Daredevil Season 2 Review

NINJAS! NINJAS! NINJAS!

Overall the series can be thought of as broken down into three storey arcs ; “The Rise of the Punisher”, “Enter Elektra” and “NINJAS, NINJAS, NINJAS”, with the third opening up the world of Daredevil and his long time enemies “The Hand” and all of which present Matt with considerable difficulties as he tries to balance both side of his life.

Charlie Cox settles into his role well, his Matt Murdoch was mostly pitch perfect in the first season and he continues that good work here, developing his Daredevil side more and forced to examine his quest for justice and rule not to kill by the emergence of The Punisher and other threats.

This time around Cox also has a helping hand in the form of a much cooler looking Daredevil suit.

“It’s not underwear Foggy, underwear is comfortable”

Amongst all the praise of the first season, the main source of criticism seemed to be the Daredevil suit that Matt finally donned in the last episode. While it seemed ill fitted to Charlie Cox’s face and too fitting in on his legs, season 2 doesn’t see any radical overhaul of the suit but it’s been subtly enhanced in ways that seem to be an improvement (or I may have just gotten used to it over the extended screen time).

The textures in the helmet and suit have changed, with an added sheen applied to the helmet rather that then matt finish from the season one,  while the textures used in the main suit seem less shiny and reflective than before. The overall silhouette has changed for the better, with the upper body being bulked up considerably, while the skin tight pants from the previous season have been replaced with looser combat style pants. The addition of bulked up gauntlets also give the suit more of a feel of a uniform for fighting rather than a superhero costume

The sound of pounding wet meat

Those gauntlet’s get quite a work out too, as from the off the action is intense, bloody and frequent. No doubt the show’s creators saw the reaction to the exquisite corridor scene from the first season and decided to try and shoehorned in any excuse for something similar, whether it be a drawn out fight descending a staircase, a fight in a tight prison corridor and many, many fights in enclosed underground spaces, all lit beautifully in sulphur yellows and neons.

Season 2 outdoes itself on the violence front with Matt frequently making sure opponents stay down when beaten with repeated, almost sickening punches to the head and a torture scene involving the business end of a cordless drill acts as a reminder this is not a show for kids or the squeamish.

Apart from some slightly dodgy wire-work most of the action is handled well, the increased volume of satisfying combat being more than welcome, and it provide a nice challenge for Matt. Some new enemies also manage to thwart his super senses presenting  a real challenge.

That said, one of the more thrilling sequences featuring Daredevil chained to a wall so there’s a nice balance between action and drama.

“You’ve become part of a bigger universe you just don’t know it yet”

With Jessica Jones having debuted on Netflix late last year and a Luke Cage series on the way, Daredevil subtly references these shows, even if it doesn’t tie in directly…yet.

Jessica Jones gets mentioned by name at one point and a certain lawyer from that show turns up. The Marvel stalwart Roxxon corporation is featured heavily in an episode or two and the impact that helping out Luke Cage had on the life of Rosario Dawson’s  Claire Temple is also explored.

Speaking of Luke Cage, after the final episode viewers can watch an extremely  short teaser for his show coming this September.

“Everyone has an opinion on everything”

Daredevil Season two builds nicely on the first, upping the ante and developing the mythology of nearly all the  characters. Most are fleshed out more and have their own story-lines to follow and many are left in new in and interesting places for subsequent seasons.

Compared to the first season Season 2 features much more action and it’s a much pacier show. Story-lines are moved through quickly but also interleaved though each other so no one gets left behind, in a way that most certainly suits binge watching.

Highly recommended, Roll on season 3 (and Luke Cage!)

Daredevil Season 2 is available to stream right now on Netflix

Starring: Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Jon Bernthal, Elodie Yung, Rosario Dawson, Scott Glenn and more