Friday, March 25, 2016

The Review: Daredevil Season Two


Daredevil Season Two 5/10

There will be a lot of spoilers. I finally got around to finishing season two of the Netflix series Daredevil. That entire first sentence explains how I felt abut the show seeing as how I plowed through the first season in a day and a half. The cast from the first season return as well as some new ones. This season The Punisher is wreaking havoc in Hell's Kitchen while someone from Matt Murdock's past returns to have a reason for a shit ton of ninjas to appear.


I really liked Jon Bernthal as The Punisher Frank Castle. I have written in the past wondering who the best Punisher was in film and this guy tops all of them. They covered his story great ranging from him seeming like a damned psychopath to him seeming like a hero to some people because unlike daredevil he doesn't punch people hard and have them back on the streets. He kills their asses and they never come back. 


This actually make everything that Daredevil does look weak by comparison especially considering he wants to kill someone just the one time with Punisher. Punisher lets him know that killing is like masturbating and potato chips: you don't do it just once. Loved this guy. Please don't make a series out of it.


Charlie Cox was still good as Daredevil and Matt Murdock but I kept on feeling like the decisions he was making changed so much from episode to episode like he was being directed by too many people or the writers couldn't figure out how far to make him go or reel him back in so that every decision he made made no sense to me. I just checked on line and it appears that was the case.


Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson shined brightly as Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. I liked them in the first season and they seemed to get more character growth than anyone else. I know it sounds weird but I'd watch a show with the two of them helping to solve cases without daredevil even being involved. They finally delved into Karen's past more and Foggy showed how good he is when he can't depend on Matt.


Vincent D'Onofrio returns for a few episodes as Wilson Fisk and holy shit he is incredible. They managed to establish how he takes control of the entire prison before meeting up with Punisher very well. This was another example of a character making daredevil appear weaker and non-effective. He didn't overstay his welcome like the next person I'll be writing about.


Elektra played by Elodie Yung was terrible. I was excited to hear that she was going to be on this season but as the Punisher stuff got rolling I thought “Oh, this might be a bit too much.” Not only was it too much it was also a boring ass distraction. I never thought there would come a time in my life where I said “I am going to shit a starship if I see another ninja.” Elektra was like an annoying, dangerous, little girl. I was so over her bullshit well before any of the characters were. I just kept hoping for her to go away and she wouldn't. Her shit affected the rest of the show. Her shit bled into the other stories.

When they show the flashbacks of her life as a child I still didn't care. I just wanted her to leave. She brought the fucking ninjas. So many ninjas. So many ninja fights. Episodes would end with ninja fights and the next would start with another ninja fight. The show would come to a screeching halt every time she was on screen and it made me enjoy the show that much less. Without her shit I would have given this show a 7 out of 10.


This season had the potential to be so damned good. The fights that didn't involve ninjas were good. Punisher was a very good foe for Daredevil. The supporting cast minus Elektra pleased me. I'm just not sure where the show can go from here. I'd be fine if I didn't see another episode for a couple of years and let the other Netflix Marvel based series grow.

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