DareDevil Season 2 Review: Horns and All

With season 1 knocking it out of the park so spectacularly, acting as a tremendous rebirth for the man without fear, and the rest of Marvel’s more dark and mature Netflix series’ so far following in the line of such high quality; it’s safe to say I was more than excited for the return to the bloodied streets of Hell’s Kitchen. Now, 2 days of marathoning all 13 episodes behind me, it was definitely worth shutting myself in my dark room and absorbing this series in one(or two) meaty portions.

This series, obviously, follows off from the last. With Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, behind bars the city is now DareDevil’s to have and to hold. Well that is until a gun-toting maniac explodes, quite literally onto the scene. With bullet riddled corpses piling up on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, it’s up to DareDevil to put a stop to this gunman’s seemingly unstoppable rampage.

While this is the story for the majority of the first 4 episodes a seemingly secondary plot comes into play later on and becomes the main focus of the story, but I don’t want to spoil anything here. But it is here that the major problem of DareDevil season 2 can be seen. Unlike season 1, where there was a clear focused single arc for the season, the explosive and vicious battle between Hell’s Kitchen’s protector, the man without fear, and its destroyer, the Kingpin; season 2 doesn’t really have that. In season 2 there was no real clear arc or antagonist until the very end, sure Punisher was a great and formidable foe in the begging of the story but that heated rivalry gets a solution pretty fast and isn’t replaced by anything substantial until way too late in the game. I could never get a focus on the story because the show kept flip-flopping between the two plots to a point where at each scene change between the two plots I needed moment to re-adjust and remember what was going on in this particular arc.

Also what could've been a much better and more focused arc for the season gets drowned out by a less personal and less interesting one that leaves some characters a lot less screen time than they deserve.

Outside of the lack of focus, the overall threat of this season was also lacking. Instead of the personal vendetta that pitted two titans of New York against one another last season, this time the threat is a more loftier and impersonal battle that left me not caring as much to see what would happen as there was no interesting dynamic there, no big bad for me to quiver in fear at as DareDevil steps up to the plate for a climatic and spectacular battle.

The way the story plays out also splits up characters that, from a story point is interesting, but having some of these great characters barely interact for a great portion of the season leaves a noticeable gap in the heart of the show and took away a large protion of what I loved about the show.

Also the main story arc was abit confusing and not really well explained in the end, there are many vital plot points that I didn’t get or really see why it had to be included, which again took away greatly from the rising tension of the final episodes as I was too out of it to really invest in what was happening and too disorientated to really care, a fact definitely not helped by the constant revolving of plot lines.

However while the story of this season was a great disappointment, the acting once again was phenomenal. The returning cast step effortlessly back into their roles and in many cases even improve. Charlie Cox now just is Matt Murdock/DareDevil and Elden Henson as Foggy not only didn’t annoy em at all this season but rapidly became one of my favourite characters as he was given a lot more to do and excelled in some of the best speeches of the show.

The great acting is definitely heightened by how spot on this show gets its adaptations of these beloved Marvel characters, and this too goes for the new comers in season 2. Jon Bernthal as Punisher was not only a perfect casting choice but he really brought depth and believability to this tragic character. One second he can be an intimidating badass, enforcing his presence in a scene when he needed to and the next he is hitting you right in the feels as he recounts the horrific events that have lead him to go so far past that invisible moral line we all balance on day in and day out.

Meanwhile Elodie Yung is another great addition to the cast as Elektra. Being the kind of balance to Punisher’s stone faced badassery, Yung’s Elektra brings a different and refreshing flavour to the show. More of a sarcy and fun kick ass character Elektra is a great ying to the Punisher’s yang and helps stop the show from feeling stagnant. While she is the main element of the storyline that kind of falls to pieces at the end of the season, getting to see more of her revel in how much fun this whole vigilante life style is was worth it.  

With the characters being so well represented on their own it goes without saying that getting to see the mix, and interact with each other is a marvel to see. Getting over the nerdgasm of seeing Punisher and DareDevil kick the snot out of each other in live action, their interactions were not only well crafted but well throughout and interesting. None of their rivalry or eventual partnership felt stereotypical or more of what we’ve seen before.

And this goes for the rest of the cast too, getting to see the relationships of the new characters and the old progress and evolve into genuinely surprising or satisfying places was really great and entertaining to watch and all the bad story aspects out of the way, it was just great to see where all our favourite characters were a now and I can’t wait to see where they go.

The interactions were so great because of the excellent dialogue that was given to the characters. Again everything felt genuine and not more of the same. I came here for the epic showdowns between the classic characters of Marvel but was surprised to see that the aftershock of these showdowns and how characters reacted and even debated, for instance what it is to be a vigilante and are they actually needed, was a spectacle all of its own and I was hanging off every word, engrossed in how these characters felt and reacted and so that they had to say.

The writing also delivered some great emotional beats to. Jon Bernthal delivers some amazing mini monologues throughout that had me immersed in in his horrific tales of woe and gave a great insight into how this character ticks.

But enough about the talking because this show kicks some major ass. Much like the first season this show makes full use of its more mature rating. The gore, while at times abit much, is used to it’s fullest, showing just how brutal the life of a street level hero can get. But what inflicts these gory after effects in amazingly cool. DareDevil, simply put, is a ninja. Every fight scene expertly shows off his many deadly close quarters combat as well as the use of his powers when in a heated fight.

Outside of the impressive grand scale, 1 Vs 100 battles that DareDevil and his assortment of allies just seem to keep finding themselves in, some of the most heated battles were seen between Punisher and DareDevil. These fights encapsulated perfectly what happens when an immoveable object meets and unstoppable force.  These battles were not only brutal but impressive at just how much these guys could take; and on top of that Punisher’s own flare of bullet orientated skills were also expertly choreographed into some of the fights giving the battles a different and deadly edge that only came with these epic and enthralling fights.

So overall it was great to jump back into the lives of our favourite Hell’s Kitchen residents. The acting that brings these well represented characters to life is phenomenal, the action they find themselves in is spectacular and the resulting interactions and dialogue between characters is captivating. Sadly though this seasons main villain leaves much to be desired and the main plot is thin on audience investment and much sense, which really hurts when the other plot line could have made for a much more compelling focus but sadly this is lost in the constant switching between plots that makes the show feel like it’s being constantly pulled in a million directions never staying in one place long enough for you to gather your bearings and really focus down on what’s happening.

DareDevil season 2 = 8/10

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