The Fight for the City

When Daredevil was revived by Disney to be (loosely) part of the Marvel Cinematic UniverseWhen it first began in 2008 with a little film called Iron Man no one suspected the empire that would follow. Superhero movies in the past, especially those not featuring either Batman or Superman, were usually terrible. And yet, Iron Man would lead to a long series of successful films, launching the most successful cinema brand in history: the Marvel Cinematic Universe., fans were concerned about just what the House of Mouse would do to their favored show. The three NetflixOriginally started as a disc-by-mail service, Netflix has grown to be one of the largest media companies in the world (and one of the most valued internet companies as well). With a constant slate of new internet streaming-based programming that updates all the time, Netflix has redefined what it means to watch TV and films (as well as how to do it). seasons of the show were beloved by fans and even if the other tie-in shows weren’t all successful (Iron Fist never really found itself, and The Defenders was a total failure), Daredevil remained a solid show that fans kept coming back to. When it was canceled by Netflix, the fans mourned, hoping against hope that somehow the show would be saved.

And it was, nearly a decade after its original run, with most of the cast returning so that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen could once more go up against the Kingpin. But in the process, though, something about the show was lost. It didn’t quite have the same magic, partly because the decision was made (for some unfathomable reason) to kill off Foggy Nelson, the third part of the core trio that powered the show (alongside Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock and Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page), and also because the writers at the time, Matt Corman and Chris Ord, didn’t have the right tone for the show. The higher-ups at Disney reviewed the footage for the first six episodes, found it lacking, and went about reformatting the show to try and salvage what they could.

The resulting first season was a bit of a mess. Very watchable, and I personally liked a lot of what the show was offering, especially as the season went on and it found its focus. My thought was that is the show could carry on that energy into second season, and maintain its laser focus on what really mattered – the battle between Matt Murdock / Daredevil and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), the newly elected mayor of New York City – then the show could really sing. And now, one year later, we have the full second season of the show and, thankfully, my hopes were definitely answered.

The second season picks up with the storyline that the first season set up, with Matt and Karen in hiding while Fisk rules the city with a militaristic iron grip. His Anti-Vigilante Task Force (AVTF), a group of cops given all but unlimited power to do as they like in the city, effectively rules the streets while Fisk does whatever he wants as the ruler of both the city itself and its criminal underground. But that doesn’t mean Matt isn’t fighting, as he goes out at night, working to find a way to stop Fisk’s plans and bring the mayor to justice.

That starts with The Northern Star, a cargo ship laden, in secret, with an absolutely boodle of illegal weapons. Daredevil boards the ship and finds the weapons, but when the captain and first mate see the Devil on the ships security cams, they sink the vessel (per the orders of “The Kingpin”), leaving the wreckage in the middle of the harbor. This kicks off a series of events that shine a light on Fisk’s operations, all while Daredevil keeps following the paper trail, looking for the people the AVTF have rounded up off the streets while also working on any other criminal enterprise Fisk might attempt. It’s a game of cat and mouse, with Matt doing everything to evade the Kingpin and his goons, all with the hope that, someday soon, they’ll finally oust the mayor from his throne.

There’s a lot going on in Daredevil: Born Again’s second season, with the series setting up an absolutely dense number of storylines that it plays out all in parallel. Along with the main story there’s the Vigilante court, where Fisk is trying to convict anyone even suspected of being a vigilante (correctly or not). This seems like an effort for the mayor to clean up the streets, but it also allows the mayor to confiscate all their wealth and assets if they’re convicted, making it clear it’s all just a grift. Fisk can’t stop being the Kingpin, even if he wanted to… which he doesn’t.

There’s also Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter / Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), the killer released by Fisk’s wife, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), to kill Foggy and Matt, although he only killed Foggy. Since then he’s been conflicted, wanting to atone for what he did… by killing Vanessa. Matt would love to have his revenge, but killing Bullseye would violate his core beliefs, and that puts him in conflict with Karen who just wants the man dead. It’s a twisty storyline that weaves in and out of the main narrative, and has massive consequences for the season as it plays out.

Honestly, the writing here is fantastic. The creative team on the show, headed up by showrunner Dario Scardapane, really has a deft handle on the material, weaving all the complex plotlines in and around through the series. And it’s notable because they have a lot to balance, both for this series and for where the franchise could go in the future. Not only did they have to create a solid season for the show, proving they could do right by Daredevil for this second season, but they also had to introduce back into the fold Kristen Ritter’s Jessica Jones and (eventually) Mike Coulter’s Luke Cage (with, apparently, even Finn Jones’s Danny Rand in the third season), giving us the first taste of the reunited The Defenders team that Netflix ditched all those years ago. It’s a log, and the team does it so well.

Although, of course, much of the credit is also due to the cast as well, with the main players all returning to the characters and fitting back in perfectly. Cox, D’Onofrio, Woll, Bethel, and Zurer still have the natural feel for their characters, and even now, after all this time, it’s like no time at all passed from the original three seasons into this new show. It’s great to have this series back and I’ll enjoy having them here, over and over, for as long as this series runs (at least one more season guaranteed so far, and you have to assume more are coming eventually).

And all of this is in a series that feels so timely considering where our current U.S. government is. A criminally reprehensible kingpin who thinks he is above the law and can do whatever he wants? Well, the show doesn’t have to underline what it’s thinking (and, in fact, it never once mentions real world politics or points a finger at Washington D.C.) and yet it’s all perfectly clear. We understand the politics of the show, and we get what the series is saying, if only we had a superhero on our side that could bring our own kingpin to justice.

Really, this second season of Daredevil: Born Again feels so perfect. It’s tighter, more focused, and it handles its storylines so well. There’s no filler, nothing to distract us from the story the season is telling, no forced connections to the greater MCU just for the sake of making this a Marvel show. This series gets to sit in its own pocket of the universe now, continuing the series we all enjoyed back on Netflix, with a team that finally fully understands the series they’re making. It’s perfectly constructed this time around, and one has to hope they’ll all get to continue making this series for as long as they want. It’s one of the best parts of the MCU, frankly because it doesn’t feel like an MCU show at all. It’s better than that in every way.