I'm here with this review, finally.
Daredevil is a Netflix original show, and its second season released worldwide on the 18th of March, and here I am two days later with a review for it.
I had been looking forward to the second season of this show ever since I watched the first one back in January, and I'm willing to bet there are very few people in the world who were as excited as me for it. But I have to say, after watching the show, that many people will be left disappointed. Not me though. Definitely not me.
Why, you ask? Because I didn't have expectations that flew through the roof. I've avoided reviews for the show so far, but I've seen headlines, and I know the general appraisal is "Good, not great", and I know exactly why. Daredevil season 2 was virtually nothing like anyone expected it to be. Does that make it bad? Absolutely not. I'm just sure that a lot of people were unhappy because they thought they'd see something different. I understand that, but at the same time, one needs to be flexible.
An example of what I mean is the direction that the character of Frank Castle, The Punisher, took. I sure as hell didn't expect that, and I'm sure nobody did, but I welcomed it because it was a really interesting story dynamic. While a lot of people wanted something different, what they got might not have been to their taste, but it wasn't specifically bad.
Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike other people having opinions, but what I'm saying is that criticism should not solely be focused on how the story itself went, but how it was delivered too. There were quite a few twists that got me, especially towards the end (although something big happens at the end that I saw coming from miles away, though the delivery was very powerful), and what was engaging about the story, although a classic storytelling technique, was that Matthew Murdock, centre of it all, was always busy and had to sacrifice one thing for another, and as a viewer, that keeps you on the edge of your seat for what would result as a consequence, and trust me, there are consequences.
I don't even need to mention Charlie Cox's performance because I've praised it enough in my season 1 review, but Jon Bernthal as The Punisher was outstanding. He was cold, he was ruthless, and even really deep. Episode 4, which is by far my favourite episode, illustrates that. Following episode 4, however, there is a sort of bland phase for the next three episodes where everything feels a bit repetitive, but it picks right up again, and turns into something I never thought it would turn into, and I'm delighted with that. I love being surprised, and that's exactly what Daredevil season 2 did. It surprised me. I understand why people would be upset that it didn't go how they wanted it to go, but the fact that I started the show expecting something and got something completely different, and even better than what I thought I would get, makes me really happy.
Now Élodie Yung as Elektra was really good. I liked her in the role, but she isn't at the level of Jon Bernthal. What I mean by that is, even thought she was great, I think somebody else could have played the role just as well, but with Bernthal, he is the definitive Punisher, and there's no way around that.
There are really two stories in this season, one involving Elektra, and one involving The Punisher, and I'm really glad (I don't consider this a spoiler, really) that they didn't go the cliched route, and have both stories come into one. No, they were kept separate. And really, Karen Page, played by Deborah Ann Woll, was a pivotal character in this season, much like the last, but on a better level. Even Foggy Nelson, played by Eldon Henson, had much more to run with in this season, and that shows that the characters really expanded in this season, and I'm really glad to say that.
The second season doesn't quite come up to the level of the first, and I've mentioned why. The first season didn't have that little bland patch, all thirteen episodes were spot on. Does that make this a bad show, though? By far no. Not one bit. It's even better than the first season of Jessica Jones, and I absolutely loved Jessica Jones.
The sound editing team really has to be given a lot of credit because this season brings us more into how Matt Murdock works and how he is able to do what he does despite being blind, and a lot of that is due to his hearing, and the sound really needs credit for that. I can't stress that enough because it really was well done. There's even much, much more action in this than in the first season, and all I can say about that is that I'm surprised that this is on a television budget (even though once or twice it looked pretty sloppy).
Also, at the end of episode eight or nine (I honestly don't remember), I smiled as the credits came on for a reason that one would know if they saw it. I even smiled really wide at the ending of the season finale, because it really was well done, to say the least. Really, really well done. And even though it wasn't as consistent as the first season, at its best, it had moments much better, and once again mentioning episode 4, and even the season finale, they were both masterpieces, really.
So, even though it's a tad bit below the first season, but it had much better moments, I still have to grade it as such. But it should be noted that I actually gave the first season more than the highest rating. So, this season should really still be considered phenomenal.
On a scale where M is the lowest, and R is the highest possible rating, with the highlighted letter being the rating:
Marvel's Daredevil (season two): MIHIR
And also, I'm delighted to report with the way the show ended, that there most definitely will be a season three!
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