Marvel's Daredevil Season 2 - Cape and Cowl Review
The Devil of Hell's Kitchen Returns
By Alex Burns
Season 2 of Marvel's Daredevil continues to impress, the vigilante drama makes several confident strides forward in it's sophomore outing and while there are a few stumbles along the way, the overwhelming feeling after the end of episode 13 is that of wanting more.
The street level adventures in Marvel's cinematic universe remain some of the most engaging and where Daredevil succeeds is always recognising that character comes first. The main crux of season 2 is the exploration of what defines a hero, what keeps Daredevil from being just another vigilante taking the law into his own hands and deciding what's best for everyday people like you and me. Those are some lofty ambitions for sure but with some great inspirations, notably from Christopher Nolan's Batman films, the showrunners manage to deliver on nearly every front, this is spectacle with substance.
British actor Charlie Cox returns as Matt Murdoch and he's a heck of a lot more assured in the role now season 1 is in the can. Cox's Murdoch is an engaging lead, he brings a genuine likeability to the role but also gradually conveys a subtle vulnerability to the character that becomes prevalent as the series progresses. After taking down the Kingpin last year we join Murdoch in a good place, he is full of optimism that he can balance his people over profit law firm as well as his night time excursions as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. This balance is key to the show's success and in a thrilling chase sequence in the first episode we see just what makes Daredevil so necessary and also why Matt get's so much satisfaction from putting on the horned helmet night after night. It's a delicate balance for sure and the tipping point for this scale arrives in the form of the Punisher.
Jon Bernthal is THE standout addition to this series as Frank Castle, a man whose family was taken away in the cruellest fashion. Bernthal is, as expected, more than capable as the most savage of all vigilante anti-heroes, he ghosts through the series delivering incredibly savage sequences and bringing a menacing almost haunting quality to the character. The more dramatic beats of The Punisher character are given a thorough examination over the course of the 13 episodes and there is plenty to love, loathe and contemplate as Frank Castle mutilates and bulldozes his way to answers over the murder of his family.
The opening four episodes deliver a seriously satisfying look at how Daredevil vs The Punisher plays out in the MCU and quite happily stands alone as a self-contained movie almost. The writers have plenty of material to play with here, tapping into a rich lore of Marvel comic books, they explore the ever popular debate of ends justifying means and the nature of vigilantism. It delivers, for the most part. Cox and Bernthal are immensely watchable as they trade superhero philosophies but for all the one-liners and self-discovery the debate runs in circles never really reaching an answer. Daredevil believes in finding the light in the dark no matter how filthy and evil that darkness is, the Punisher views that little light as a flame that needs to be snuffed out before it spreads into a wildfire that hurts innocent people like his family. It's a more than engaging argument and perhaps the reason we can't reach a satisfying conclusion is that it's a debate we are living with everyday in a society where there is the very real threat of some form of terrorism on your doorstep.
Thankfully it's not all high brow ethical discussion, where Marvel's Daredevil continues to deliver more than any other series out there is on the action front. There are some spell-binding sequences throughout the second season. The most popular is bound to be a multi-storey building bout where Daredevil uses every trick in his arsenal to stay alive including a heavy metal chain tapped to his hand, one of the most out and out cool moments sees our hero wielding the chain like a whip and ensures Murdoch continues to dish out pain in an exceedingly entertaining manner. The Punisher also gets his fair share of action beats and boy does he make Daredevil look pedestrian by comparison, with a brutal combination of military precision and furious rage we see Frank Castle amass a kill count that would make Rambo proud. The choreography and stunt team deserve a massive pat on the back as the sheer quality of what's on display coupled with the variety and creativity to keep all these brawls interesting is quite simply phenomenal. Plus there's ninjas, 'nuff said!
While Daredevil and the Punisher shine as the series main leads the other big addition this year is Elodie Yung in the role of Elektra. Turning up at the worst possible time to complicate Matt's life even further, the chemistry between Cox and Yung is palpable and the duo offer some wonderful cat and mouse moments. Elektra is no slouch in the action department either, more than a match for the obstacles thrown her way, she combines sensuality with bloodlust in a very convincing performance. The dynamics in her relationship with Murdoch both in and out of costume are playful for the most part but when the plot gets serious their conflicts feel tired and are pretty messy thematically, Elektra could at times be disregarded as the female punisher that Matt happens to have sex with, in fact by the time Elektra questions slitting throats there are far too many dead bodies for Matt to possibly be okay with. Her origin story is explored almost laboriously as the series reaches it's climax but by that point it's too difficult to piece her together coherently, she's mysterious by nature sure but the inconsistency in her character is more a case of being underwritten than anything else. Thankfully, the show redeems itself by offering some clarity in the final episode in a scene with Daredevil and Elektra, exhausted from battle and fearing the fight ahead, that really resonates emotionally.
