Daredevil: Season Two So Far

At the time of writing this little post, I’m five episodes into the new season of Daredevil. I thought about doing a write up similar to the Flash and Gotham seasons openers that I’ve done, but since getting into the Viewer Log thing, I’d be doing Daredevil a major disservice if I didn’t give his show the same treatment. But, given that I’ve got two series going already, and I haven’t done write ups for the first season, that also feels like a disservice. So, I hope you folks can take broad strokes summary at first, followed by a Viewer Logs of the series sometime soon.

Overall, this is an amazing follow up to an already damn good series. Daredevil is now a major force in the New York area of Hell’s Kitchen. If he hoped bringing Fisk down would make the Kitchen a safer place, he was sadly mistaken. New players have risen up to fill the power vacuum that was created when the Kingpin was brought down. And, worst of all, his tactics seems to have helped inspire a new vigilante in the Kitchen. He’s a one-man army, blowing through various gangs in the Kitchen. Frank Castle, the Punisher. Things quickly get more complicated when the District Attorney and her aspirations for power get involved. And Matt Murdock’s old flame Electra comes into town.

The Devil in Chains.

Charlie Cox is still amazing as the damaged but dangerous Matthew Murdock, aka Daredevil. He’s in full DD gear this time around, and he looks great. His costume gets an upgrade or two after his first run in with Punisher, and it still looks good. We get to see a little more insight into his past, especially after Electra gets involved around the halfway point. They had a “passionate” relationship during his law school days, which quickly fizzled after an unfortunate incident. Most of his interactions with the Punisher are your typical “how far is too far,” or “what separates you from me,” arguments that heroes always get into with villains and anti-heroes. And, while I get a little bored with that story, they find a way to keep things fresh. Particularly when Punisher pulls the old “Kill me or I’ll kill x,” ploy with Daredevil.

Speaking of Punisher, Jon Bernthal is wonderful as the also broken but in different ways character that he is. I’d say that before this point, Punisher in live action has only been partially adapted. Thomas Jane’s version of the character in the 2004 film, focused on “Punisher the Sniper.” His character was tactically brilliant, showing off how smart the character is. Ray Stevenson’s version in 2008, focused on “Punisher the Assault Rifle.” Sooo many people died in that movie, in a ton of imaginative ways. Bernthal’s character was the total package, showing off his tactical brilliance in a number of situations, and how crack of a shot he is when he blows away metric tons of gangsters. They cover all the important points, dead family, personal vendetta against gangsters, lethal but with an unusual code of honor. I rather liked his habit of referring to Daredevil as “Red” during their conversations. Fun little quirk.

Frank, you gotta a little... a little something on your face...

Elden Hanson and Deborah Ann Woll do great as Franklin “Foggy” Nelson and Karen Page respectively. Foggy, having learned Murdock’s secret the previous season, does his best to both keep their legal firm afloat, and keeping his partner/best friend Matt Murdock alive. Really feel the stress he’s under with Matt’s more… insane choices. Karen, seems to still be reeling from some of her choices the previous season. She gets really into the Frank Castle case, particularly when some facts about his past start cropping up.

Haven’t seen much of Élodie Yung’s Electra just yet, but she’s an interesting character. From the flashbacks, she and Matt had an intense relationship, but things fell apart when he saw some of the darker aspects of her character. She’s back in New York trying to get access to her family fortune again, which was largely tied into the Roxxon corporation due to her deceased father’s dealings. She’s a mysterious character, and she seems to want to get her hooks back into Matt. Interesting.

Overall, if you enjoyed Daredevil season one, you’ll enjoy season two. The good stuff got better, and I’d say the biggest downside is that Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin isn’t a part of this one. Action is still intense, the cinematography and effects are still wonderful, and I love the clash of titans that was Daredevil vs. Punisher. Netflix has done it again, hooray. Back to One-Punch Man next time. 

http://marvel.com/news/tv/25744/daredevil_stands_in_chains_in_new_season_2_poster

http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/15/daredevil-season-two-trailer-is-all-about-the-punisher/