The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is back, and this time he’s brought several other iconic antiheroes from the Marvel universe with him. Season two of “Marvel’s Daredevil,” which released this past weekend on Netflix, continues the exploits of the titular crime-fighting vigilante while expanding upon the character’s mythos and providing viewers with a relentlessly action-packed 13 episodes.
Whereas season one recounted the origin story of blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) turned street-level superhero, here the showrunners are able to complicate matters by bringing in murderous antiheroes Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Elektra (Elodie Yung). Punisher, infamous from a couple of terrible movies from 2004 and 2008, is an ex-marine turned vigilante after his family is brutally murdered, hell-bent on ridding the streets of the mob; Elektra is Matt’s former lover and a martial arts prodigy raised in a ninja cult (she also received a terrible film adaptation in 2005).
The first four episodes of this season focus on Punisher as he arrives in Hell’s Kitchen and starts taking out every associate and rival of crime boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), the big bad Kingpin from season one who’s now imprisoned. As Daredevil goes after him, he must deal with accusations from people that it was his own vigilantism which created this monster.
Meanwhile, Matt has his own problems as he struggles to manage his dual identities, which only intensifies when Elektra returns. As tensions rise between him and his longtime friend and business partner Foggy Nelson (Elden Hanson), Matt also develops a complicated romance with fellow partner Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll). Now as his city finds itself on the verge of a destructive gang war and a mysterious third party known only as the Blacksmith, complicating things even further, Daredevil must get to the bottom of these events before all he has fought for is lost.
Season two is at its highest when it focuses on Bernthal’s Punisher and the ways in which Daredevil deals with the reciprocations of his arrival. While initially introduced as a ruthless, bloodthirsty villain, both Bernthal and showrunners Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez do a nice job of portraying the character from different angles. An episode where Punisher captures Daredevil and forces Daredevil to either kill him or let a murderer die is particularly well done, as it examines their conflicting moralities. As the season progresses, we also see Punisher in a more humanized light as a sort of trust relationship ensues between him and Karen. Bernthal’s performance is an added bonus, as he balances Castle’s violent, vengeance-seeking nature with his humanistic side.
Another highlight of this season is how it incorporates several story arcs rather than a single narrative. Whereas its predecessor focused mostly on Daredevil’s early days and the buildup to his showdown with Fisk, here there are more layers to the basic plot. After the initial Punisher arc and Elektra’s introduction, these storylines converge with the reveal that a larger gang war has ensued. Though this does make the last few episodes feel pretty rushed and the bringing back of a supposedly dead villain from season one a little forced, Petrie and Ramirez are nonetheless able to increase the scale of the narrative this time around without it becoming convoluted.
Yet, despite the grittier tone of this series in comparison with its Marvel Cinematic Universe counterparts, the season is certainly not without its ridiculousness and an overtly cheesy voiceover about heroism at the tail end of the finale. Daredevil may be a darker comic book character, particularly in the Frank Miller run, but he’s still a comic book character. On that note, the most grounded and relatable character this season is Foggy. Rather than a plot device of a sidekick, Foggy is very much his own character, an idea which is all the more realized this season. And due to the fractured relationship between him and Matt, it’ll be interesting to see where he’ll be in season three.
Season two of “Daredevil” isn’t perfect, but it effectively builds on the foundation laid out in season one. With new and old characters, an increased level of tension and a long list of visceral action sequences, it is certainly one to binge-watch.
