Daredevil (Season 2)

Zach Goodier

Daredevil is back, and this season is just as tense as evil. Still dealing with the aftermath of Fisk’s attempts to take over the city, Matt Murdock is finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. However, crime is still running rampant in the city, and with the rise of violence as a mysterious new vigilante starts killing off mobsters and other criminals, Daredevil is still working overtime to try to clean up Hell’s Kitchen.

My favorite character this season.

The big new addition this season is the Punisher. I had concerns about how he was going to handled in this show, given his bloody and much grittier feel than typical comic characters, but he is executed very well, especially with a solid performance by Jon Bernthal. The Punisher is a very faithful adaptation of the character, with Frank Castle being the victim of losing his family in an unfortunate shootout between mobsters and police in a failed sting operation. Frank seeks revenge by hunting down criminals throughout Hell’s Kitchen, which puts him at odds with Daredevil, who believes in imprisoning criminals rather than kill them.

While fighting a common enemy, these two are far from friends.

This brings us to one of the great parts about this season: the moral conflict. Daredevil is frequently challenged by both Castle and Elektra (who plays a major role later in the season), who have no reservations about killing to rid the streets of criminals who prey on the innocent. In one scene, these two have a discussion about their methods, during which Daredevil claims that Castle is no better than the people he kills, while Castle points out that all the criminals that Daredevil defeats merely go to jail, and many are already returning to the streets to resume preying on people. It goes a long way toward bringing the battle home for both characters, who struggle with their choices, but are committed to their own paths.

The firm faces new cases, and the dynamic between friends changes as secrets are revealed, and choices made.

Elektra makes an appearance later in the season, becoming important as a new enemy rises in Hell’s Kitchen: The Hand. Elektra is interesting, but kind of feels weak when being introduced so close to The Punisher. I felt she might have been a greater character if they maybe held off another season so the Punisher storyline could reach a conclusion of sorts, because I had a hard time shifting my attention from the anti-hero when Elektra is introduced in the midst of Punisher’s story.

Elektra is a nice addition, but felt somewhat forced into the story while other story arcs were still in major sections.

Still, this season is great, but not without a few weaker moments. That being said, the strong definitely outweighs the weak in this season, and between The Hand, Fisk’s revival, and the Punisher; Hell’s Kitchen is getting crowded fast, as various individuals/groups are preparing to fight for the future of the not only the city, but the world at large. 

Good:

-Punisher is great.

-Fisk is still in the picture.

-Plenty of strong moments for all major characters.

Bad:

-Too much going on at certain points, distracts from the individual storylines.

-Elektra definitely upstaged by Punisher.

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10