TV Review: Daredevil, Season 2
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Marvel and Netflix’s TV adaptation of Daredevil was one of last season’s biggest surprises, giving audiences 13 episodes of wonderful action and awesome characters. The hype for the second season couldn’t have been higher, particularly with the announcement of The Punisher and Elektra joining the cast. After getting through the whole show within 48 hours and now having 48 hours more to digest the show, I am now willing to share what I thought.
I guess I should start off by saying that I liked this season of Daredevil very much. Everything it seemed that I loved about the first season I got more of: more epic hallway fights, more fascinating characters, and more beautifully lit scenes. The additions of The Punisher and Elektra fit the season like a damn glove, and any time Jon Bernthal or Elodie Yung were on-screen I counted it as a win. The writers also pushed the characters of Matt, Foggy, and Karen to the brink several times over and I believe that was in the show’s best interest as the characters were really able to shine through.
This season of Daredevil, more than the first, managed to play with our audience expectations and loyalties. I was constantly questioning (read was very sure of) Matt changing to a more Punisher like philosophy of killing these villains to prevent them from rising up. This is a great thing. However, the show also took it upon itself to try to make new ground and subvert the audience. There’s a saying that you find out what the audience wants and then don’t give it to them. The Daredevil writers instead decided to give us something that no one asked for in a Matt and Karen relationship. Karen was wisely given much more to do this season, and even though she can still be annoying, I felt like Deborah Ann Woll got to hold her own on-screen. So why did they saddle her with the most thankless, soul-sucking portion of the season? I mean literally nothing about this romantic relationship worked and all it was diver our attention away from awesome things, as well as exacerbate how awful Matt was being to his people the whole season.
What I think Daredevil struggled with is what I think most Marvel properties do, connectivity to a universe at large. The season is very sectional, with The Punisher dominating the first four eps, Elektra coming in and slaying the next four, and then the final five seeking to explain a grander mystery. We spend those the last five episodes talking over, around, and about the Black Sky and two seasons in, I don’t feel any closer to understanding what the Black Sky is or how it affects the over all narrative. Rather than feel led into the next season, I feel stymied by the narrative choice they made to focus on this.
So yes, while there was much to admire about the season, it didn’t particularly stick the landing.
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