Daredevil: Born Again: Season 1, Episode 9 - Straight to Hell (2025)

The episode opens in a flashback to Vanessa Fisk visiting Benjamin Poindexter in a mental institution, where she has arranged for him to be freed and subtly manipulates him into agreeing to kill Foggy Nelson by sliding his medication away and presenting him with release papers; Dex, vulnerable and unstable, accepts her offer.

The story then returns to the present after Matt Murdock has been shot while protecting Wilson Fisk. Matt is in Metro-General recovering, with Heather Glenn and Kirsten McDuffie at his bedside, and he briefly mistakes Heather for Karen Page, which visibly hurts Heather.

As Matt recovers, Wilson Fisk and Vanessa consolidate their power. Fisk speaks with Vanessa about the Red Hook development and the money being laundered through the free-port arrangement there, and the episode makes clear that Foggy was killed because he discovered the legal and zoning implications of the Red Hook Charter and how it protected their operation from oversight.

At the hospital, Fisk orders Buck to murder Matt Murdock, and then cuts the city's power grid to throw New York into chaos. Matt survives the attempt, escapes the hospital, and heads out into the blackout.

Matt finds Frank Castle at his apartment, and the two immediately become allies of necessity. Before they can move freely, a group of crooked cops ambushes them, and Matt and Frank fight them off in close-quarters combat; Frank kills the officers he gets the chance to kill, while Matt battles to stay alive amid the darkness and confusion.

While Matt and Frank are dealing with the ambush, Fisk moves forward with his takeover of the city. The police militia begins rounding up people in Red Hook, and Fisk's forces also capture the city council, holding them in cages as part of the coup-like consolidation of power.

Matt later reconnects with Karen Page, and together they go to Red Hook to search for the truth behind Foggy's death and the Fisk operation. They find the file connected to the case, which confirms the Red Hook Charter and explains why the Fisks wanted the area insulated from normal government control; Karen pushes Matt to keep fighting, and Matt tells her that to win they will need an army.

The next morning, power returns to New York. Heather Glenn meets Fisk in his office, where he offers her the position of Commissioner of Mental Health, and she accepts.

Fisk then gives a public televised address. He lies about Commissioner Gallo, claiming Gallo "chose to resign," and formally enacts the Safer Streets Act, declaring all vigilante activity illegal, imposing a citywide 8 p.m. curfew, and placing New York under martial law under the promise that he will eventually restore "the pursuit of life and liberty" once the crisis is over.

In the episode's final stretch, Fisk fully embraces his role as Kingpin, and the city is now openly under his authoritarian control. Matt, standing against this takeover, declares New York to be "the city without fear" and vows to take it back from Fisk for good.

After the main story, a post-credits scene shows Frank Castle escaping from his cell, setting up the next phase of the conflict.

Matt Murdock survives the attempt on his life, learns the truth about Foggy Nelson's murder, and joins with Karen Page and Frank Castle as Wilson Fisk seizes control of New York through violence and martial law. By the end, Fisk stands in power as Kingpin, Matt prepares to fight back, and Frank is trapped but not defeated.

Matt is in Metro-General Hospital after being shot while protecting Fisk from Bullseye. Heather Glenn and Kirsten McDuffie visit him, and Matt tells them that Vanessa Fisk ordered the hit on Foggy Nelson. Karen Page then arrives and takes Matt and Frank Castle to Knickerbocker Village, because she has returned after hearing about Dex Poindexter's escape and asks Frank for help. Matt also explains that Foggy's death was not random but a planned killing tied to Vanessa and the Red Hook money operation.

The next morning, the city's power comes back on. Wilson Fisk meets with Heather Glenn and offers her the position of Commissioner of Mental Health, and she accepts. Fisk then speaks to the city and blames masked vigilantes for everything that has happened, presenting himself as the force restoring order. He follows this by launching the Safer Streets Initiative, which gives the Anti-Vigilante Task Force broad authority and effectively places New York under martial law.

In the aftermath, Matt and Karen talk at Josie's Bar. Matt says he thought he was beyond the darkness, but instead he let it into himself. He admits he wanted to kill Poindexter and that Foggy's death left him unsure of who he is. Karen tells him that Foggy believed in him completely, including both the light and the darkness in him.

At the same time, Frank Castle fights the forces hunting vigilantes and is eventually captured. The episode's final movement leaves him imprisoned, while the wider resistance against Fisk begins to take shape around Matt and the people now willing to stand with him.

Wilson Fisk ends the episode in full control of the city's public power. Vanessa remains at his side, with the season confirming that she was the one who arranged Foggy's murder. Heather Glenn ends the story working inside Fisk's new system. Karen Page ends the story back with Matt and back in the fight. Frank Castle ends the story in captivity. Matt ends the story wounded, but awake, knowing the truth and preparing to resist.

Yes. The finale includes one post-credits scene, and it centers on Frank Castle, who has escaped from his cage and is back in action after being held by the anti-vigilante forces. The scene is described as setting up an imminent brawl around Red Hook, with Frank pausing long enough to get a cup of coffee before heading into the fight.

Vanessa Fisk meets with Benjamin Poindexter and makes a deal with him to silence both Foggy Nelson and his key witness in a trial that could harm Fisk's criminal operations.

Wilson Fisk personally delivers Commissioner Gallo to Red Hook, then crushes Gallo's head with his bare hands in front of his task force, asserting his dominance and sending a brutal message to his enemies.

Frank Castle arrives in Red Hook before his friends, fights the anti-vigilante task force alone, kills several officers, but is eventually captured. The task force offers him a place among them, which he vehemently rejects.

The task force acts under Fisk's orders to suppress vigilantes and maintain his control over the city, exploiting the chaos of looting and riots sparked by Fisk's vendetta against Poindexter and vigilantes.

It is revealed that Vanessa Fisk ordered the hit on Foggy Nelson because he and his client were about to deal a significant blow to the Kingpin's crime ring, which Vanessa was running at the time. This was part of a deal to get Bullseye released from prison.

No -- this is not family friendly for children, and it is likely upsetting for sensitive viewers. Based on episode coverage, the finale includes violent crime, shootings, a city-on-fire crisis atmosphere, and dark criminal themes tied to murder, corruption, and revenge.

Potentially objectionable or upsetting elements include: - Graphic violence and injury concerns, including a shooting and a character being rushed to the hospital after taking a bullet. - Murder and assassination-related content, including a death plot involving Foggy Nelson and a hired killer. - Threatening, oppressive atmosphere with New York depicted amid chaos and fire, which may be intense even if not graphically shown. - Crime and moral corruption, including laundering billions, criminal power struggles, and FBI-related fallout. - Intense emotional material involving betrayal, grief, and the consequences of past violence.

If you want, I can also give you a very short "parent guide" version with only the key content warnings.

No dog dies in Daredevil: Born Again, season 1, episode 9, "Straight to Hell." The available episode coverage describes Matt Murdock, Frank Castle, Fisk's power play, and the violence around the hospital and citywide blackout, but it does not report any dog death or even a dog-related plot point.