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| Image Courtesy www.twitter.com/Daredevil |
Daredevil season 2 really serves as an
origin story for both the Punisher and Elektra.
And in story terms it does an excellent job of answering the question of
where they come from and what truly motivates them. Both become far more sympathetic as their past
comes into greater focus. And in both
cases Daredevil does play a crucial role in this chapter of their respective
stories. However, there really isn’t
much connection between Punisher’s story and Elektra’s story beyond teaming up
with Daredevil.
The second half of the season
does an excellent job of tearing everything apart for our protagonists, and by
the end of the season it comes back together in a new and different way. Of course we couldn’t really expect our
protagonists to finish the series in the same place where they started. Daredevil’s approach to finding justice is
radically different by the end of the season than it was at the beginning. Karen and Foggy also find themselves in very
different positions at the end of the season.
I don’t really want to go into more detail in a non-spoiler review, but
it is an interesting furthering of their characters.
The season ends with a definite
idea of where the series can go from here, but to discuss it further here would
obviously dive into spoiler territory. Suffice
it to say that season 2 definitely cannot be a conclusion to Daredevil’s arc—but
then we already knew that since he is going to be appearing in The Defenders
(which will probably arrive sometime next year). The season also ends with a definite idea of
what’s coming next for the other characters who appear though it is not quite
clear in what form they will return.
I really liked the portrayals of
the three “heroes” (Daredevil, Punisher, and Elektra), and particularly their
fighting styles. Their interests don’t
always align, but when they do, they are not above teaming up for the greater
good. Something I realized after the
fact is that the second half of the season (particularly the last couple
episodes) actually hinted at a way for Jon Bernthal’s Punisher to appear in
both a hard-R format and a PG-13 format and keep the character faithful
in both settings. There are quite a few
Punisher scenes which look like the effects department turned on the fake blood
and forgot to turn it off, but there’s also at least one Punisher scene where
the gore level is no worse than any of the tamer MCU offerings. In other words, I think they could
incorporate Punisher into the movies in some fashion without neutering the
character. But that might just be my
opinion!
Speaking of which, if you are
concerned about graphic content, you really don’t have much to worry
about. There is no sexual content at all
in the second half of the season. There’s
plenty of graphic violence (this is a very accurate Punisher, after
all!), but if you can stand the level of blood in the first half of the season,
you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with the second half of the season.
All in all, Daredevil
season 2 is an excellent character-driven series. The action is amazing and the character
dynamics are spot-on. After a first
viewing I do think there’s a lack of connection between the Punisher and
Elektra halves of the story, but it is still a very worthwhile watch.
What did you think of Daredevil
season 2? How do you think it compares
to season 1? Let me know in the comments
(just remember not to put in any spoilers)!
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