Review: Daredevil Season 2(Spoilers)

Review: Daredevil Season 2

Daredevil aka Matt Murdock defends the innocent in a court of law by day and fights crime at night. He is a street hero, meaning he has little to no super powers but instead relies on his immense knowledge of martial arts to survive. His comics primarily include crime bosses and ninja clans that the bigger heroes in the Marvel universe often overlook.

With the wave of superhero content coming to film and TV, Daredevil was able to get a show on Netflix in 2015. It turned out to be one of the best superhero shows to date due to it’s grit and raw setting. Many were wondering if season two would match or exceed the first. Season two released on March 18th, a Friday, at the time of writing this it is the following Monday and I have watched the entire second season.

Let’s get right into it!

Plot

In season one, Matt Murdock transitioned from being a person who helped others when he could to full on fighting crime bosses. He was able to make allies along the way and turned them into better people. By the end of the season he is able to dismantle various organizations and help arrest the Kingpin.

In season 2, Hell’s Kitchen deals with the aftermath of Kingpin‘s removal. New organizations rise along with new characters such as the Punisher and Elektra. Daredevil finds that juggling his professional life, personal life, and vigilante life is far too much and begins cracking under the weight of everything.

The Hand, which is the most powerful organization of them all, steps up to challenge Daredevil to complete their ultimate task of activating the Black Sky. Despite all odds, Daredevil has to somehow stop their plans from succeeding while still keeping the rest of his life intact.

Characters

The strongest aspect of season two is the characters they bring to the table. The Punisher, Elektra, Daredevil, Kingpin, The Hand, Stick, Foggy, Karen, and a whole mess of other characters gets time to shine during the thirteen episode season. I was skeptical at first about having so many characters in a show that is famous for having incredible characters because with every new person you add, it diminishes the quality of the development. However, they managed to pull the huge cast finesse and grace.

Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, has his origin story told, his actions questioned by Daredevil, goes through hell and eventually finds peace among the chaos of battle. Elektra is a trained warrior who has no remorse for killing and is madly in love with Daredevil and by the end of the season she is able to control her bloodlust, finds inner peace with Daredevil, and learns the she is the fabled Black Sky before rejecting it. Kingpin has a minor role in the series but still a significant one as he transitions from being a defeated prisoner to running the entire compound with an iron fist.

For Matt Murdock himself, he struggles with the fact that every criminal he puts away only leaves for a short time to return and commit crime again. Many characters in the show attempt to convince him that killing is the answer and at certain low points he actually falls into that way of thinking. He struggles with keeping Matt Murdock and Daredevil separate, juggling them both causes a huge rift between him and his friends.

Combat

Savage. As always, the combat in Daredevil is fair, fast, and brutal. For every fifteen punches Daredevil lands, he takes three. When any of the heroes get hit, it ranges from a gash to near fatal, which is incredible to see in the era of superhero movies and TV shows where the heroes only ever get hurt in the season finales. This isn’t just isolated to just the main character either, every person who gets into a fight leaves with wounds to lick.

If you enjoyed the hallway scene in episode two of season one then you’ll love the hallway scene in season 2. There are bikers, there is a chain, and there is carnage. Sweet, sweet, carnage.

Season Finale

The way they ended season two was good but not great. The main reason for this was due to “The Black Sky” hype. In season one they mentioned “The Black Sky” and how rare they were to find. The Black Sky is always a person who is destined to kill, Stick ended up killing the child Black Sky because of how much he feared him in season one. In season two it’s revealed that Elektra is”The Black Sky” and although the characters of the show looked as though a bomb had dropped on their lives, me as a viewer was left confused.

I understand that “The Black Sky” is supposed to be an intense warrior capable of killing and is worshiped by The Hand.
However I still have no idea what is to fear about The Black Sky and that lack of knowledge made me kind of not care too much about the risk of Elektra going with The Hand. When I searched online for more information it seems that The Black Sky is a new concept for Marvel that is their answer for DC’s Ra’s al Ghul who is the leader of the League of Assassins.

While assassins are pretty dope, it’s not too intimidating when they live in a world filled with Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, DareDevil, Punisher, and the Avengers. They did hint that there is something supernatural to The Black Sky which makes her even more powerful than just a badass ninja however, I am still kind of empty with out that knowledge.

Conclusion

To finish this up, I loved season two of Daredevil! We got to see Matt Murdock fight crime in his costume from episode one and his world expanded with the inclusion of Elektra and Punisher. The fight scenes and drama escalated quite a bit from season one which feels appropriate since the world is changing so drastically. Despite the season finale being a bit lack luster in my eyes, it was a strong season and I am even more excited for season 3!