Daredevil, Season 2, Episode 1: Bang
Man, Daredevil's second season was an insane ride. At this point in time I've finished the entire second season, but the reviews I'm writing will be based on scribbled-down notes of my impressions while watching the episodes in question, so it'll be like I'm surprised at how things are happening in the second season. See, Daredevil's first season was really good. It wasn't perfect, of course, but the performances by a lot of the characters -- main antagonist Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. Kingpin) in particular -- really sold me that, hey, the concept of a blind vigilante with radar sense and a lawyer day job might actually work as a TV show.
One of the weaknesses of a season two is that they risk just repeating the same things that worked in season one, only bigger. They're kinda afraid of changing things too much, and that can end up as being kinda boring. It's a problem that Agents of SHIELD's second season was trapped in before the big Inhumans plot, and if Deathstroke wasn't so motherfucking awesome it would certainly be a valid criticism for Arrow's second season.
But Daredevil's second season certainly knows its fanbase. See, the trailers (and this first episode) make it clear that the antagonist for Daredevil's second season? It's going to be the Punisher himself, who has returned to the folds of Marvel Cinematic Universe from whichever studio last got his film rights. (Played by Shane from Walking Dead, which is hilarious for me) The Punisher is probably one of the most popular characters from Marvel comics on account of being the most brutal motherfucker who will murder the shit out of every single villain, basically embodying a lot of the tropes of the dark'n'gritty era of superhero comics. Will this live-action adaptation make him likable enough for me? Or will he end up being a silly parody? Will we explore the fact that this maniac is a danger for civilians? Will we get a moral debate against putting villains down and crossing the line and whatnot? A live-action adaptation will certainly allow for more fleshing out of character than a movie, and having him be contrasted with Daredevil's more idealistic worldviews certainly would be a great way to stop it from being a gore-fest.
Well, the first episode of Daredevil's second season certainly built the Punisher up. We haven't heard his name yet, but he certainly is a one-man army, literally showing up at the doorstep of the Irish mob that's trying to fill in the vacuum left by Wilson Fisk's arrest. And he just shows up (off-screen) with like a gatling gun or something and guns down literally the entirety of the Irish mob's leadership.
See, while the setting of a group of other mobs trying to take over the vacuum left by Wilson Fisk, these other mobsters and criminal groups (including the Dogs of Hell, the biker gang controlled by Lorelei in that early Agents of SHIELD episode) aren't the one that Daredevil is going to have to fight this season. Rather, they have to contend with the new 'hero', who runs on the code that villains are evil and therefore they have to be killed, lest they break free from prison and murder more people. It's something that a lot of people might agree with, but that runs contrary to... well, all the goodness and whatnot that superheroes are supposed to embody.
And this episode juxtaposes both Daredevil and Punsiher's methods really well, with Daredevil taking down the group of robbers at the opening of the episode with non-lethal efforts -- a violent beatdown, but non-lethal -- but that ended up with a hostage being kidnapped halfway through the chase. Meanwhile, the Punisher just shows up, bullets fly, villains die.
Of course, not every single one of the Irish mobsters die. One of them, Grotto, ends up in the hospital and rather predictably Nelson & Murdock gets involved with him. The dynamic between Matt, Foggy and Karen is still really fun, especially now with Foggy being really worried about Matt's nighttime life as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen (you guys can say 'Daredevil', you know). We get a bit of Matt and his buddies' daily routine, we get a short cameo of Turk as Daredevil beats him up, but really, they come across the Punsiher quickly enough. The Punisher's still portrayed as the boogeyman here, trying to snipe Grotto, shooting up the Irish mobsters and the hospital. He's the Batman to Daredevil's Superman, and we don't get a full shot of him until the end. It's nice, building him up as this super-violent vigilante that we all know, yet still noting the realities of his brand of insanity when we get the policemen canvassing his handiwork or when Karen and Grotto are running the fuck away in that hospital. I really have faith that they're going to do the Punisher justice as a character.
It's a really nice opening, building up the Punisher with everyone wondering if this new player is an army or not... nah, all they're dealing is with the Punisher. And Daredevil does do battle against the Punisher at the end of the episode, and while I highly doubt it's their only confrontation in this season it's still quite entertaining! I mean, when two heroes fight... that's like the entire premise of how Batman V Superman got so many viewers. It was a great fight right up to the titular 'bang' when Punisher shoots Daredevil in the head.
It's overall a really solid opening episode to the second season, setting a lot of the tone. It's definitely going to be faster-paced than the first season, where we don't even get Kingpin meeting Daredevil until slightly before the halfway point. The Punisher is awesome. Daredevil is awesome. Having the two of them fight is extremely awesome. More please.
No comments:
Post a Comment