Daredevil: Born Again’s episode 7 saw some pretty intense stuff after Matt Murdock finally donned the suit in the previous episode. The anti-vigilante task force set up by Wilson Fisk gets a freebie after Dr. Heather Glenn shoots Muse in self-defense in front of Daredevil. Fisk sort of gets back to his criminal activities during a showdown with Luca.
While the stage seems to be set for Daredevil and Kingpin to trade blows again, one element of the show that the episode exposed was Clark Johnson’s Cherry and his importance in the story. There is a scene with him confronting Matt about donning the suit again and it does not hold well. There is only one solution to the Cherry problem.
Daredevil: Born Again episode 7 proves Cherry adds nothing to the show
I have spoken about Clark Johnson’s Cherry being too passive on Daredevil: Born Again before, but the latest episode just proves the point like no other. The former police detective turned private investigator acts as Matt’s man on the street and helps him with some inside information. He is the one who tells Matt about Muse in the previous episode.
However, this episode just proves that Cherry is not as great an addition to the gang (neither is McDuffie, but at least she is not positioned as a confidant). Cherry gets to know Matt’s identity as Daredevil in the premiere episode, but he has no other history with him until then. The premiere sees him retiring from the police force.
Episode 7 sees Cherry confront Matt about donning the suit again and saving Angela Del Toro. The confrontation is filmed as a war of words between two friends, one advising the other against self-destruction. This is something that would be perfect for either Foggy or Karen Page to have with Matt. Why does Cherry even care?
Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock mentions that Cherry used to call on him while he was in the police force, when they were clueless about the perp. While this establishes some previous relationship before the events of the show, it does not hit anything home, as we, as the audience, have not seen anything develop between the two.
Daredevil: Born Again’s Cherry problem has a solution: Brett Mahoney
Clark Johnson’s Cherry seems to be a proxy for Foggy, Karen Page, and Officer Bret Mahoney in Daredevil: Born Again. He helps Matt with inside intel from the police force that would help him during his legal battles, while his good morals and knowledge about Matt’s identity as Daredevil make him a confidant.
The problem is that if the writers crafted even half the personality or charisma of the above-mentioned characters into Cherry, it would have made his character more tolerable. The show hints at a past between Matt and Cherry, but it seems to have developed off-screen, so we have nothing to root for.
While bringing back Foggy or Karen may not be very easy (with the writers probably having other ideas with the latter), Brett Mahoney is needlessly absent. The character had personality, had history with Foggy and then with Matt (as lawyer and Daredevil), and did the same job as Cherry. Other fans also agree with this notion (via Reddit).
While Clark Johnson seems to be doing his best with the character, Cherry is gloriously underwritten, and season 2’s possible twist might not have any effect on the audience, unless something insane happens in the upcoming episode to redeem him.
Daredevil: Born Again is available to stream on Disney+.
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