Daredevil Season 2: Still Worth It (SPOILERS)
Season two has officially come to a close. Technically, they came to a close a week ago when the whole season aired, but now everyone with lives will have to have seen the show by now as well. Even if you haven’t, I’m about to give a clear rundown on the do’s and don’t’s of the new season and whether or not it’s worth your time. Granted, anything under the Netflix Daredevil title is worth your time, no matter how this season turns out. Which is to say, not as amazing as season one, but still worth a look. Obviously, there will be spoilers.
Where do we begin with Daredevil season two? There are plenty of angles that I don’t know where to start. It’s almost a flaw in the season since they attempted to fit the Punisher’s backstory, Elektra’s backstory, the continuing work of Daredevil, the threat of losing Nelson & Murdock, random cameos, the introduction of the Hand, mysticism, and zombie ninjas all in thirteen episodes. It definitely gets muddied over what’s more important or why you should even care, but everyone has to admit that those things are or could be interesting.
I could probably start with how this is definitely the most Marvel out of the Netflix seasons so far, both good and bad. Good, because for the first time in a while this show actually feels connected to the MCU other than the obvious reference to New York being invaded by aliens (which really should play a role in questioning people’s disbelief of zombie ninjas but I digress). Jessica Jones gets a name-drop as an actual vigilante working for a law firm. Claire refers to being demoted to the worst shift after helping another strong “mutual friend.” Jeri Hogarth hires Foggy. Even SHIELD gets a hit in there with a news headline reading about the company Cybertek AKA the makers behind Deathlok. The shows have struggled to connect with the movies lately, so it’s nice to see that the shows can at least keep up their own universe.
Then again, there’s the bad side. I’m personally convinced that Phase 3 of Marvel will be officially dubbed the “weird” one after dark matter in Agent Carter, ancient Inhumans in Agents of SHIELD, and Doctor Strange on the way, but Daredevil’s no exception. I’m not opposed to the more out-there moments of the canon especially since the Hand is likely to re-emerge in the more-applicable Iron Fist, but it can be hard to swallow. Having Nobu back is great. Having no explanation for immortality, even with magic, is not. I’m fascinated to see what they have planned for the group or if it could have Defenders-related implications, but there were multiple times where even blind eyes would roll.
Now, my stating the Marvel-ness of the show has no effect on what people come to see Daredevil for: the street-level violence. They managed to somehow pass head slammed in a car-door just to bring us beheading, throat-sliting, eye-stabbing, and blood-sucking in the same show. Bringing the Punisher in was bound to move the violence level up a few notches, and that does not disappoint. In fact, the only flaw in this might actually be eventual desensitization to the action. In short, there’s only so many times the Punisher can fight Daredevil.
Speaking of, the new characters are fascinating enough since there hasn’t been a piece of Marvel casting I haven’t liked yet. While the Punisher’s backstory may be cliché (though right in line with his comic origins), one cannot deny his badassery. When he takes out a whole level of prisoners on his own without weapons, we believe it. Similar with Elektra who likes to rival Daredevil in everything. Their stories push Matt into interesting directions, but their greyer characters do make it harder to go all in for caring about them. Having Frank muck up the case is barely defendable, and Elektra switches positions on her guilt every episode. Still, there’s some real emotion when Frank dons his Punisher outfit or when Elektra is (supposedly) killed to protect Matt. They will be missed.
That’s not to say that the previous characters are awful, mostly because they’re in the same position they were last year. Foggy remains the actual lawyer to the people while Karen continues her ever-reckless search for the truth. I’m more surprised that they managed to give Claire Temple an actual plot when the hospital threatens to cover up an attack that murdered a nurse (which does help explain why nothing happened after that same hospital tried to kill Jessica Jones) and give her the proper move between this and Luke Cage. There’s also a surprise reappearance by kingpin Wilson Fisk who pulls some strings in the stories but fortunately remains in jail, and Brett Mahoney gets a promotion. I’ll give some props to the show for putting the main three characters in separate spots with Foggy working for Hogarth, Karen working for the paper, and Matt on his own, but other than that, nothing radically different whether you liked it or not.
I do want to take some time to congratulate the show for finally letting Karen in on the Daredevil secret even if it was at the very last minute, and she should have figured it for herself at this point. I’m not quite sure what to think of this ending or even if I should consider it an ending. I believe they would give Daredevil a season three in a heartbeat if it wasn’t for the question of when Iron Fist, season two of Jessica Jones, or The Defenders will come out. I doubt they’ll answer what Karen’s reaction was in those three shows, so this ending becomes even more frustrating. Personally, I’d like her to have known or had a guess before that moment following the previous event when he rescued her and about fifty people from death by ninja. This was actually a really good way to guarantee people would want to come back for season three, but it’s not a good indicator of when we’d see it, which sucks.
Then there’s also the romance aspect of the season, which I’ve always considered the weakest part of any Marvel movie, and does little to break the mold here. It’s obvious that Elektra has chemistry with Matt, and that Karen’s ultimately the best one for him, but neither one of them truly sticks. Since the season relies on the connection between the three at Nelson & Murdock and Matt’s relationship with Elektra, this comes as a blow. With Elektra’s (supposed) death, it just becomes more complicated, which isn’t much better.
Bottom line is, season two is the sequel. It’s bigger, bolder, but not always guaranteed to be better. Even the films have had problems to move past that obstacle. However, (and here’s the important) it’s still a fantastic show that deserves a spot in any Marvel fan’s viewing. A few missteps couldn’t change that. Plus, this season gave us an amazing scene down a staircase. I’m waiting for another situation where I can type that.
