Daredevil, Season 3, Episode 1: Resurrection
It's a bit late, I know, but after finishing Iron Fist's second season and having to work my way through a backlog of DC superhero shows, I just didn't really found the time or energy to go through the thirteen-episode third season of Daredevil, especially since everyone keeps telling me how great the season is and how world-shaking it is. I eagerly anticipate it, but I also just didn't feel ready for a 'heavy' series for the past couple of weeks.
Anyway, the third season of Daredevil basically picks up after Daredevil's apparent death at the end of The Defenders, and it's... it's an interesting hook. Daredevil finds himself assumed dead by every one of his friends, and is trapped in this well of self-loathing and a general lack of purpose. Sure, he's alive, rescued by Father Lantom and Sister Maggie, but he finds his enhanced senses greatly reduced to the point of being nearly deaf at the beginning of the episode, and this first episode just spends its time building Daredevil back up from the brink of his pool of personal self-loathing. With a lesser script and a lesser actor, I would've called this self-indulgent, but it's honestly a very, very amazing episode to watch and a very solid one to sit through, seeing Daredevil as he just criticizes his religion, God, the prophet Job and everything in general, while Sister Maggie is the much-needed snarky mentor figure that refuses to take any of Daredevil's shit while also being a far healthier figure in Daredevil's life than Stick is. The show really shows off just how intrinsic Daredevil is to the life of Matt Murdock, so much that he honestly considers himself Daredevil first and Matthew Murdock second at some points. It's a great, great scene that doesn't feel too whiny or rage-filled, something that this episode could've so easily been if handled poorly.
By the end of the episode, Daredevil's regained some of his senses after being forced to get on the path of recovery, and even got into a pretty fun boxing match at the basement of the church against a very, very confused boxer that Father Lantom hired. Of course, he's not quite up to scratch just yet as he gets his ass handed to him by two random robbers, although part of it might be Daredevil's own issues as he was apparently ready for the robbers to strike him down.
The rest of the episode is basically just buildup. We get to see the return of Wilson Fisk played by the always fantastic Vincent D'Onofrio, and Fisk is informed by his lawyer "Big Ben" Donovan that there are complications preventing the return of Fisk's girlfriend Vanessa, leading Fisk to make a deal with FBI agent Ray Nadeem... and we also spend a surprisingly long amount of time building up Nadeem's life as being pressed for cash due to having to care for a sick family member. I guess the long, long segment with Agent Nadeem is meant to parallel Daredevil hitting the low points of their respective lives, but I honestly felt that the Nadeem stuff really felt disconnected from the rest of the episode, and not in a good way.We also get a bunch of Karen/Foggy scenes as they discuss what to do with Matt's old apartment. Foggy's a bit more ready to accept Matt's death, but understanding of Karen. Karen, meanwhile, has a long flashback to the second season cliffhanger of Matt revealing his identity to Karen -- something that happens offscreen thanks to Defenders, and while it does kind of feel out of place here, it has to happen somewhere and this first episode is probably the only one where it wouldn't feel too much of a distraction.
Overall, while definitely a bit slow, it's a very well-written and well-paced opening as we return to the world of Daredevil, stripped down to the bare essence of the conflict and without too much of that huge Hand nonsense that bogged down and ruined the pacing of the second season.
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