Daredevil, Elektra and The Punisher all demand so much screen time because they are just too impossibly interesting not too focus on, so naturally the show stumbles unfortunately with handling the rest of the supporting cast that don't have fancy costumes. Elden Henson as Matt's friend and colleague Foggy Nelson is a prime example, destined to suffer the most criticism as the obligatory voice of reason in the series. There's nothing wrong with Henson's performance, Foggy feels real and genuine it's just that he's lumbered with the unpopular opinions and the fact that his character and so many others around him are ten steps behind the audience make it very hard to like the guy, especially when he keeps shouting at Matt for saving people's lives and trust me the writer's want you to like Foggy.
The show keeps things interesting outside of all the costumed adventuring as Matt makes several bad personal decisions that, while done with the best intentions, often put those closest to him at risk. Deborah Ann Woll returning as Karen Page is the unlucky benefactor from said bad decisions her romantic relationship with Matt comes off well and the connection is understandable, matt shuts out everything else when he is with her, unfortunately that means Daredevil to and there's no way he's ending his crusade. Sadly Karen doesn't progress much either, the victim once again as she was in season 1, the show spends a heavy amount of time attempting to flesh out her motivations but again it's underwritten and save for her romance with Matt I found myself switching off whenever she occupied the screen. Karen is always investigating, asking questions and crying at people, we are continually told she figures stuff out and has all the chops to be a lawyer AND a journalist but really things just happen around her and she's there to observe and kind of connect the dots because, you know, Daredevil is her boyfriend.
While the series stumbles in balancing the multiple plot threads there's enough investment in caring about where these heroes end up that you just have to keep watching, the cast all buy into the cause and give some seriously excellent performances. Jon Bernthal will have you in tears as he regales Daredevil with the loss of his family, displaying an emotional heart to the character that is just as powerful as his rage. Charlie Cox benefits the most though, the show is not distracted by the new comic book characters on display and the showrunners have made sure everything flows through the title character as it should do.
The wider Marvel Universe is at play as well with the some fun cameos pertaining to Jessica Jones in particular, Rosario Dawson is back as Claire Temple providing that connection to the people of Hell's Kitchen and offer Matt advice in a plot-centric appearance that, while fun at first, eventually overstays it's welcome. The best out of all the subtle and not so subtle nods however, is the surprise reappearance of Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk midseason. Immediately, all the impossible tension of season 1 is back and the Kingpin is reborn from within a high security prison, scheming wonderfully and interacting with the Punisher in a scene that will make you smile ear to ear as you realise just how far we've come to have these two comic characters exchanging dialogue on screen. My personal favourite moment from the entire season is Matt returning to confront Fisk in prison as a lawyer not a superhero, Murdoch begins feeling superior but as the scene unfolds the balance of power shifts and we are treated to an unbelievable nervy sequence, the two enemies exchange emotional threats before the handcuffs are off and we're into a horrific grapple between the two that demonstrates exactly why the Kingpin is so pivotal to this show going forward. Murdoch looks afraid after the encounter, a promise is made for the future of the series that bigger threats lie ahead and it serves as a reminder that for all the strengths of season 2 it really is missing a new villain to equal the Kingpin.
Overall Marvel's Daredevil season 2 is unmissable superhero entertainment, the Marvel Universe on Netflix is beyond cool and by embracing a more grounded take, as well as taking more than a few cues from The Dark Knight trilogy, Daredevil remains a hero to pay attention to. Crafting a dark and immersive tale with a human heart, Netflix show us that the world isn't black and white and Matt Murdoch may be blind but he see into the grey unknown better than most and if there is a chance of hope and something better on the horizon he will drag it out of the dirt with his bare hands. Aspects of slow pacing from the first season have been fixed but sadly some rushed resolutions, the Punisher's and Elektra's arcs in particular, mar the experience somewhat. I'm still here though, still waiting for Hell's Kitchen to be saved and I'll tell you now - I cannot wait for season 3.
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