Daredevil was a comic I didn't read regularly, although I went through an issue of DD from time to time and had enough interest in the whole Marvel Universe to know his basic history quite well.

Of course, this once-obscure area of interest is now general knowledge, so we all know that Daredevil is Matt Murdoch, a young lawyer with martial arts and acrobatics skills, who has supernaturally enhanced senses…but who happens to be blind.

He was raised by his father, who was a struggling boxer. Dad was killed by the mob after not taking a dive like he was ordered to. Matt's blindness came from exposure to some kind of toxic goo that also heightened his four other senses, and also gave him a batlike “radar sense”.

What I didn't know was that the character is a practicing Catholic and also an almost superhuman success with the ladies. These details originated in the comics and add another dimension to the show.

Anyway, Daredevil season two is out on Netflix. If you liked season one, you've probably already seen at least some of the second outing by now. If not - well, it's definitely worth a look!

It definitely feels like the same show; the characters remain consistent from the first season, which is nice. The Daredevil costume bothered me in the first season; I thought it looked silly when it first appeared. In season two, I guess I accepted it. After the first episode, it barely crossed my mind.

I love the grittiness, and the darkness (both in visual style and subject matter). The color palette is different; the show is mostly dominated by greens and yellows, which gives New York a different look and feel than other movies/shows have delivered.

The show is more of a crime drama than a superhero story. That's really cool. It's also very much an ensemble (even moreso than season one), with Matt, Karen and the Punisher being the three leads, I'd say. There's a lot for Foggy, and Elektra to do as well, and lots of other interesting supporting characters.

I didn't like how they basically ended the tension of the Matt/Karen/Foggy triangle at the end of Season One. They take pains in Season Two to show us it's not a factor anymore. I suppose we might feel bad for Foggy or dislike Matt if it went forward? Ol' Fogster never had a chance.

The romance is handled nicely here, too. Nothing progresses too far, but I thought it was done just right.

The first season dropped a bit toward the end, I thought, with tension between Matt and Foggy that stretched on for too long, and a final episode that I didn't care for. Season Two doesn't have this problem; it builds and builds and had me on the edge of my seat.

The blending of the realistic legal stuff and journalistic investigation and the gritty “superhero” elements and especially the mystical element was done excellently. There are a couple of scenes toward the end that are really scary. I was a bit surprised all these threads blended together so well.

Criticisms would be pretty minor - some of the dialogue made me wince a little bit, where I could see the “screenplay” the actors were reciting. A few of the lines stood out as a little too self aware and “clever” in their sentence structure.

There's an interesting conflict between the Punisher's method of murdering criminals versus Daredevil's insistence on nonlethal violence. Oh, and the guy who plays the Punisher is absolutely fantastic! What an addition to the series! I wonder if he'll get his own series?

Anyway, there's my slightly rambling review of Daredevil Season Two. Overall, it's great, better than Season One (which is also great), and gets a very high recommendation!



Have a fine day!

-Banes

p.s. I did find myself wondering, if I were a mobster/criminal, would I prefer to be killed by the Punisher or beaten to a pulp by Daredevil? Some of those beatings could lead to very long term disabilities, couldn't they? Do these criminals have a health/medical plan?