I remember giving Netflix’s Daredevil series a glowing recommendation, approximately a year ago. Then, I promptly forgot that the series existed, assuming that serialized dramas in a super hero universe didn’t have much to offer beyond that. Well, color me surprised when I saw Daredevil’s second season suddenly arrive – I can tend towards forgetfulness. None of this means I’m complaining when the first season exuded quality.
Also, SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT.
So, what do I think of the second season? They definitely took some risks, that’s for sure. First, this seasons really lacks a central villainous figure like Wilson Fisk (aka, Kingpin). While Vincent D’Onofrio’s character returns in some capacity, he exists more to reinforce the central internal conflict of the second season: how far is too far? Does Daredevil’s existence (and effectiveness) allow for the creation of far worse criminals and far worse vigilantes to replace him? To what extent does one believe in the redemption of other human beings when criminals often return to their life of crime almost immediately? Can a person really change their ways?
These are heady, philosophical questions that the writers introduce via the two new characters on the scene: Elektra and the Punisher. Long time comic book stalwarts will probably know both these characters (and you might know them from their prior films, which weren’t fantastic by any means), but they provide a very specific plot purposes in Daredevil. Elektra is Matt’s former lover and a rather skilled assassin herself, but she hides an inner darkness. She likes to kill people, or so we figure out, and she does not believe herself suited for redemption at all. And yet, she keeps coming back to Matt over and over again, who keeps seeing that tiny spark of goodness that nobody else (including Stick, the wizened old bastard) sees. Elodie Yung does a fine job making Elektra a character you actually like and care about, despite her predilections towards violence.
And that goes even more so for the Punisher, who is, hands down, the absolute best character in this entire season by a longshot. Frank Castle’s entire family was killed in a drug sting; this convinces him that criminals and violent men don’t deserve a second chance. He is, to put it frankly (HAHA), the concept of a vigilante super hero taken to its most logical extremes. He kills brutally, without mercy, anyone he deems “good” or “bad” according to his strict moral code; no one will suffer like him again, and so he will take the blame to rectify the mistakes of New York’s citizens. And yet, there’s a human side to him that opens up slowly, prompted by Karen Page’s desire to see if there’s really a human being behind the thick coat of psychotic killer that taints his reputation.
Jon Bernthal gives an unbelievable performance, and he’s simply magnetic in just about every scene, from his hypnotizing (and disgusting) efficiency of violence to his protestations towards “Red” that “you’re just one bad day away from being me!” Deborah Ann Woll has to step up to the plate to compete with Bernthal, and they both make this material sing. Sing, I tell you! If you hadn’t noticed, the core theme of Daredevil’s second seasons is “redemption”, and it’s a fantastic angle to take in a world where the stakes are often clearly defined as “good” or “evil”. At the very least, it subverts your expectations of this material!
On the other hand, such a theme really makes the “villains” a bit of a faceless mob. The Hand, so called, really isn’t very well-explained, and I didn’t quite understand why they needed to do whatever it is they’re doing, except because they’re a cult that does weird things. And they live forever or something? I’m not being willfully ignorant here, but if the audience can’t perceive what makes them dangerous (resurrection or terrorism with ninjas, I guess), then it’s hard for us to care. We only take it at a personal level, as Elektra’s certainly in danger from them for plot reasons, but it’s like a giant, silly MacGuffin far as I’m concerned. They only include it because it’s in the comic books, not because it’s all that compelling in Daredevil’s down-to-earth take on superheroics.
The only other thing I can really complain about is the lack of the priest. He appears in, literally, one scene in the entire series. I can see why he’s excluded, since the second seasons deals less with his internal conflicts than his external actions, but it does bother me a little bit since he was such a great character in the first season. Further, they really upped the “uncomfortable” violence quotient here – this may or may not be a flaw based on your own ability to handle such things, but I can’t say I’ve seen things more violent than the Punisher’s fight sequences in any piece of media…ever. Seriously. Be prepared for it!
With that said, I suppose I need to give this season a recommendation too – if you liked the first, you’ll definitely like this, and if you didn’t, you might want to give it another shot. Every returning cast member gets a chance to make their character even more interesting! They somehow made Daredevil more compelling, and that’s gotta be an accomplishment.
