Around about this time last year, I was coming off of a 13 hour live tweet marathon of the first season of Marvel’s Daredevil, trying to put into words how I felt about the season. It was a strange phenomenon as I’d been an advocate of translating the Daredevil character in a TV (or, in this case, Netflix) show for years prior. Seeing that come to pass and having the reality of the show differ from the perfect image in my head was a strange thing to review.
Still, the season was definitely impressive and I certainly wasn’t the only one who thought so. The critical reaction to the show was astounding from pretty much anyone who saw the series, so much so that Marvel and Netflix fast-tracked a second season of the show just a year later, pushing back it’s plans to have the show connect to The Defenders crossover.
As of writing this, I’ve just come off a weekend of livetweeting the second season of Daredevil (warning: that link’s going to have spoilers) and it’s my extreme pleasure to tell you that if you enjoyed the show’s first season then you’re definitely not going to be disappointed by the show’s sophomore effort. Everything the show did well last time has been pushed even further and even some of the missteps it took have been corrected to make a more cohesive season of digital television.
Daredevil Season Two is a story about duality. Much like Spider-Man 2, the show has set up the hero in the status quo of being a hero and having to deal with the reality of living with a dual identity and is now winding up the curveball to make that all come crashing down. The curveball comes in the form of the one-two punch of The Punisher and Elektra appearing in Matt Murdock’s life to wreak havoc with both his personal life and his life as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
Now, let’s get something out of the way: I’m a huge mark for The Punisher. Seriously, it’s embarrassing. It’s not a coincidence that my last name is Castle, let’s just. So, because of that, I had some very high expectations for the show’s portrayal and interpretation of Frank Castle. I’ve been burned in the past with two very not good movies and one pretty good movie that never quite felt like The Punisher. There was always something missing. There’s nothing missing here. Jon Bernthal is The Punisher, through and through, and he is a goddamn revelation. Anyone who saw him in David Ayer’s Fury could have told you he’d make for a great Punisher, but it goes beyond that. The writing of the character here is, bar none, some of the best writing for Castle that I’ve ever seen and combining that with Bernthal’s haunting performance and direction that isn’t afraid to highlight the brutality of the character makes for a definitive interpretation of the character.
Meanwhile, over in the show’s other plot, Elodie Yung pops up as Matt’s old flame, Elektra Natchios, to make us all quickly forget that 2003 ever happened. In a lot of ways, Elektra is as difficult a character to translate as Frank. She’s a high life socialite who’s also a sociopathic ninja who takes lives (and pretty much anything else she fancies) just for the fun of it. Her relationship with Matt Murdock is as toxic as it is intoxicating and the two of them feed into their worst and best aspects. It’s a relationship that’s characterised by the two of them knowing neither is any good for the other and not being able to help it. Yung is able to take one of the most emotionally complex characters in comics and take her to place I don’t think anyone imagined she would. The vulnerability and humanity she injects into Elektra comes in stark contrast to the character’s aloof deadliness and it’s hard to tear your eyes away from the screen whenever she shows up.
It’s not just the new kids who are impressive, though, as the show’s returning cast are an example of what you can do when you’re given enough time to develop a side cast beyond the confines of a two hour movie. Karen Page and Foggy Nelson especially showcase character writing that doesn’t allow them to become one-note side characters that exist as a break between the Punisher and Elektra scenes. Continuing the theme of Matt not being able to cope with being pulled in every direction at once, Page and Nelson find themselves at odds with Matt’s other life and frustrated by the lies he uses to cover it up and the secrets he’s clearly keeping from them. Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson gets a fantastic arc throughout the show that keeps him from slipping into the doting best friend archetype who exists solely for comic relief (again, making us forget 2003 ever happened) and the frustrations shown in the first season’s episode ‘Nelson V. Murdock’ once again rear their head.
Continued belowNow, sure, you’re probably wondering why I haven’t talk about Charlie Cox’s returning performance as the titular Daredevil himself and that’s because, in a lot of ways, he gets overshadowed by many of the characters. Now, this isn’t to say Charlie Cox somehow lost his shine as Daredevil or as Matt Murdock (he hasn’t) or to say this is some kind of Iron Man 2 situation where the main character is least interesting part of the story (it isn’t), but with the focus on introducing and establishing such rich characters as Elektra and The Punisher while giving Foggy, Karen and even smaller characters like the returning Royce Johnson as New York’s best cop, Brett Mahoney, has meant that the sole focus on Matt in the first season has shifted to much wider focus and, yes, sometimes he does get lost in that sea.
But when Charlie Cox really gets to work it? Whether he’s in the suit or not, when Charlie Cox is giving his moments to shine, he continues to work his ass off and leave it all on screen as the damaged, hurting and lonely Matt Murdock. Speaking of suits, Daredevil’s costume gets a much needed upgrade from what we saw at the end of last season, ditching the black and burgundy for a much brighter red and slimlined cowl that pushes Daredevil to exactly where he needs to be. Cox is in the costume a surprising amount throughout the season and the difference between the old and new costumes is stark and shows how much improved the new one is.
Finally, just in case you were wondering: yes, the fight scenes are just as good if not better in some places this season. That hallway fight that was the utter highlight of season one? Prepare for this season to do one better. I couldn’t believe it even as I watched it happen, but boy oh boy was it glorious to see. You won’t know what hit you.
So, yes, I’m happy to report that my thirteen hours spent livetweeting Marvel’s Daredevil was decidedly well spent as this season has quickly jumped to the top of the list in terms of things Marvel Studios have ever done. Seriously, it’s above The Winter Soldier and The Avengers. It’s just that good. Sure, a lot of that has to do with just how well translated The Punisher is, but this second season is overall more cohesive, denser and more action packed (I’m not sure how that was even possible, but it’s true) than before and proves that you can make a good story out of anything if you believe in it, even one about a blind man in a devil costume beating up a military veteran grieving the death of his family.
Now we just have to wait for Daredevil Season Three and the inevitable Punisher spinoff. C’mon, you just know it’s happening.
