WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Marvel’s Daredevil Season 3, streaming now on Netflix.
Despite the cancellations of Iron Fist and Luke Cage, the new showrunner of Daredevil remains "hopeful" the series will return for a fourth season. There are plenty of reasons for viewers to wish for the same, as Season 3 not only ties up long-dangling plot threads -- the identity of Matt Murdock's mother and Karen Page's tragic backstory, for starters -- but also sets the stage for a new phase of the Marvel drama.
Season 3 picks up right where The Defenders left off, with Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) physically and emotionally broken, and desperate to expose his archenemy Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), and return him to prison.
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With Fisk empowered by his discovery of Murdock's alter ego, and launching a smear campaign against Daredevil, the season sets up a few intriguing directions for where the series can go next.
Bullseye's Quest for Revenge
Fisk manipulates sociopathic FBI Agent Benjamin Poindexter (Wilson Bethel) into masquerading as Daredevil to attack the offices of the New York Bulletin, to both eliminate a threat and set up Murdock as the enemy of Hell's Kitchen. However, late in the season, when Murdock reveals the lengths to which Fisk went to influence Dex -- including killing Julie, the woman with whom he was obsessed -- the unstable marksman with the unerring aim goes completely off the rails, resulting in a three-way brawl with Murdock and Fisk.
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Fisk crushes Dex's spine before he himself is defeated by Murdock. But the final scene depicts Dex undergoing spinal surgery, with "Cogmium steel reinforcing framework" intended to ensure he regains mobility. In the final shot of the season, he opens his eye, and a bullseye is reflected in the iris, all but ensuring Dex will return as the Daredevil foe Bullseye in a fourth season. He has a lot to avenge, with an imprisoned Fisk at the top of his list for killing Julie.
The Curious Case of Vanessa Fisk
Vanessa Marianna (Ayelet Zurer) appears onscreen only briefly this season, but she serves as the driving force behind Fisk's intricate scheme to regain his freedom and his criminal empire: He's doing it all to protect her. But once they're finally reunited, Vanessa insists on becoming fully involved in Fisk's life, and quickly makes the critical mistake of ordering the killing of FBI Agent Ray Nadeem (Jay Ali). That information is all Murdock requires to defeat Fisk once and for all, as the Kingpin agrees to keep Daredevil's identity secret and, effectively, do no additional harm, as long as Vanessa isn't pursued for her crime.
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It's a near-certainty Bullseye will seek to avenge Julie by killing Vanessa -- he demonstrated a desire to harm her in the finale -- but you can expect Daredevil to protect her; should she die, there's nothing to hold Fisk to his word. But there's also the question of how much Vanessa actually needs defending. After all, she sought to be included in Fisk's criminal operations, and ordered the elimination of Nadeem, even when Fisk wouldn't. Vanessa could yet return as a formidable foe.
Donning the Red Suit Again
Season 3 ends with Matty happy for the first time in a long time, having realized that maintaining connections to his friends is a strength, and not a weakness. He seems focused on his friends and on a new law practice (Nelson, Murdock & Page), but he'll eventually have to ditch the black costume and return to the red suit to protect Hell's Kitchen. With another power vacuum created by Wilson Fisk's return to prison, there will be a lot for Daredevil to do as he attempts to regain the public's trust.
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What's makes that even more intriguing is that Matt appears to have a new moral compass in his mother, Sister Maggie (Joanne Whalley), following the murder of Father Lantom (Peter McRobbie). Throughout the season, we saw her reasoning with him, acting as his North Star, and, despite being a nun, reminding him Daredevil is part of his humanity, a notion he seemed reluctant to accept before. She's as flawed as he is, so this familial bond, plus her endorsement of his vigilantism, is sure to make for a complicated relationship as Matt tries to remind the city, and himself, what Daredevil stands for.
Now available on Netflix, Marvel’s Daredevil Season 3 stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Joanne Whalley as Sister Maggie, Wilson Bethel as Benjamin Poindexter, Jay Ali as Rahul “Ray” Nadeem and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk.