Daredevil Season 2 Review - Episodes 1-4

It's finally arrived; Daredevil season 2 has dropped on Netflix. Last season saw Matt Murdoch becoming the titular hero and taking on the infamous Kingpin a.k.a. Wilson Fisk and doing so while racking up quite a bit of critical and fan praise. Season 2 promos have promised an epic showdown between Daredevil and another one of Marvel Comics fan favorite heroes, the Punisher. I have binged on the first four episodes and below you can find my thoughts on season 2 so far.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.


Much of the conflict hinted at in the trailers is apparently packed into just these first four episodes so it's no surprise that the first episode opens right into the action. Immediately, we find Matt Murdoch doing his thing; cleaning up the streets as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. By day Matt, Foggy and Karen are fighting legal battles for the city's underdogs and while it's not paying much, everyone's happy and all seems right with the world.

Elsewhere, an Irish gang meets and seems poised to fill the criminal void left by Fisk's incarceration but their celebration is cut short by bullets. Just lots and lots of bullets. One survivor escapes and seeks out the services of Nelson and Murdoch and now our heroes are on a collision course with the Punisher and the fallout is explored throughout these first four episodes.

From the first 10 minutes of this season, the writers are setting up the main conflict facing Matt Murdoch. Early on he says "If I take a night off, people get hurt". At another point Daredevil is apprehending an arms dealer who tells him sosting ng to the affect of "We both know I'm going to be back out in a month." And there lies the problem for Daredevil. He is not a killer and therefore must rely on the system to work; a system which returns bad guys right back to the streets for him to take down again.

Enter the Punisher. Frank Castle, portrayed perfectly by the Walking Dead alum John Bernthal, puts bad guys down for good with military precision and zero hesitation. When the two finally engage with words, Frank's characterization of Daredevil as a half measure has to sting because in a sense it's true.

Additionally, Daredevil finds himself faced with the reality that he is responsible in some way for the Punisher and those like him as he took the law into his own hands first. This brings up issues of law and order and whether superheroes help or hurt the rule of law.

This storyline was brilliantly crafted and is in and of itself worth watching this show for. I was surprised to see a pretty neat wrap up to this story at the end of episode 4 so I'm curious if we've seen the last of the Punisher this season.

I'm not super familiar with the character of Elektra so I'll withhold my excitement about her showing up until I actually see her do something.

Be sure to bookmark this site or follow me on Twitter at @DustyHaynes so you'll see my review of the rest of the season as I watch it. Also, comment and let me know what you thought!