Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: daredevil, elektra, entertainment, marvel, netflix, punisher, television

The Series Without Fear – A Look A Marvel's Daredevil Season 2

This article is going to contain spoilers for season 2 of Marvel's Daredevil.

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On Friday, Netflix released the second season of Marvel's Daredevil and I'm guessing a lot of people have already made their way through all 13 episodes and the Luke Cage teaser. I'm going to talk about some of the highlights and lowlights from the series as a whole instead of episode by episode.

Going into the new season we get the second change of showrunners. Originally Drew Goddard was going to be the showrunner for season one but stepped aside and Steve DeKnight did the first thirteen episodes. Now DeKnight has moved on and the series is in the hands Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez. And the season was moving on from the villains of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), Leland Owsley (Bob Gunton), Nobu (Peter Shinkoda) and Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho) and focusing on Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) and Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung)… or at least that what it appeared.

So what were we going to get from new writers, new villains and a hero who now had his superhero costume?

The first thing the series does right is it keeps true to its comic book roots by remembering all of the characters from season one. Brett Mahoney (Royce Johnson) gets promoted to Detective Sargent and plays a big role in the season. Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall) may be gone, but his editor Mitchell Ellison (Geoffrey Cantor) is still around to help Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll). Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) of course turns up and tries to talk sense into Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) along with patching some wounds. Turk Barrett (Rob Morgan) gets caught up in things again and even more characters down the line. The show remembers the universe it created in season one and brings those characters back again.

The second thing the series gets right is The Punisher. Instead of making us like him by showing him having time with his family and watching the slaughtered… we got right into him being this unseen killing machine that only shows mercy to a pit bull. We see the violent determination before we see he has a heart. The Punisher was a bad guy before he became an anti-hero and that is how they played it out here. We don't witness the characters evolution, instead they peel back the layers until we realize that Castle is a man of honor, a warrior who doesn't take prisoners. He isn't a homicidal killer, he is a hammer of retribution. And where many of the characters in the season compare the Punisher to Daredevil, the two are not the same and that becomes more clear as the season progresses.

Elektra on the other hand is a chance for us to see what Matt would have been like if he would have stayed with Stick (Scott Glenn). There is part of Daredevil that is kept reserved. A duality necessitated by his connections to Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen. But around Elektra he can be more Daredevil than Murdock. And in a way he gets lost in that world and forgets about the Murdock world and it reacts accordingly.

One of the most challenging things the series did was bringing together these two very different storylines. The Punisher arc is grounded in reality. Gangs, drugs, crooked politicians and everything else that could play out on any city on any day. The Elektra arc is more mystical featuring ninjas and ancient prophecies. But the differences between the arcs is what makes it work. Daredevil is pulled int two directions, involving two different loves and different important people in his life. A father figure like Stick and the exciting love from the past versus his best friend in Foggy and his new love for Karen. It's a fork in the road and Matt, as he would in the comics, tries to travel both at the same time. One of Matt's biggest weaknesses is his need to fix everything and protect everyone. Often time this leads him to losing the things he cares about. This is something the series shows really well that a movie wouldn't be able to convey.

The series also doesn't forget anything. Things that were hinted at or teased in the first season are brought back. Melvin Potter (Matt Gerald) seems to be getting closer and closer to his Gladiator alter ego and to finishing the Stiltman armor. Nobu's deal with Fisk was to gain access to a certain set of buildings in Hell's Kitchen. We now see he wanted it so he could dig a really deep hole. Though I don't think they ever explain what is the hole's purpose. We get into some of what the Hand wants but we never really find out how Nobu is back from the dead or what they are going to be doing with Elektra's body… or what the hell Black Sky is. They even tell us that no one knows what Black Sky does.

Another thing from the comics, The Kingpin is never really gone. Even in prison he is working the angles. Most television series finish with a villain for a season and then move on. There wasn't any chatter about Fisk appearing in the new season, but sure enough he pops up and has a more than a few scenes. Also, we get the hint that he is going to figure out that Matt is Daredevil. If the series gets a season 3, I'd expect Fisk to be back as the main villain… maybe with Bullseye at his side.

The way the season wrapped up worked as well. It wasn't a happy ending like season one as the law firm stands together… now everything is blow apart. Karen is off becoming a journalist, Foggy is interviewing for law firms in other series (nice guest shot by Carrie Anne Moss) and Matt is… well he's pretty screwed up. Life isn't always happy endings and in the story of Daredevil, they're very rare.

Some knocks I have against the season. The gore level was increased quite a bit. The Punisher being on the opposite roof and taking out ninja's to help Daredevil seems a bit convenient. And Daredevil kills Nobu again… for a guy who doesn't take a life he's taken this guys twice. But the writer's give him an out by showing he's alive for a moment and then Stick killing him. Kind of a cheap out.

The second season was strong and holds up well next to the first. The acting was good all the way around. One-dimensional characters from the first season got fleshed out here. The new characters were handled well and the surprises were never telegraphed. And just like at the end of season one… I can't wait for more.

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