This is gonna be all about one show, and very spoiler filled, so if you've not yet watched Season 2 of Netflix's fantastic Marvel Daredevil adaptation then bookmark this page, go spend an exhilarating 13 hours getting up to date, then come back here again ;)
Comic books have always, always been there throughout my life, whilst I may drift in and out over the years, I always keep coming back to certain writers and certain characters. One of the writers/artists whose work caught my eye early and continues to blow my mind, make me laugh, sometimes cry....is Frank Miller.
Frank's two runs on Daredevil, both his time at Marvel in the 80's and his triumphant return with his fucking epic 5 part Man Without Fear origin reboot ( basically Daredevil 'Year One') I was all over at the time, and its probably loving especially his 5 part mini-series ( with John Romita Jnr on art duties) that truly cemented my love for Matt Murdock and Daredevil.
When the first season of Daredevil launched Netflix's Marvel collaborations last year, it absolutely blew my mind.
Until very recently with Deadpool earlier this year arriving to give it some serious competition, Netflix's take on Daredevil still remains, ( in my very humble opinion) the best translation of ANY comic book character into film or TV so far. That first season is pretty much perfect in my eyes.
From the outstanding casting and acting performances across the board, with Vincent Donofrio absolutely stealing that first season for me, I've loved his acting since Full Metal Jacket, he has the ability to at times terrify me and at times break my heart in equal measure. I truly think he's the modern age answer to Marlon Brando (but without the crazy, and with a far, far better track record of performances.) If you're a Marvel fan, it's really important to recognise just how important what the writers and Donofrio have done with the Kingpin in this show. Marvel has always, always been much much better at creating heroes than villains, in truth the Marvel universe kinda struggles for villains when compared to DC's lineup. And the stories that truly work the best in any medium are those where the villain matches the hero, or has the upper hand. And in the Marvel movie adaptations so far, we have been pretty lacking in memorable villains. All the Avengers and Iron Man stories so far, the big bad has ultimately been of Tony Stark's own creation. Loki was the only real notable exception to this, and I always found him far more charming than threatening.
It's no surprise the only Oscar awarded to anyone for playing a comic book character thus far has been to Heath Ledger, posthumously, for the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Donfrio's Kingpin the is best Marvel villain we've seen onscreen yet, (Loki included, sorry Hiddleston fans!)
They've taken a character who really had little to no backstory or dimension in the comic books and made him a far more interesting and unusual creation, his weird man-baby tantrums of extreme violence, his intelligence, his sheer bulk strength. His story arc in season one was electrifying.
The choreography and cinematography were both in absolute harmony and so, so beautifully staged.
The very first sight of black masked Matt at the docks in Episode 1 straight out of the pages of Miller and Romita Jnr's mini-series, The hallway fight at the end of Episode 2, Wilson Fisk's embarrassment at having his date interrupted turning into that car door sequence of doom, the adult Wilson getting ready and seeing his blood soaked junior reflection in the mirror - beautiful!, the Taxi Cab depot rescue of Claire, THE FUCKING HAND!!! Nobu, Madame Gow, fuck all of it. The writing, the long takes.
It was just an absolute joy, and unlike The Flash and Arrow ( which I also watch and dig on) which have to cater to a) 3 or 4 mini cliffhangers per episode purely designed to keep people coming back after ad-breaks and b) having to filter all content through legal teams from said ad companies who won't advertise on shows if the content is too adult or graphic. Netflix's model for shows allows for a much richer, more intense, more intimate and infinitely more powerful storytelling. And with no ad breaks or outside influences to cater to, the show runners seem to be given the freedom to create the most compelling adult orientated content with the highest production values possible. They absolutely are the future. I cancelled my cable TV account after season 1. Now I only stream or watch on Netflix, I've not seen any type of TV advert in over a year. and my life is far happier for it.
So all this rambling, is really to say going into season 2 I was kinda nervous, I knew they were introducing the Punisher and somewhat more worrying Elektra into the show, both characters that have not had the best treatment in live action ( Punisher War Zone was OK, the Dirty Laundry short was better, but still not quite there and Jennifer Garner being cast as Elektra Nachos is maybe one of the single worst decisions in Hollywood history, unsurprising that all the defining traits of the character, (erm Psychopath much?? ) had to be removed to make her portrayal more believable and moulded more easily towards Hollywood rom-com fare as opposed to how she was ever presented in the comics, and I LOVE Elektra in the comic books, fucking hated that Affleck version of DD, Bullseye and Elektra, leather suit looked ok, thats literally the only single positive I can muster.
