SPOILERS FOR DAREDEVIL SEASON 2 FOLLOW!

By: Tyler Miller

It’s been a few days since season two of Daredevil launched on Netflix and fans have been binging it nonstop. I happened to be one of those people who binged the crap out of it, damn near finishing it in a full day. After watching the entire season though, I can say that this season was definitely worth the wait. 

Although this season was great, there were some good things and some not so good things about it. Thankfully for us the good outweighs the bad. Without further ado, let’s jump right on into this.

The Good

 

The Punisher

The one thing that everyone was looking forward to the most this season was definitely seeing The Punisher, and I can say that Jon Bernthal did not disappoint at all with his portrayal of the character. In the first two episodes he’s kind of like a Terminator/Michael Myers type of character, a man that only has goal in mind: to kill his target by whatever means necessary. It’s terrifying when he first appears in a hospital at the end of the first episode because we know what he can do, and that it doesn’t matter if others get hurt in the process of him getting to his target. As the rest of the season goes on though, we get deeper into who he is and why he does the things that he does. It makes us start to ask ourselves if he’s really in the wrong for the things that he does. He’s just a man that’s trying to avenge the death of his family by killing those responsible, and anyone else that he feels deserves it (sorry not sorry child porn dealer!)

The first four episodes of the season completely revolve around The Punisher and putting a stop to him, and in my opinion these are the best episodes of the season, simply because he’s such a captivating character. His best moment is undoubtedly his conversation with Daredevil at the end of the fourth episode, where he talks to him about his family. Bernthal killed it in this scene, displaying the right amount of emotion to make us totally sympathize with his character and even feel bad for him. I damn near ended up in tears myself watching that scene. After seeing what was done with his character this season, I can say for a fact that The Punisher definitely deserves his own series, or at the very least needs to appear some more in the next season. Get on it Marvel!

Elektra

The second big player that fans were looking forward to was Elektra and just like with The Punisher, she did not disappoint. Elektra was highly entertaining to watch whenever she was on screen, as she brought a level of charisma to the show that I feel it was kind of lacking, at least during the nighttime escapades of Daredevil. Elodie Yung definitely did the character justice, giving her the right amount of fight and excitement that made her such a fun character, while also showing her vulnerable side and making her a bit of a tragic character.

Her relationship with Matt is definitely a highlight, with the two of them working very well together although they have very different philosophies. Elektra’s a killer while Matt doesn’t believe in killing his enemies, and this is something that comes between them as we see in a flashback to when they had first met each other in college. Even with this difference in beliefs, they still meshed really well together and it was very clear why these were two people that fell in love before. They live for the thrill of fighting and protecting others, and it’s something that has come to define who they are. It sucks that she died at the end of the season, but perhaps she’ll be returning next season? It certainly seemed like that would be the case with The Hand putting her inside the giant coffin that’s possibly used to revive people. Plus it would be a major loss to not bring her character back since she’s too awesome to only be here for one season.

The Action

This was to expected, but the action in season two is absolutely phenomenal. Just like with season one, the action is visceral and intense. You can really feel the impact behind each punch, kick, and stab, something that you don’t even get from most movies these days. This is due to the great stunt work and amazing cinematography on show during each fight scene. There aren’t rapid cuts during the scene that take you out of the fights or make them look more chaotic than they are. Everything is clear and easy to keep track of.

The standout fight takes place at the end of episode three, and it involves Daredevil fighting his way down an apartment building filled with a biker gang. It’s definitely an homage to the amazing hallway fight scene from season one, and I’d go as far as to say that it tops that scene. This one is longer and even more brutal than the first one, and by the time it was done I had to take a moment to process what I had just witnessed. The Punisher gets his own standout fight scene as well that’s just as bloody and violent as you would expect a fight with him to be.

Karen and Foggy

In season one, Karen and Foggy were pretty good characters that were very likable and very interesting. This season took that up a notch and made them even more interesting and likable than they previously were. Karen had a great character arc herself, going from being an assistant lawyer, to an investigative journalist by the end of the season. The best thing is that it totally worked for her. Karen had always been someone that was bubbling with personality, and it was great to see her become more independent this season as she went deep into investigating The Punisher’s case, trying to get him the help that he needed.

Then there’s Foggy who’s always been one of the best characters on the show, and this season was no different. Foggy was consistently the one bright light in a show that’s filled to the brim with grittiness and darkness, constantly wanting to help people however he can. He even tried to help The Punisher with his trial (although he didn’t jump at the prospect of it). It sucks that Nelson & Murdock is no longer a thing, but it’s great that Foggy now has a job working with Jeri Hogarth from Jessica Jones. With everything that he did throughout the season, he totally deserved it.

The Story…

The story for this season was broken up into a couple different arcs, unlike in season one which was one long arc. We have the first four episodes that are about capturing The Punisher, then the middle which is about introducing Elektra and The Punisher’s trial in court, and then the final episodes that are more focused on Elektra and the ninja group known as The Hand. This was a good move as it allowed us to focus on one thing at a time, with each part of the story being satisfying and enjoyable (for the most part). This is what leads us to the not so good things about this season.

The Not So Good

…Minus The Hand

The downside to the story was the stuff involving The Hand. The issue with them is the fact that their goals were never all that clear. They make it clear over and over again that they want Black Sky, but it’s never clear what exactly it is. When they reveal that Elektra is Black Sky in the penultimate episode, things still don’t become any clearer. Is Elektra supposed to be a super weapon or their new leader? It’s never really explained. Not to mention the giant 40-story hole that Elektra and Daredevil find a few episodes before that that just never gets mentioned again or explained at all. There were just too many things related to The Hand that was never explained or not explained enough that caused their storyline to falter, and as a result cause the last few episodes to not live up to everything that had come before.

Matt Was A Terrible Person

In season one, Matt was someone that I rooted for and completely understood. He wanted to protect his city and the people in it, whether it be with the law or with his fists. And he did those things really well, in addition to being a great friend to both Foggy and Karen. This season started off with it seeming like everyone’s relationship would just continue to go on the up & up, but then Matt became the biggest asshole ever. He started blowing off his friends and the trial for The Punisher for his nightly escapades, as that was the more important thing to him. He even caused his team to lose The Punisher trial after all the hard work that Foggy had put in to lining up a win for them. Matt was the cause of every loss that he had this season (minus Elektra), and it sucked to see this all play out. I really wanted to root for him, but I just found myself disliking him more and more as the season went on due to how much of a shitty person he became.

Those are just my thoughts on this season of Daredevil. I’m sure there will be people that disagree with them, but that’s to be expected. Leave your thoughts down below and let me know what you thought of the season!