“Turn around and walk the other way….” — Daredevil
This one might be shorter than my typical reviews. For one thing, I didn’t take notes like I usually do when viewing the season, so I may forget a few notable things. For another, I’m a bit pressed for time — more than usual, that is — to get this one out the door, as it were. But, I’ll try to hit the major points….
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
So, we finally got to see what happened to Matt Murdock following the events of “The Defenders”. It was both painful and fascinating to watch Matt reluctantly dig himself out of a pit of guilt, grief, self-pity, existential angst, etc. Even once he was physically (mostly) healed, he was still very much broken. Finally, he seemed to find a sense of responsibility and purpose again in bringing Fisk down, perhaps permanently. It was also a relief to see him reunited with Foggy and Karen — once they all worked through some “issues” over Matt’s behavior, that is.
Wilson Fisk was his old self, a psycho with a veneer of civility… most of the time… who quietly orchestrates and manipulates people into doing his bidding, whether they realize it or not. Speaking of which, I had a feeling things wouldn’t end well for Agent Nadeem, and sadly I was right. (It was a surprise to learn that he had been targeted by Fisk so early.) On the other hand, I knew Agent Poindexter was destined to become the assassin-for-hire, Bullseye. There were indications that Fisk was manipulating his life, too, but I admit I was surprised at how much. His journey was not what I expected but did end up being interesting. I hope the final scene indicates we’ll see more of him — perhaps more in character with the comics version? — next season. Kudos to the ironically-named Wilson Bethel for his portrayal of Benjamin ‘Dex’ Poindexter!
Incidentally, you may not realize it, but Dex’s posing as Daredevil was likely taken from a Daredevil storyline from back around 1990, in which Bullseye took over as Daredevil, while an amnesiac Matt suffered an identity crisis.
Back to our program…
It was a bit surprising that the FBI was so easily fooled by Fisk’s machinations, especially once he was in their custody. Of course, much of that turned out to be due to SAC Hattley’s having been coerced into working for Fisk, as were several agents under her command. As for Nadeem, I wouldn’t call him naive, exactly. But, I guess his need to excel (and, hopefully, get a pay raise to ease his debt issues) blinded him to any clues that Fisk was truly the one in control. In the end, he got sucked in, too, and paid the ultimate price.
I missed not seeing Claire Temple this season. She was also absent from Season 2 of “Iron Fist”. Too bad. But, I did like Joanne Whalley as the tough-love Sister Maggie, who served as Matt’s primary caregiver. She also wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with him — verbally, that is — and give him advice, regardless of whether he was listening. (Note: Her involvement seems to have been pulled from the comics’ “Born Again” story.) I was wondering if they would reveal that she was his mother, and sure enough, they did. (I found it a bit sloppy on Maggie’s part, though, since I’m pretty sure she knew of Matt’s enhance hearing.) Matt was understandably hurt that neither Maggie nor Father Lantom had ever told him, but I thought he should have come to terms with it and forgiven them sooner.
Just a note about Vanessa. I always wondered if Fisk was treating her too delicately. I realize that she represents a very idealized image of purity, innocence, class, elegance, and of course love, to him. I can also understand why he wanted to keep the darker side of his business away from her. But, as we discovered this season, she not only wants to be involved, she can be just as ruthless as he is. (I wonder if she’ll ever get the gray streaks in her hair like in the comics.)
Despite the fact that the season took the normal 13 episodes, I didn’t feel it really dragged at any point. There were a couple episodes devoted to the personal histories of Karen and Dex, respectively. At the time, I admit I was itching for more action. But, I have to admit, fleshing out those characters did help move the overall story along, as we learned the secrets that they struggle with. I’m not sure about Bullseye, but those familiar with DD comics will remember that that version of Karen Page became addicted to heroin after she met Matt and later betrayed him to Kingpin in exchange for a fix.
A Daredevil review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the fight scenes. Once again, “Daredevil” delivers. There’s just something about them: the brutality and desperation, mixed with a beautiful choreography. There were several fights, but the main four that stand out to me were in the prison, Bulletin, church, and penthouse. The first of these was all Matt, and he hadn’t even fully recuperated! Awesome! The next one was his first fight against Dex (who was never referred to as “Bullseye” in the series, btw), and thanks to the faux Daredevil’s surprisingly deadly ballistic skills, Matt barely made it out alive! The church fight was pretty good — and, of course, ended tragically for one character — but could have been better. (Note: Never turn your back on the bad guy, even if he’s just dropped 20+ feet. Duh!) The final fight involved both Dex and Fisk, with everyone fighting everyone (though Matt saved Vanessa from Dex more than once), and we finally saw Fisk really let loose. He’s really more of a street-brawler who relies on his size too much, but it was sufficient to mostly hold his own and even maim Dex — before Matt gave him a beatdown, that is. (Fisk’s face should have looked more battered and pulped!)
Miscellaneous:
1) Something I can’t put my finger on regarding Matt’s recovery. I can’t help but think that he never did quite get back into full fighting form. If he had been, I think those fights would have ended more decisively in his favor.
2) Great to see Fisk in his trademark white suit and being called “Kingpin” (at least, by the underworld bosses).
3) Do you realize that Matt never wore the DD costume this season?
4) Nice cameos by Rosalie Carbone (Annabella Sciorra) and Melvin Potter (Matt Gerald)!
5) Everyone needs a friend like Foggy.
I have mentioned in a previous post or two how I would prefer the portrayal of Kingpin was closer to the comics version and without the particular inflections and idiosyncracies that D’Onofrio uses for the character. Still, he continues to do a great job with the character as written. In fact, all the main players delivered terrific performances!
I’d like to end by quoting John Orquiola’s summary at ScreenRant:
“Daredevil’s three heroes, Matt, Foggy, and Karen, spent the season using their respective abilities to fight back against Fisk: Matt through his fists as a vigilante, Karen by being a reporter and investigator, and Foggy via the law. Yet the Kingpin was several chess moves ahead of them the whole time; he masterfully outmaneuvered Nelson, Murdock, and Page until the very end. By telling one macro story involving their greatest villain, while also finally introducing Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), Daredevil delivered arguably their best season of all and possibly the best season of a Marvel Netflix series yet.”
I’m not sure if I’d call it the “best”, but perhaps equal to Season 1. All things considered, another “A-” rating for ol’ Hornhead.
P.S. One of these days (or months), I’m gonna have to binge-watch all 3 seasons (plus “The Defenders”), just so I can more fully appreciate the journeys of these characters, the terrific acting, and of course those bonecrushing fight sequences.
P.P.S. Well, I guess that was a full-length review, after all. It seems I had more so say than I thought….