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree