Despite their tonal differences, the first season of Daredevil had a lot in common with the original Iron Man movie. Both were entertaining and well-received, made the public-at-large care about long-ignored central characters, and opened the door for a whole cinematic or televised universe. I guess, then, that it’s not too surprising to see season 2 of Daredevil reflect so many of the flaws seen in Iron Man 2. Each sequel splinters its narrative in order to service the storylines of future movies/TV series’, and neither holds together particularly well as its own thing.
The most problematic storyline in Daredevil’s second season is the rise of The Hand. No matter how big we’re told the stakes are, it’s simply hard to care about a clan of ninjas looking for a ‘weapon” called black sky that will give them unlimited power (or perhaps REAL Ultimate Power) The writers try to get our attention by tying in minor season 1 characters Stick and Nobu, but the whole thing just feels divorced from the world set up in the show’s first year. I’m sure that The Hand will play a big role in the Defenders series that will eventually premiere on Netflix, but they’re just not interesting here, and devoting the majority of this season to glorified foreshadowing was not the right call.
Even more irritating is the way that The Hand plotline pulls Matt Murdoch away from what SHOULD have been the focus of the season, the arrival of Frank Castle, “The Punisher.” While Castle is a bit one dimensional on paper, Jon Bernthal is spectacular in the role. His powerhouse monologue in episode four is the most affecting moment of the whole season, even with the layers of cliches Bernthal is working with. But after that episode, The Punisher is pushed aside to a B-plot with Foggy and Karen. His role is largely forgotten in the finale, which only bothers to shoehorn him into a couple shots for the final battle and a brief moment of catharsis at the very end.
It’s a real shame, because the one episode that focuses on Daredevil and The Punisher together (episode 4) is hands down the best of the season. The most interesting aspect of Daredevil’s first season was the moral and ideological conflict that arose between Murdoch and Wilson Fisk, both of whom want the best for Hell’s Kitchen but have radically different ideas about how to achieve it. The same can be said about Daredevil and the Punisher this year. They each want to take down crime in the city but have different feelings toward lethality. However, the writers obviously care more about table-setting than the organic character conflicts that are arising here, hence why their title character actively ignores Castle for 2/3 of the season while setting up a future crossover event.
Daredevil season 2 isn’t a total loss. The casting continues to be spot-on, with the aforementioned Bernthal as the Punisher and Elodie Yung playing Elektra to perfection. The fight choreography remains some of the best in television and online steaming, and the show has a cool, gritty, unique aesthetic. Its misteps aren’t significant enough to make me worry about the future of the Marvel-Netflix shows, but Daredevil could have, and should have, done better. Let’s hope that the return of Drew Goddard (who sat out season 2 but will return for The Defenders) will set things straight.