The Hero That Hell’s Kitchen Deserves
When we meet Matt Murdock in season 3, he’s a broken man, devastated by the events of The Defenders‘ finale. He fights a battle within himself as he struggles with his faith and whether he’ll need to cross a line to defeat Fisk.
Cox explained to Collider that Matt isn’t in the best state of mind, either, as he pulls himself away from everyone around him:
“Somebody who begins to spend a lot of time alone and isolate themselves to the degree that Matt does in this season, madness creeps in. And that, for me, has been clearly written. He begins to lose himself.”
There’s a parallel between Matt wondering if Daredevil is his true self and Matt is the mask, much like Bruce Wayne wonders the same about Batman. Both of them experience an identity crisis, as they realize that a life of vigilantism comes with consequences. There’s no normality; it’s bound to lead to flawed thought patterns.
Throughout season 3, Matt’s anger drives him to distrust others and believe there’s only one way to end Fisk’s reign of terror. Like Batman discovered in The Dark Knight, though, people are still good and he needs to let others in. Matt found another way to stop Fisk, and he didn’t need to compromise his value system. He discovered the way for Matt and Daredevil to co-exist and became the hero that his city needed him to be at that moment.
The True Hero Isn’t The Titular Character
The real star of season 3 of Daredevil was Jay Ali, who portrayed Agent Ray Nadeem. His arc was incredibly powerful, as we saw a man broken, rebuilt, and sacrificed for the betterment of his city and family. Without him, it’s unlikely that Daredevil would’ve ever succeeded.
Many fans were left devastated by Agent Nadeem’s death, but Ali insisted to Den of Geek that it was entirely necessary:
“If we were going to tell this particular story, we had to tell it in this tragic way. Midway through shooting the season, there was talk of not killing off Ray Nadeem, but we decided it was the right thing to do. It was the right thing for the story. It completed the arc.”
While Jim Gordon didn’t perish in The Dark Knight, he undoubtedly was the unsung hero of the story. At the risk of his own reputation and career, he put his trust in a vigilante. Yes, he broke several laws and disappointed many people, but he did it for the greater good of the city and all its citizens.