The Big Picture

• Foggy Nelson and Karen Page are crucial characters in the Daredevil universe, bringing complexity and grounding to the story.
• Foggy and Karen act as emotional support for Matt Murdock, helping him stay connected to his humanity as Daredevil.
• Bringing back Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll as Foggy and Karen would strengthen the series and provide continuity with the original Netflix show.

It seems like a lifetime ago since Kevin Feige announced at San Diego Comic-Con that the Daredevil series would be rebooted into the MCU as the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again. Since then, audiences have seen the return of Matt Murdock, Charlie Cox reprising his role as the blind attorney/vigilante, in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and the She-Hulk series. With Matt Murdock officially part of the MCU, as well as Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) appearing in both the Hawkeye and Echo series, the beginnings of the new Daredevil world have begun to take shape.

One of the fallouts from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike was a major creative overhaul on the new Daredevil series, scrapping original plans to start from scratch. Dario Scardapane has been hired as the series showrunner. Meanwhile, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are bringing their Marvel experience from Moon Knight and the second season of Loki to direct the remaining episodes of Daredevil: Born Again. When recently asked about development on the series so far, the duo said that they have been consuming as much Daredevil content as possible, not just the Netflix series. With the original plans for the series being thrown out, now is the perfect time for the creative team to rectify their previous mistakes.

When Daredevil: Born Again had initially gone into production, it was sadly revealed that Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll would not be reprising their roles as Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, respectively. With the series going through development changes, this is the perfect opportunity to bring back Matt Murdock’s best friends. Foggy and Karen are in Matt Murdock’s corner, his unmasked partners in defending the defenseless; and they are equally deserving to be part of the new Daredevil series, with Henson and Woll reprising their roles.

Foggy Nelson and Karen Page Bring Complexity to ‘Daredevil’s World

The Man Without Fear isn’t the only person looking out for the people of Hell’s Kitchen. What makes the story of Daredevil stand out is how street-level and gritty it is, with flawed, interesting characters filling it out. In the Netflix series, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page are key in keeping the world to feel lived in and accessible for audiences. (Not all of us are blind masked vigilantes or intimidating crime bosses!)

Take Foggy, for example. Foggy, Matt’s best friend and law partner, met Matt when they were at Columbia studying to be attorneys. He’s more idealistic in the work he does as a lawyer, believing he can bring justice to the neighborhood he calls home through his law practice. Unfortunately, the often pro bono work offers little funds to keep his practice afloat. After Matt is presumed dead, he goes to work for Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) and her firm. While he’s financially more stable, the ethics of those the firm represents are a bit more skewed. Like his best friend, he too is compromised by the morally gray areas of his code versus the financial security that comes with bigger firms. The tension between these ideals is fascinating to watch, with Elden Henson bringing his own charm that makes his Foggy instantly likeable.

Meanwhile, Karen Page proves to be one of the more complex characters in the Daredevil universe. Introduced to Matt and Foggy after being falsely accused of murder, she winds up working for the two lawyers as their office manager. Karen researches information for Matt and Foggy; these skills are useful when she later becomes an investigative journalist. She’s not afraid to jump into dangerous situations to defend others from harm or follow a lead to a shady part of Hell’s Kitchen.

Though she has a passion for helping people, Karen has her own skeletons in the closet to be explored. For instance, in the third season, it’s revealed that when she was nineteen she was partially responsible for her brother’s death after a drunk driving accident. In Season 1, when given the choice to kill her kidnapper, Fisk’s second-in-command, James Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), she doesn’t hesitate to shoot him to death with his own gun. Karen carries the guilt of that with her through the rest of the Netflix series, even confessing to Kingpin that it was her that killed Wesley. Deborah Ann Woll brings these complex layers of Karen with empathy and angst that allow her to stand out from the impressive action in a given episode.

Foggy Nelson and Karen Page Keep Matt Murdock Grounded

In addition to the moral complexity they bring to the Daredevil world, Foggy and Karen act as the emotional glue that keeps Matt from fully descending into the depths of his Daredevil alter ego. Because they both eventually know his secret identity, Foggy and Karen are able to counsel him and keep him grounded when things become too overwhelming. They remind him of the fight they’re all fighting together and how he needs them as much as they need him. The three of them are their best support when it comes to seeking justice in Hell’s Kitchen. In the words of Karen herself, they are each other’s home, their safe haven in the messy, cruel world.

Together, the trio are their own unstoppable force against Kingpin’s crime operation in Hell’s Kitchen – Matt as a vigilante, Foggy as a lawyer, and Karen as an investigator. Though Daredevil is throwing the punches, his friends are the ones figuring out Kingpin’s schemes in order to bring him down. They go through the ringer in this fight, but they make each other better through it. The original Daredevil series ends with Matt, Foggy, and Karen making plans to open a new practice together. They get their own happy ending, the avocados at law. It would be a shame not to give this trio a chance to be together again and further their stories.

The Punisher’s Return Would Be Stronger Because of Karen Page

In the original plans for Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal was set to reprise his role as antihero Frank Castle aka The Punisher. While it remains to be seen if he’s still included in the new plans for the series, it would be wholly unfair for Bernthal to return and not Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll. Not only are the two equally deserving, they create an organic link for specifically Bernthal’s Frank to return, especially that of Woll’s Karen.

If you recall, both Foggy and Karen defended Frank during the second season of Daredevil, Foggy as his lawyer and Karen as moral support. Afterward, Karen made the jump over to the Daredevil spinoff series, The Punisher. In it, Frank seeks her help for information on Micro (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), the hacker he worked for and connected to the massacre of Frank’s family. Besides becoming key allies to each other, there’s also some unresolved sexual tension between Karen and Frank from The Punisher series that could be picked up in Daredevil: Born Again. This could also create some tension between Karen and Matt, since they were previously romantically linked during the second season of Daredevil. Even though Matt recently hooked up with Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) during his trip to Los Angeles, any lingering feelings towards Karen could create some good angst in the new series.

With the executive producer of The Punisher as the showrunner, it feels like a safe bet to predict that Frank Castle will appear in Daredevil: Born Again. However exciting it is to have Jon Bernthal back, it would be a disservice if Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll are not offered the same opportunity. Before Frank Castle came on the scene, Foggy and Karen laid the groundwork and gave color to the first season of Daredevil, anchoring the world audiences came to love.

Confidence continues to swing back-and-forth between different MCU projects. A simple way to restore that confidence is to bring back Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll as Foggy and Karen, respectively. There are enough actors from the original Netflix series making the transition into the MCU; it would be another treat for fans of the Netflix series to see Henson and Woll reprise their roles. After all, Daredevil: Born Again is currently a blank space just waiting to be filled by characters we already love. If Matt Murdock is back to protect the people of Hell’s Kitchen, he needs his friends by his side.

All three seasons of Daredevil are now available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

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