Daredevil: Born Again Rewrites Daniel Blake's Fate in Major Plot Twist

Original Plan: Daniel Blake’s Redemption Arc

Daniel Blake, the Deputy Mayor in Daredevil: Born Again, was not meant to die in the penultimate episode of the show’s second season. According to showrunner Dario Scardapane and actor Arty Froushan, who portrays Buck Cashman, Wilson Fisk’s right-hand man, the original script had Blake surviving the season.

The scene was rewritten to have Buck spare Blake’s life, only for Buck to lie to Fisk about his decision. Scardapane explained to Variety:

“The way that it would have gone is that [Blake] stayed in the Fisk administration. He goes in to resign and the new interim mayor is like, ‘I’m not taking your resignation. I’m going to keep you close because I don’t trust you.’”

Blake had been partially redeemed in the episode when he refused to kill journalist BB Urich (Genneya Walton). However, during editing, Scardapane felt the character’s more optimistic outcome was unearned.

Blake’s Death: A Necessary Twist

Scardapane broke the news to Michael Gandolfini, who plays Blake, that his character would not survive the season. He recounted the moment to Variety:

“I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve got the worst news.’ And he’s like, ‘I know exactly what you’re gonna say, and it’s the right choice.’ He felt in that moment that there’s no way he’s getting out of that apartment.”

Scardapane added that scenes filmed after Blake’s death felt inconsistent with the story’s direction. He said:

“I think it’s a testament to how much we all love him, that we knew this character probably should not survive but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it.”

A gunshot was added in post-production to seal Blake’s fate, making his death a pivotal moment in the series.

Arty Froushan’s Reaction

Froushan, who plays Buck, shared his thoughts on the change:

“The fact that, as actors, we didn’t know that was gonna happen makes the scene maybe even more compelling. I love Michael Gandolfini like a brother. This season, the whole journey we have together is a movie. So I was gutted. I was really upset. But I think it raises the stakes of the story in a really exciting way that was maybe necessary for that storyline.”

Michael Gandolfini’s Perspective

Gandolfini told TV Insider that Blake’s death felt “freeing” and justified:

“I love Daniel, but it’s so right. Where else is he gonna go? And he gets this little hero’s moment, and it just felt so great, I just felt so lucky. Again it’s hard, you’ve got Bullseye, Fisk, Karen Page, Matt Murdock, and including other like people from the comics, so sometimes, characters that don’t have superpowers don’t have the longest arcs, and they’re there to support the superheroes, which is great, but the fact that Daniel got to have this, I just felt so touched and that they trusted me… there’s only so much screen time that you get every episode, and so like the fact that they gave me a real journey to go on, I was very lucky.”

Where to Watch Daredevil: Born Again

Daredevil: Born Again streams new episodes every Tuesday at 9 p.m.