When premiered back in 2015, it felt like a breath of somber, brutal fresh air at a time when superhero fare was leaning more toward fantastic and generally lighthearted projects. In the years since the shows end, other works like Deadpool and The Boys have delivered their own kind of comic book grit and violence, but theres still a great fondness for seeing Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) flip around, throw his sticks at people, and generally brutalize them like the maniac he is. Daredevil: Born Again knows it has a legacy to live up to, and that audiences have been gradually drip-fed the title characters return in recent years with Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo. Whereas the latter framed Matt as a force of nature that Maya Lopez barely managed to escape from, the new show opens by taking a page from Matts brief Spider-Man movie cameo and showing how well hes doing for himself. He, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) remain an effective trio at their firm and have plenty of friends they can hang with at their classic haunt, Josies Bar. Things are going great Image: Marvel Studios And then, things go wrong. Foggy is shot by Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), leaving Matt in such a fraught state hes given up being Daredevil a year later and focused entirely on being a lawyer. With Karen having left town after Foggys death, Matt and the audience find themselves without his classic support system, those roles now filled by firm partner Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James) and Cherry (Clark Johnson), a retired cop who learned Matts secret seconds after hed thrown Bullseye off the roof and onto the street below, just feet away from Karen and Foggys corpse. After that cold open, Born Again jumps ahead a year to show Matt trying his best to move on from Foggys death. The new status quo makes for a different type of show, with a brighter color palette and a bigger emphasis on Matt as a lawyer that happens to be a superhero. Early episodes revolve around either his current casewith clients introduced through their plight first before Matt comes into the pictureor non-vigilante problems, like getting more money for his firm. This is a full-on weekly TV show, a format which fits the character pretty well. The lawyer scenes let Matt flex his legal muscles in a way the original Daredevil didnt always allow, and each episode provides plenty of moments for Matt to use his enhanced senses just enough to help in his daily life without fully going back to his old vigilante ways.Its hard to come to terms with our violent nature, intones Wilson Fisk (Vincent DOnofrio) to Matt in the premiere during their first face-to-face in years. Like Matt, Fisk has popped up here and there throughout the MCU prior to now, with his campaign to become New Yorks mayor born from his distaste of all vigilantes post-Echo. In Born Again, the former Kingpin is struggling at being a legitimate man in New York and all that entails as its mayor. The most interesting moments of his story arent the ups and downs of his mayoral life, but the quieter scenes between him and his wife Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer). Their relationship takes on interesting shades as the show digs into how his absence affected her and the ways in which they are defined and potentially undone by their love for one another. Photo: Giovanni Rufino/Marvel Studios Restraint is a key theme for several of Daredevil: Born Agains main players and the show itself. The show was famously reworked from its original version envisioned by then-showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord, whose influence is felt throughout the first four episodes. Initially, fight scenes are minimal, which feels like an intentional choice to convey how much Matt and Fisk are trying not to slip back into their old ways. Instead, theres a bigger focus placed on New York through journalist BB Urichs (Genneya Walton) news channel, where citizens give their thoughts on Fisks mayorship or the place vigilantes like Daredevil and White Tiger (Kamar de los Reyes) have in the city. Its all very on the nose, but it makes the MCUs version of New York feel the most alive and real it has in some time, and works perfectly for the array of street-level heroes and villains pulled into the shows orbit.Its in the series second half where it feels like current showrunner Dario Scardapane has full control and Born Again begins to fully turn Matt loose. Its action is more frequent and contains several impressive beats, and by seasons end, several ideas established in earlier episodes pay off in interesting, usually satisfying ways. The most refreshing thing about Born Again is how Scardapane and the rest of the team know what the ending is and how to get there. But it doesnt go too big or try to overextend itself: its a show about Matt Murdock above all else, and his unshakable desire to help his city, whether thats as a lawyer or his acrobatic alter ego. Whats here in Daredevil: Born Agains first season will undoubtedly feel compromised, but it remains worthwhile for its eventual highs and Cox and DOnofrio taking center stage once again. The show and character remain very good at what they set out to do, and heres hoping for stronger, more fully realized season two. Daredevil: Born Again airs new episodes Tuesday nights on Disney+. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.