That back to back had me in an emotional rollercoaster dude-
Episode five had me on the edge of my seat in a great way, and then episode six?? that had me literally clenching my jaw I was so tense.. Every moment was just another turn that I didn’t expect.
TL;DR- if you’re gonna kill him off, make it more compelling.
Chase ranting under the cut:
TW: mentions of guns, blood, getting shot, cancer, grief and loss
God, the news about cutting Foggy’s role in Born Again short makes me and so many other fans devastated.
I was shocked by these set picture, because Deborah’s face is bloody and it looks like Elden on the ground. And why does it have to happen in front of Josie’s, of all places! That’s so so fucking heartbreaking if what I think happens will happen.
Fuuuck.
I first watched the series just over a year ago, and I instantly connected with Foggy. He’s not one of the big beefy guys beating the snot out of each other on screen. He doesn’t have any radioactive superpowers, he doesn’t know how to fight (unless he has a softball bat), and he could use some work with his Spanish.
But god, I’ve never felt so warm around another character.
He’s kind, he’s a servant heart, he loves unconditionally, and dammit, he loves food! I’ll never forget how hard I cried over the scene of him and Matt in college- sure, it’s a rarity to see Matthew so happy, but it’s even more meaningful that Foggy is there. He’s been by Matt’s side since the day they met. And god, if that isn’t some rugged loyalty, I don’t know what is. Matt treated him like garbage, especially in season 2, season 3, and Defenders, and yet Foggy stays because he just loves his best friend. He wants the best for him.
And so this choice by the Born Again writers, to just throw it all away, seems so cheap.
For people who know me and how I write, I know I’m no better when it comes to killing off characters. I’m not opposed to Major Character Death. But this choice, this way of killing him off seems careless, given the impact he has on the show (and not just his emotional influence. Foggy is part of the reason why Matt does all he does).
Foggy can still be killed off and given a dignified death. I don’t care if the writers killed him off for shock value. Dardevil was never a shock value type show.
Fine, we kill him off.
It makes no damn sense to shoot him on the side of the street, getting it over with in a 2-minute scene.
(Let’s assume that this is what they plan to do, for the sake of what I’m trying to say.)
It’s called Daredevil: Born Again, right?
Rebirth is fucking painful. Sure, so is a gunshot wound to the chest. But so is knowing your best friend is dying and you can do Jack. Shit. about it.
A huge struggle for Matthew is the way he’s constantly fighting tooth and nail for control. Knowing your best friend is dying of cancer (as he suffered in the comics), slowly waning away and there is not a thing you can do about it would hit him so hard and make him lose himself (His metaphorical Death). And he’s trying to hide it all.
Throughout the show, Foggy is there, playing his usual part, but we all have this sense of loss, knowing he won’t be here for much longer. Around the climax of the show, maybe even the finale, it’s time.
For fans of the OG show, we all remember Foggy’s way with words. We remember how he talked down the gang members in the hospital and saved lives. We remember how he had the guts to stand up to Reyes on multiple occasions. We remember his prowess in the courtroom, just as equally matched as his best friend.
So I think Foggy should be the catalyst for Matthew to be Born Again. I think some of his final words are going to make him remember himself.
(And this is not to romanticize cancer in the slightest, and if I were to write this out in full, Foggy’s struggles would be real as they could get. Sending love and empathy to those battling with cancer and those who have lost loved ones. My heart is with you.)
That’s how to make Foggy’s death significant and impactful to his place in Matthew’s life and the narrative.
As Charlie Cox once famously said,
“Foggy Nelson is the beating heart of Daredevil.”
And it would be a damn shame to stop it so soon.
———
(Thanks to @kutpot who helped kickstart this whole rant)
