Comic book fans may see similarities in this hero-villain relationship and the one between the Christopher Nolan versions of Batman and Joker, but Marvel’s take is far less psychologically gripping. Here both Daredevil and Punisher have the same basic goal — rid Hell’s Kitchen of its worst elements — but they approach it with different methods and a different final result. Punisher sees them both as vigilantes, but thinks that Daredevil’s no-kill approach is a toothless one that does little for the community. Daredevil sees his counterpart as going too far and taking the law into his own hands. Whether it’s Bernthal’s greater talent as an actor or the better characterization of Punisher and his motives, his arguments go down far more persuasively. Though Cox’s Daredevil can face his enemies in a fight, the true test for future seasons will be if he can prove more compelling than any foe he faces.
Similarly in the villain-but-not-a-villain vein is comic-book favorite and Matt’s ex-girlfriend Elektra (Elodie Yung). Fans of the character will have to wait a few episodes for her to appear, and when she does, she serves as a distraction for both Matt and the audience. Yung does a capable enough job, but it’s a self-absorbed and grating character possibly never meant to be this off-putting when first conceived. This Elektra is a spoiled sorority sister with martial arts training; a truly terrible combination.
In addition to challenges from Punisher and Elektra, Murdock struggles this season in his relationship with both legal assistant Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and best friend/partner Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson). A single glance between Karen and Matt in the first season is supposed to lead us to believe in a developing romantic relationship between them in the show’s second year, with plenty of will-they-or-won’t-they moments of tension that rarely feel earned or convincing. Beyond her relationship with Matt, she takes on additional duties at Nelson & Murdock, where she proves herself capable of being more than just a damsel in distress. However, any suggestions of her character’s dark history in the first season are largely forgotten this time around. Henson’s Foggy also gets a bit more to work with this time around and isn’t just comic relief (and your mileage on that front may vary as he’s clearly the show’s most divisive character). He’s one of the few who knows of Daredevil’s identity, and he isn’t happy about the danger he sees his friend barreling toward. As some of Murdock’s duties take him away from the day-to-day tasks of being a lawyer, Foggy is also forced to step up his game, and he answers the challenge.
While season one featured some well-choreographed and shot fight scenes, this season falls short in that respect as well. There’s a supposed one-take fight scene here in episode three, “New York’s Finest,” that calls back to the first season favorite by beginning in a hallway, but as a scene that is a largely animated artifice that feels like watching a first person video game; it’s an inferior battle royale. The season one equivalent, the epic hallway fight, was clearly done with an emphasis on the players involved doing the grunt work. This more hollow and VFX designed fight mostly merits a shrug. Meanwhile, a fight sequence in the sixth episode, “Regrets Only,” featuring Elektra is reminiscent of the gorgeous, blue-tinted battle in “Skyfall,” but it’s brief and far less impressive. Throughout the season, each time the “Daredevil” team teases the audience with an impressive shot, they quickly follow it up with a dull one, breaking any spell they briefly cast on the viewer.
One of the season’s other issues is the inconsistent use of Daredevil’s senses, both in its presentation to the viewer and in how his powers affect the plot. In “Bang,” the audience joins Murdock in hearing the heartbeat of a potential suspect, but that approach rarely shows up as prominently throughout the rest of the season. Relatedly, Daredevil’s hearing tells him when someone is approaching or leaving, except when it’s narratively convenient for him to miss these details.
Fans looking for Marvel Easter eggs references won’t be entirely disappointed in this regard. District Attorney Samantha Reyes (Michelle Hurd) made a brief appearance in “Jessica Jones,” but her role here is more central to the season’s story. Foggy’s former flame, Marci Stahl (Amy Rutberg), appears and mentions that she no longer works at corporate giant law firm Landman & Zack; instead she’s at Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz and name-drops her coworker Jessica Jones. In her lesser role in this season, Rosario Dawson’s Claire does find time to allude to her brief interaction with Luke Cage (Mike Colter) in “Jessica Jones.” There’s also a fun nod to the iconic logo of Punisher.
Like the titular hero himself, “Daredevil” has good intentions, but the end results don’t amount to much nor fulfill the promise of a dark antagonist who’s perhaps more of a mirror image of the hero than he’d like to admit. With six more episodes in the second season (half the season was provided up front for press), the show may have plenty more fearsome fight in it, but it may not prove worth the battle for all but the character’s biggest fans. [C]
“Daredevil” is now streaming on Netflix.