Episode 3 of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, titled “The Scales & the Sword,” shows just how far Wilson Fisk’s influence now reaches across New York.

As Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) begin digging deeper into the mayor’s mysterious Red Hook operation, the legal system itself starts to look like another weapon in Fisk’s arsenal. While a trial exposes how broken the system has become, Daredevil launches a dangerous mission that reveals the brutal lengths Fisk will go to in order to protect his empire.

Here’s a full recap of everything that happens in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Episode 3.

Matt and Karen interrogate a Task Force agent

The episode opens with Matt and Karen holding a captured member of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force in a basement hideout. Karen insists she had no choice but to act after Fisk’s forces began hunting them.

When they remove the hood from the agent’s head, he introduces himself as Alan Saunders and claims he actually wants to help them. According to Saunders, many members of the Task Force are violent extremists who force others to follow their orders. He says Fisk’s crusade against vigilantes is wrong and reveals information about a location connected to the mayor’s operation — Red Hook.

Matt initially believes the man is lying, but his heightened senses tell him Saunders is telling the truth. To maintain the agent’s cover, Matt knocks him unconscious before sending him back to his squad with a story that Daredevil attacked him.

The trial of Jack Duquesne

Meanwhile, Kirsten McDuffie prepares to defend Jack Duquesne, who has been arrested under Fisk’s new anti-vigilante initiative. Duquesne claims the charges are retaliation after he refused to invest in the mayor’s Red Hook port project. However, the court overseeing the case appears far more interested in delivering a verdict than anything else.

During the hearing, the prosecution relies heavily on a psychological evaluation written by Heather Glenn, using it to paint Duquesne as a volatile vigilante comparable to violent criminals like Muse. Kirsten repeatedly objects, arguing that the claims are speculative and unsupported by real proof.

Despite her efforts to challenge the accusations — and the complete lack of evidence tying Duquesne to the vigilante known as the Swordsman — the court moves quickly toward a conclusion. In the end, Duquesne is found guilty on all charges, making it clear that Fisk’s “Safer Streets Initiative” has effectively turned the justice system into a tool for punishing his political enemies.

Fisk’s Red Hook secret

While Matt and Karen continue investigating, a mysterious document about Red Hook reaches Governor McCaffrey. When she confronts Fisk, the governor questions the port’s special legal status as a historic free port — a designation that allows goods to move through the area with minimal oversight and enormous potential profits.

Although she has largely tolerated Fisk’s policies so far, McCaffrey makes it clear that her support has limits. She warns that if something goes wrong — such as a suspicious cargo shipment — she has the authority to revoke Red Hook’s protected status. For Matt and Karen, exposing whatever Fisk is hiding at Red Hook could be the key to forcing the governor to turn against him.

Daredevil launches a rescue mission

After the trial, Matt convinces a reluctant Kirsten to describe the secret Task Force facility where Duquesne is being held. Using her memory of the sounds and layout she experienced while blindfolded, Matt infiltrates the base as Daredevil. Inside, he discovers dozens of prisoners being held in cages — including people who are not even vigilantes. Daredevil frees the detainees and reunites with Duquesne, who helps him fight off Task Force agents as chaos erupts throughout the facility.

Outside the base, Karen waits in a car while monitoring the situation. She is soon approached by Angela Del Toro, who claims her aunt is being held inside. Angela also brings intercepted Task Force radio communications that help Karen coordinate with Daredevil.

When the freed prisoners escape the facility, Karen and Angela help them load into a truck while Task Force agents open fire. Duquesne drives the truck to safety while Daredevil and Karen escape separately. Angela also sabotages the agents’ vehicles by slashing their tires, preventing them from giving chase.

Fisk silences the witnesses

However, the victory is short-lived. After learning that Daredevil infiltrated the Task Force facility and freed the prisoners, Fisk moves quickly to protect his operation. He orders the destruction of the Northern Star.

Moments later, the ship explodes, killing everyone on board and erasing any witnesses who could expose what Fisk is doing. As Matt and Karen drive away from the chaos, Daredevil suddenly hears the distant blast through his heightened senses. The realization hits him immediately. Horrified, Matt tells Karen what just happened. “Oh my God. He killed them. He killed them all.”