So Season 2 just launched yesterday, I have yet to sleep but have gotten though the whole of season 2 once fully, and am now typing this while episode 4 plays in the background. I need not have worried, Season 2 is better than Season 1!!
Everything has been elevated, clearly the success of last years debut has afforded them a bigger budget, and Wilson Fisk's downfall at the end of season 1 has created a vacuum that a whole bunch of very cannon fodder ready bad dudes to step into.
Season 2 starts literally with a 'Bang' ( sorry, thats a very lame Dad joke). Episode 1 showing us the Punisher from the jump and even bringing him and DD together in a fight at the end of the first episode ( most other shows would drag that moment out until the end of the season!) it was a perfect introduction to Bernthal's Punisher, ( i've been a fan of him since seeing him play Shane in TWD, and he's fucking amazing in Fury) the season just goes from strength to strength..
The incredible hallway/stairwell fight in Episode 3, with a gun gaffer tapped to one hand and a chain to the other. DD battling his way through a Biker Gang Raid-style was a great tip of the hat to the hallway fight in Season 1 but managed to elevate it, designed to look like 1 take, though the joins a little easier to spot this time around, but the cuts don't matter, the fluidity of the sequence remains intact and is staged so fucking well. my jaw was on the floor throughout the whole running battle. the camera sweeping around them as they went level by level down the stairs..
The Punisher's story about his daughter in the cemetery at the end of ep4 was heartbreakingly well performed and had me crying along with the dudes on screen.
And as soon as the Punisher flipped his verdict at the last minute in court, I got a sense of what or rather who was coming.
Was fucking amazing to see D'onofrio back as the Kingpin again, And everything about him in this season, just makes me think that Season 3 is gonna be Born Again!!! which is maybe Miller's most tragic Daredevil story arc, but absolutely one of his most compelling and this cast would be able to take that to some pretty insane places. Read the graphic novel if you've not already, its one of the very best marvel have ever put out.
And we finally got to see Elektra as she should be, more than that, she was elevated in a way that I think Frank Miller never quite was able to take her too, the episodes where Elektra featured most heavily I was unsurprised to find out, were mostly written and directed by Women, they managed to tone down the Miller misogyny somewhat ( the books were written in the 80's it was a far less enlightened age, don't hate on Frank too much for that) and present her in a way that walked a really fine line. she is essentially a Psychopath. definitely a murderer, and yet, as with the Punisher they manage to present a character who kills, in a way that makes them multi dimensional and most importantly sympathetic! anti-heroes yes, but just as with Stick in the first series, made whole, and utterly engaging. we still manage to like them! not easy to do with characters this fucked up.
The way they worked her into The Hand and Stick's background was amazing, and sets us up to see her return again.
Elodie Yung is as strong an addition to the cast as Bernthal! Also great to see Madame Gow and Nobu returning!
I don't remember Elektra being sent to Matt from Stick originally as a mission in order to try and make Mat accept killing, I'll have to go back to the books, but if it is an addition for the show, I loved it! as it was yet another heartbreaking blow for Matt, and came along when he was already still so conflicted about Karen.. I realise as I type this, how soap opera this paragraph sounds, but its a testament to the writing and performances in the show that they can present a love triangle with such complexity and intensity. It felt more believable than relationships I've seen presented in straight out dramas and shows that don't also have to include ninja's and Frank Castle strutting around with a fucking mini-gun.And for Daredevil his involvement with Elektra brought him to the very verge of being EXACTLY like the Punisher, killing rather than just beating up, making sure they stay down..Like Frank memorably says...'you're just one bad day away from being me' thats never truer than when he's running with Elektra..
Also I really like how Matt Gerald is Playing Melvin Potter (AKA the Gladiator, comic book fans) Frank Miller brought him back into the books around Born Again time and brought in the whole 'Betsy wouldn't like it' stuff, how they're playing this one little note out in the show breaks my heart, And i really get a kick out of how he interacts with DD, he's really sweet. 'we keep each other safe,right? thats the deal' he's like a puppy. love it.
Was great seeing the gentle giant back again providing suit upgrades and THE BILLY CLUB!!! really like how they kept that addition until later on in the series, just in time for the final assault on The Hand to rescue Stick.
As always my enthusiasm for this shit outstrips my writing abilities, and I could go on for days about how much I love this damn show. Anyone who has made it through all of this, i salute you!! and if you feel similarly addicted to this ( and Netflix Marvel shows in general as Jessica Jones was also fucking awesome) do comment or message me,
I'm always up for geeking out over the Man without Fear :)
thanks for reading true believers. in the words of the Generalissimo himself...Excelsior!
#bloghomework @bloghomework @missy @rambo
