Warning: This article contains spoilers for “Daredevil: Born Again” season 2, episode 3, “The Scales & the Sword.”

We’re so back … or are we? Through two seasons of “Daredevil: Born Again,” Marvel Studios has certainly tried its best to recapture the magic of the Netflix show that won over so many hearts and minds during its original run from 2015 to 2018. Probably every fan would agree that it’s simply incredible to have original stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio back as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, respectively. And watching a series definitively set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe sure beats the Netflix version’s half-hearted references to “flag-wavers” and the “green dude” and the “incident” in New York City.

Still, something seems noticeably missing when it comes to season 2 of “Daredevil: Born Again,” and we can’t ignore it anymore. More than the distinct visual palette of the original show or the brutally stylized violence, the Netflix production consistently found time to explore all facets of its tortured main character — not just his crimefighting by night, but perhaps more importantly, his lawyerly work by day. “Daredevil” was always a crime drama and a spiritual story of religious angst first and foremost, but never forget how much it emphasized its courtroom trappings, as well. Matt Murdock is an “avocado at law,” damn it, and “Born Again” just had the perfect excuse to bring that to the fore.

Unfortunately, the third episode of season 2 turns this into the first big missed opportunity of the young season. The oft-discussed “vigilante trials” puts Tony Dalton’s returning socialite/hero Jack Duquesne in the spotlight, the first of many superpowered individuals that Fisk plans to make an example of in court. Instead, this trial is treated almost as an afterthought and leaves us wanting more.

A lot can change in the span of 12 months, folks. In the blink of an eye, Matt Murdock watched his own city elect Wilson Fisk to the office of Mayor and transform his hometown into an anti-vigilante hellhole. Out here in the real world, viewers have watched as season 2 of “Daredevil: Born Again” has doubled back on its most promising quality. Yes, despite singing the praises of season 1 and how it improved on the Netflix show, we’re here almost exactly a year later to make the exact opposite complaint.

Can you blame us? We spend quite a bit of time in episode 3 following Jack Duquesne, the famed Swordsman who ended up imprisoned by Fisk’s task force at the end of season 1. Held in some secretive compound and denied his basic rights as a citizen, Jack appears destined for tragedy. As the first vigilante on Fisk’s chopping block, his meager defense (aided by Nikki M. James’ overmatched defense attorney Kirsten McDuffie) stands little chance against the full might of a rigged system — personified by corrupt therapist and expert witness Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva).

Maybe that sense of inevitability explains why the trial that follows seems to last a grand total of five minutes and reaches a hasty conclusion in no time at all. Optimistically, there’s a world where brushing past this farce of a trial simply emphasizes the long odds and dire stakes involved. This was never going to end with a win anyway, so why waste time pretending otherwise? More cynically, however, this only feeds the early narrative that season 2 of “Born Again” appears to have forgotten what made previous seasons of “Daredevil” such a pleasure to watch.

It’s safe to say nobody will ever mistake “Daredevil: Born Again” for the courtroom brilliance featured throughout “Better Call Saul.” Still, as disappointing as it is to watch episode 3 rush through its rigged trial, it’s not necessarily a death knell for the season, either. The remainder of the episode clearly has more pressing priorities — namely, Daredevil’s daring raid on the Red Hook detention center and all the bone-breaking action that comes with that. But we’re less than halfway through this batch of episodes, and it helps to remember that this was only Wilson Fisk’s opening salvo, after all. There’s plenty of time to right this ship and restore Matt Murdock to his former glory as our favorite defense attorney.

Whether season 2 will actually live up to that potential, of course, is another matter. The pieces are clearly in place for Matt to trade his Daredevil suit for more formal attire down the line. As Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force ramps up operations all around New York City, more and more innocents will undoubtedly find themselves in need of the services of Murdock & McDuffie — in fact, episode 2 leans heavily on this through the reintroduction of young Angela del Toro (Camila Rodriguez), whom we know is set to take up the White Tiger mantle. Extracurricular crimefighting is fun and all, but half the fun of the Matt Murdock dichotomy is his insistence on working within the confines of the law. Here’s hoping the rest of the season picks up this loose thread and runs with it.

New episodes of “Daredevil: Born Again” season 2 stream on Disney+ every Tuesday.