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‘Daredevil’ returns with a punishing in season two

Jon Bernthal is best known for playing Shane Walsh on the show “The Walking Dead” (Courtesy of Marvel Studios)

Brendan Jacques
Connector Editor

The first season of the Netflix/Marvel superhero series “Daredevil” was in many ways a surprise hit for both fans and critics alike. Considering the lukewarm reaction to Marvel’s previous attempts at translating its gigantic cinematic universe to television, and the studio’s previous failure to adapt the comic series in movie form back in 2003, it seemed as if Netflix’s take on the character was primed to be the failure that would finally show that the entertainment titan Marvel has become had a weakness. But thanks to an interesting cast of characters, a smattering of brutal yet expertly choreographed fight scenes, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s turn as the single most compelling villain in the Marvel universe thus far, “Daredevil: Season One” proved itself to be a worthy addition to the company’s now staggering list of successes. Now a year later and just in time for the Easter season, the question becomes whether the show’s second season can keep up the same momentum or fall victim to the superhero fatigue that’s finally come to a head with the release of “Batman vs Superman” last week. For the answer to that question, read on.

The story picks up about one year after the conclusion of the previous season, with series protagonist Matthew Murdock (Charlie Cox) having finally gotten comfortable working as a lawyer for the innocent by day and a punisher of evil by night. However this careful balance is soon turned upside-down with the appearance of a new vigilante named Frank Castle (John Bernthal), a former special ops soldier who proves himself to be far more merciless than Daredevil ever was, brutally slaughtering many of the New York gangs that have grown in power and influence since the events of the last season. Murdock can’t abide that, so he embarks on a personal questto stop Castle before innocent lives can get caught in the crossfire, only to slowly realize that Castle’s appearance is only the prologue to an even more dangerous threat rising in the alleyways of Hell’s Kitchen.

Let’s start by addressing the absolute best feature of the new season, which is unquestionably Jon Bernthal’s performance as the unstoppable killing machine that is Frank Castle. It would’ve been very easy for the show’s creators to have written Castle as a carbon copy of the everyman, one-man army badass best exemplified by Liam Neeson in the “Taken” films, especially considering the very similar backstories behind both characters. What elevates Castle above this archetype though is a conscious decision by the writers to make him deliberately unheroic. While his targets may very well deserve what’s coming to them, there is never any doubt that Castle is a psychotic murderer, with the fight scenes he’s involved in demonstrating a level of brutality the series hasn’t seen by this point. What really sells it completely is Jon Bernthal himself, who finds the perfect balance between portraying the deranged psychopath Frank Castle has become and contrasting that with tragic glimpses of the man he used to be. While his character arc wasn’t as well-handled as I would’ve liked and his ultimate ending felt a bit rushed considering the buildup, it doesn’t take away from a truly memorable performance, and I have no doubt Netflix is currently scrambling to find some way to get the character his own show.

While Bernthal unquestionably steals the show, the rest of the cast does an admirable job as well. Both Elden Henson and Deborah Woll turn in good performances as Murdock’s best friends Foggy and Karen, with Woll in particular succeeding in finally developing her character beyond the damsel in distress archetype she so often felt stuck with in the first season. Charlie Cox also turns in a good performance as Daredevil himself, even if it’s becoming increasingly clear that Cox doesn’t have that great of a range as an actor and Daredevil is probably the least interesting character in his own show. Thankfully, that fact doesn’t end up detracting from the fight scenes whatsoever, with the vast majority of them easily topping the famous hallway scene from season one.

Unfortunately, if there has to be a weak link in this season, it has to be with the appearance of Murdock’s former lover and casual sidekick Electra Natchios. To be clear, Elodie Yung does a fine job adding personality to the character she was given, but considering her character’s arc this season is so obviously meant for buildup towards the eventual crossover series “The Defenders”, it’s hard to really care about anything going on with her character. And this becomes even more of a problem when you realize that not only does she not have a character beyond her constantly shifting feelings for Murdock, but that her character arc literally boils down to which of the three men in her life should be allowed to control how she lives it. It makes the handling of her character and her ultimate fate feel disappointingly misogynistic, which is a shame considering how well the show has written female characters in the past.

Despite the issues with Elektra and the story losing a bit of its steam by the end, “Daredevil: Season 2” otherwise succeeds in living up to the first season’s quality and in some ways even surpasses it. While it won’t change the minds of anyone who wasn’t already onboard with the series and it probably won’t be remembered as fondly as the first season, it still manages to beat the sophomore slump and is easily worth the watch.

Seasons 1 and 2 of “Daredevil” can be streamed exclusively on netflix.com.

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