DAREDEVIL SEASON 2 REVIEW

‘Don’t worry, its spoiler free….well almost’

Sooo I recently completed Marvel’s/Netflix Daredevil sequel season (I know I know, I’m so recent) and it was awesome! I mean it had to be, for me to have binged it so fast. I thought it was really good and had little qualms with it, which I’ll be elaborating later on in this review.

Daredevil season 2 is a huge improvement on its predecessor, I definitely enjoyed the debut  but the sequel hits it out of the ball park, and personally, I think upcoming and existing shows within the superhero genre could take a few lessons from it.

 It is a well written, well edited, plot absorbed, gritty, and gory character driven piece of work blended into a tasty TV salad while still managing not to stray far from the source material, a recipe that worked well in the debut season and is sustained in the sequel. Marvel continues to show that it is possible to adopt a handful from comic book source materials in making great television (I’m looking at you Flash), it stays quite original save for some tweaks you can certainly get over. There seems to be so much going on this season but it’s so well blended, you don’t get bamboozled by it all. Action scenes are still as exciting and participatory for the viewer; fights are glorious and have some really great hand to hand combat scenes, the choreography is fluid, and easy to follow.

Once again the show’s protagonist Matt Murdoch/Daredevil is faced with trials and the inevitable repercussions of a double life, as his vigilante escapades continue to take a toll on his relationships and work, while coming up against old and new adversaries (in and outside the courtroom) and when his sacred (no killing) code is derisively brushed aside by new entries; The Punisher and Elektra each for their own specific reasons, Daredevil is at certain points unsure of his own methods even going as close as accepting to do it The Punisher’s way ‘just this once’ in which Frank Castle’s decisively replies “if you do it my way, if you cross that line there’s no coming back’. And when it comes to killing not only do Frank & Elektra do it without zero or little hesitation (zero for Frank; little for Elektra) but they do it gloriously! Case in point, Frank’s prison scene.

 Character development is also really well done (eyes on you, Flash). it was certainly interesting seeing Elektra and Punisher gradually coming into their own skin, just as Matt Murdoch evolved over the course of a season before fully becoming his more popular alter ego (at the finale of season one). And even though their origin stories had been understandably tweaked for the purpose of TV storytelling, it was done well enough that you could actually forgive most inconsistencies.

The casting choice of Elodie Yung and Jon Bernthal is justified as both actors put out really great performances. Jon Bernthal is impressive as The Punisher as he articulately translates the pain/frustration within Frank Castle in rage and brutality! With memorable and favorite quotes like ‘your way doesn’t work!’, ‘you’re a half measure!’, ‘when I put them down, they stay down!’ you know just how this guy is feeling.

  Elodie Yung on the other hand, tones the ambiance of the season with her exotic, classy, cool, and vulnerable portrayal of Elektra Natchios ( something we never really got from Jennifer Garner), her  love-hate (and very complicated) relationship with Matt Murdoch, probably makes her one of the morally grayest antiheroes we know. It’s a delightful tug of war between the two, Murdoch seeming to bring out the good in her, and her, the bad in him, it eventually seems to settle in some grey area but this is not fully fleshed out before the season ends.

Scott Glenn is once again; Stick, the obnoxious leader of the Chaste and Matt/Elektra’s teacher returns in order to stop an imminent threat to New York by the Chaste’s eternal enemies the Hand.

Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) isn't left out this season, although he plays a somewhat limited role (from behind bars) his behind the scenes puppet master routine is still at play and sets the tone for the last couple of episodes. His part in this season is a short one but it sets him up for a recurring role in the Daredevil universe.

 Murdoch’s supporting characters; Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Paige (Deborah Ann Woll) return as well, as Matt’s friends/coworkers and are more irritating this season than the last, the latter the most (almost as if she was put there solely for that purpose). Foggy continues to be Matt’s voice of reason and Karen becomes a love interest, however their relationships with Matt are thrown against the rocks with Matt’s continuous vigilante activities, the reappearance of Elektra in Matt’s life and The Punisher’s war in Hell’s Kitchen. Foggy sulks for half of the season while Karen is so annoyingly nosy it’s a miracle she’s not dead yet (in due time though, thank you Bullseye!).

Charlie Cox comfortably reprises his role as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil surpassing his performance in his first season, getting more in tune with the character.  The Daredevil costume isn’t just there yet, I’ve previously reiterated how much I though the show could lend a few ideas from Ben Affleck’s Daredevil costume, although some may argue that the latest interpretation is more practical. Daredevil finally got his Billy club and the little upgrades of the suit didn’t go unnoticed, as he got new gloves and a helmet (most likely as a means of making the costume more red) and I hope with more ‘upgrades’ in the future seasons we get closer to the source costume.

 Daredevil Season two is one of the great superhero based TV shows currently on and needless to say it has huge followership, if you haven’t seen it, you should definitely consider doing that, especially if you’re a comic geek like me and if Daredevil’s ‘true to the source philosophy’ perseveres, then we can be anticipating a couple of really good seasons to come (I’m personally looking forward to seeing Bullseye).

RejectRating: 8/10