When Daredevil debuted on Netflix last year, it showed everyone that Marvel could bring a lot of darkness to its cinematic universe, bringing unique action and character development not seen before. They pushed the envelope further with Jessica Jones, showcasing characters with actual powers and even darker themes. And now we've come to season two of Daredevil, featuring the MCU debuts of fan favorite characters Elektra and the Punisher. Does the second season top the first? In some ways, yes. In some ways, no.
The definite theme for this season is escalation. The first episode starts with Matt now in his armored and comic-resembling suit, chasing after a group of robbers, taking them out one by one and in public as well. Matt has definitely honed his skills since the first season and is able to take down his enemies much quicker than before. The best example to compare the two seasons are the done-in-one-shot hallway fight scenes. Much like season one episode two, season two episode three takes it even further, and if you watched both scenes back to back, you really see how far Matt has come. On one hand, it's great to see the hero as we're accustomed to. In fact, the whole season takes more cues from its comic book roots than the first one did, even bringing mystical themes with The Hand. However, it doesn't make feel as worried for Matt this season during his fights, considering how inexperienced and armorless he was in the first season. It doesn't mean the action isn't as good this season, but it doesn't have that edge.
In addition, there's a discussion of morality this season with the introduction of both Punisher and Elektra, who are much more inclined to kill, making Matt question whether his methods truly work, as well as if anyone can be redeemed. A good comparison to this season would be The Dark Knight (which sees Batman having to consider killing the Joker to stop him) and season two of Arrow (which sees Oliver changing his methods of not killing his enemies and being tested by this when Slade Wilson attacks the city (in addition, this season also felt more like a comic book compared to the first).
While the last season could be seen as more like Sopranos with all the mob bosses, this season definitely has more of a Law and Order feel, especially since a significant part of this season involves a trial, something I believe only done in one episode the first season, and exposing just how corruption goes in law enforcement and government.
What makes the Netflix Marvel series so strong are its characters, and this season is no different. The characters from last season are just as great this season and even better. Charlie Cox continues to shine as the Man Without Fear, and it's this season where his personal and vigilante lives start to conflict with each other, and it ends up costing him a lot.
Foggy Nelson continues to show his competence as a lawyer, even outshining Matt, as well as showing how much of a good person he is, like being able to talk two rival gang members from killing each other in a hospital with civilians.
Karen Page, played by Deborah Ann Woll, shines even more this season then before, even making a connection with Frank Castle. While it's not explicitly stated, you can tell that Karen is still reeling from having to kill Fisk's assistant Wesley last season. Aside from that, it's amazing just how much bad luck she gets involved in this season, usually by her own volition. It's not like Kirsten Dunsts' Mary Jane who ends up getting kidnapped by every villain.
As a surprise to me, Vincent D'Onofrio returns for a few episodes as Wilson Fisk, and he delivers a performance just as powerful as before. Even in prison, Fisk shows he has just as much power and behind bars as he did outside them. Something I didn't mention in my season one review was how quickly Fisk's demeanor can change on a dime, acting calm and collected one minute and turning as rabid as a dog the next. I'll talk more about Fisk when I get to my predictions for season three.
Moving on to the new characters.
Similar to my thoughts on Kingpin in the first season, this version of Frank Castle/Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, is very different from what we've seen outside comics before. Much like Matt in the first season, Frank Castle isn't the "hero" we're accustomed to yet. This season is very much a journey for Frank to become the true Punisher. Much like how last season ended with Matt getting his Daredevil suit, this season ends with Frank painting the white skull on his body armor, as well as wearing the trench coat. In most media the Punisher has been shown in, Frank is very grim and not remorseful. This season, we actually have some emotional moments, and he actually cries. In episode four, Frank tells Daredevil his backstory, and my god is it heartbreaking. As I said before, he even makes a personal connection with Karen, but even he goes too far for her to relate to. And while I mentioned how the fight scenes with Matt lose their edge because of his body armor, Frank's fight scenes are just as brutal, and while he's skilled, he still takes a beating, but delivers it back even more. His best moment in my opinion is when he takes out a whole row of inmates in prison after being set-up by Fisk. While it did take me awhile to come to this conclusion, Jon Bernthal is even better than Thomas Jane, who was already pretty damn good in the role. Do I hope the Punisher gets his own spin-off on Netflix? Yes, but it's gotta be done well.
Much like how Cox made us forget about Affleck, Elodie Yung's portrayal as Elektra more than wipes out the 2003-05 version played by Jennifer Garner (who I've come to think is not that good of an actress). Elektra is introduced as an ex-girlfriend of Matt's who nearly derailed his life and comes back very different than he knew her, becoming a trained killer and knowing his identity as Daredevil. First off, I love how they actually cast a Greek to play her. It makes her more exotic, which is a big part of the character in my opinion. The relationship between her and Matt is one of the best things about this season. It's very similar to Batman and Catwoman. She wants to bring him to her side of things, and while he has his own code, he still cares for her very much.
Elektra has two costumes this season (the second of which can be partially seen in the first picture above), which are more practical for a ninja assassin and look pretty cool compared to her comics look.
Apparently Frank Miller, who created Elektra, decided not to watch season two because he didn't acknowledge the show's version as the Elektra he created. Forgive me, but Frank Miller's thoughts and opinions haven't meant much since he wrote Dark Knight Strikes Again, especially if I believe the reason he doesn't like this Elektra is because she's not overly sexualized like almost every female character he's come to write.
One of the things I didn't expect was for Elektra to die. But in the last episode when Matt tells Elektra that he'll leave New York with her once they finish their mission, that pretty much sealed her fate, much like how in Amazing Spider-Man 2 when Peter told Gwen he would come with her to London. Still, Elektra's death is well done, sacrificing herself and proving to herself that there is good in her. On the other hand, given my knowledge of the character, it's a given that she wouldn't stay dead, and they already set up her resurrection.
The season does end on an overall bitter note compared to last season. And so we look ahead to season three. If there's one thing I can predict, it's that it will be based on the famous "Born Again" storyline, which would have been the basis for a sequel to the 2003 film as well as the potential reboot while the rights were still with Fox. The last time we see Fisk this season, he's using his power in prison to request files on Matt. While Fisk is already planning his revenge on Nelson and Murdock for putting him in prison, this could very well lead to him finding out Matt is Daredevil. In addition, the season ends with Matt and Karen, who made an attempt at a relationship this season only to pretty much be ruined by Elektra, as he shows her his helmet and tells her that he's Daredevil. It ends before we get her full reaction, so that's something to look forward to. Will she be pissed? Will she take him back? Whatever happens, I got a feeling Matt's life is going to get turned upside down.
In addition, I would like my predictions from last year of Owlsley's son to arrive and become a more comic accurate Owl with Bullseye as his muscle. Plus, if we do get some adaptation of "Born Again", they could bring in Nuke/Will Simpson from Jessica Jones.
So to wrap this up, while season two is really damn good, I think I liked season one better, just because it got so down and dirty compared to everything else Marvel we saw at that point. But I do applaud season two for bringing more of a comic book feel forward, and I enjoy watching all these characters journeys and look forward to where they go next.
RATING: 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment