The director behind that shocking Wilson Fisk and Vanessa-focused Daredevil: Born Again ending has spoken out about its jaw-dropping consequences and what thinking went into the big moment.
Thus far this season, Born Again has set up Vincent D'Onofrio's criminal-kingpin-turned-mayor and his wife Vanessa as a couple on the path to reconciliation.
The pair have been shown going to counseling to save their marriage, appearing in public amid Wilson's rise to mayor, and even communing over the potential of a changed life together; however, those all seemed to be just for show, as evidenced by Episode 7's 'smoking gun' ending.
Did Vanessa Try To Kill Fisk? Daredevil Directors Breakdown Episode 7's Ending
Speaking about their work on Daredevil: Born Again, director David Boyd explained Episode 7's shocking Wilson Fisk and Vanessa ending.
The final few moments of Born Again's latest chapter in its ever-unfolding gritty superhero story saw things come to a head between Fisk and his wife, as Vanessa paid career criminal Luca (played by Patrick Murney) to kill her New York City mayor husband.
While Luca makes it into the restaurant Fisk is unsuspectingly eating at, and his plan is foiled. Instead of the newly-minted New York mayor getting a bullet to the back of the head, Fisk's right-hand man, Buck, walks out of the shadows and kills Luca instead.
This left viewers with an uneasy feeling of ambiguity, not knowing where Fisk and his wife stand going forward. Did she know Fisk would kill Luca, and this was all part of the plan? Or was she actually trying to kill her former crime boss hubby?
Well, in an appearance on Phase Hero, Boyd offered a bit of clarification on Episode 7's big bang of an ending. On Luca's fate, the Born Again director teased, "I love that we don't know," admitting fans may not know exactly what happened and how "for a while:"
"I love that we don't know. We don't want to say it, I don't think. We want to intimate it somehow, but let's leave that not known for a while. Let Dario and everybody sink that in. What a cool thing that is."
He said that the technical production of the scene itself was meant to evoke a feeling of just how "hapless" Luca has become, giving the impression that the coast looks clear all the way up until he is shot down by Buck:
"I figured a way we could see this hapless Luca come. We could poke out the front window of the bar and see him come up the sidewalk. The coast looks kinda clear and we take him all the way in the front door, we see him come around the corner, and follow him in."
"The thought of that image looking from behind Fisk" was something that drove Boyd to craft the final few shots the way he did. He said, just like when a foe gets too close to Fisk, as the camera moves in on him, "the more dangerous it is:"
"The thought of that image looking from behind Fisk. Just that. The very broad shoulders and head. That image is what drove me to it. That's the destination. The closer you get to it, the more dangerous it is."
As for what else this ending could tease, Boyd mentioned how it may impact Buck's character's future. Fisk's second-in-command has been seen as a threat in the series, but his pulling the trigger on Luca puts him in a new light.
Boyd mentioned that this could be the first hint at Buck taking on his superhero persona, Bullet, as he does in the comics:
"He's capable of doing big things with this story as time goes on. He's untapped."
What Does the Ending of Daredevil: Born Again Episode 7 Mean?
Heading into the last two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, the effects of this Episode 7 ending will almost surely weigh heavily.
Whether it was Vanessa trying to kill her husband as she misses her criminal lifestyle and the power it afforded her, or Luca's death was a plan between her and Fisk, the consequences of Episode 7's final few moments will be felt throughout the rest of the show.
If Vanessa's goal were to kill Wilson Fisk, then surely he would not take that information well.
Fisk has shown less of a temper than he once did, but he is still ready to get his hands dirty if provoked. Fans have seen this with the shocking Adam ending in Episode 4, which shows that if you wrong him, you will be punished.
If that were the case, and Vanessa's mission was to kill Fisk, he would have something to say about it, even if Vanessa was his wife.
On the other hand, if Fisk and Vanessa worked together to take Luca out themselves, this could also be its own interesting twist.
This would mean the pair has set their differences aside and is ready to climb the New York ladder, both in local politics and in the criminal underworld.
Luca was one of New York's five crime families, which means there is now a major criminal organization without a head at the table. Could this be a play to have the Fisks rule over both New York's political and criminal worlds? Perhaps.
With the heads of the families gone, Vanessa will have more opportunities to leverage her power over the city's criminal underworld while letting Fisk advance his agenda from behind the mayor's desk.
It is a two-pronged approach that could lead to the pair of criminal masterminds ruling over everything that happens in the city, above bar or not. And with Born Again Season 2 already confirmed, this could play a significant part in that story as this "Mayor Fisk" storyline advances further.
