Has *Daredevil: Born Again* delivered a masterpiece episode? Disney+’s highest-rated episode is here.

Rainy nights, dark alleys, neon lights pressed by moisture into a blurry film—this is a scene I know all too well. What really sends a chill down your spine is never a sudden, jarring scream, but the feeling of knowing the storm is coming and being able to do nothing except listen as the footsteps draw closer and closer. Episode 4 of Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again felt to me like that slow-boil oppression you get in a psychological horror film: the blade hasn’t fully fallen yet, but the air is already tightening.

According to foreign media outlet ixbt, Episode 4 of Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again has become the highest-rated single episode among all MCU titles on Disney+. The episode, titled “Gloves Off,” has reached a 9.6 rating on IMDb, surpassing the 9.5 previously held by the Season 2 finale of Loki. That number alone is striking enough, but what’s really interesting is that it didn’t climb there through cheap thrills—it got there through the concentrated payoff of goodwill built up over the course of an entire season.

Before Episode 4 aired, Season 2 had already done an excellent job of building the atmosphere. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 95% critics’ score and a 90% audience score, which shows this isn’t just a case of the media praising it—viewers are genuinely on board as well. Looking back, you realize that this kind of strong reception from both sides has become fairly rare in the MCU’s recent run of series. Especially now, when audiences are increasingly wary of formulaic storytelling, being able to hold both camps steady is no small feat in itself.

The reason Episode 4 is being seen as the turning point of the season comes down to that familiar escalation in conflict—one that feels almost pathological in intensity. The relationship between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk has always been like mold spreading between two damp walls: no blood in sight, yet somehow more suffocating by the minute. Even more unsettling, this episode officially pulls the Punisher, played by Wilson Betela, into the main storyline. This isn’t just about adding another ruthless character—it drags the nerves that were already stretched taut down another notch.

If you compare it side by side with Loki, you’ll find that the two followed very different paths to their high ratings. Loki feels more like a sci-fi fable driven equally by concept and emotion, reaching its peak through world-building, character arcs, and the emotional force of its ending. Daredevil: Born Again, by contrast, leans more into a noir thriller rooted in the streets, politics, and the edge of violence. It doesn’t overwhelm you with grandeur—it drags you into the shadows and makes you hear your own heartbeat. For someone like me, who has a soft spot for fear built on atmosphere, the latter hits harder and lingers longer.

There are still four episodes left in Season 2, yet its word-of-mouth momentum has already reached a height that is both dangerously precarious and deeply alluring. The danger is that audience expectations will rise quickly, and any slight misstep later on could make it slide off the edge of its pedestal. The allure is that, at its current pace, it genuinely has a chance to keep pushing the record even higher. If you’re the kind of viewer who’s grown a bit cynical after being worn down by some of the MCU shows in recent years, I’d actually suggest putting Daredevil: Born Again back on your watchlist. If nothing else, it proves one thing: what truly scares an audience is never noise, but control.