Daredevil season 1 was, to say the least, excellent. So I immediately had high expectations for season 2. To hear they were tackling not only further Daredevil plotlines, but also introducing the Punisher? As a lifelong fan of Frank Castle, my expectations only climbed further. Could they really bring a character infamous for being incapable of proper adaption to the screen? After watching the first episode of Daredevil's second season, I'm gonna say....
Maybe. Look, I'm only an episode in, and it's not fair to pass judgement. So let's go into the actual review, shall we?
It's been a few months since Daredevil brought down Wilson Fisk, and despite the victory, Matt's still dealing with the ensuing power vacuum created by Fisk's downfall, with everything from the Irish gangs to the cartels attempting to fill the role. Meanwhile, a mysterious newcomer is wiping these groups out with military precision. Who this newcomer is and what their motives are is the driving question of the first episode, and it's a little unfortunate that the answer to the question has been spoiled by all of the promotion. The answer, obviously, is Frank Castle, the Punisher, who's introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a suitably intense and nerve-wracking one. As Matt works his way through a warehouse of slaughtered cartel members, he confronts a dying man mounted on a hook and interrogates him for information.
"Tell me who they are." He asks as the man bleeds out in his arms. Struggling to speak, the man leans in and says, "Not they. Him." It cuts to the Punisher as he nonchalantly walks into a hospital, shotgun slung over his back, and blasts it up as he gives chase to Karen and one of the sole survivors of one of his massacres. The show takes clear cues from Garth Ennis's Punisher MAX, portraying the Punisher as more of a singleminded killing machine than a person. Even during his fight with Matt, he only says one word as he brawls with military precision, culminating with him nonchalantly shooting Daredevil in the head.
The show is, as always, well-shot. The fight scenes in particular continue to shine as some of the best fight scenes in any medium, mixing just the right amount of chaos and precision. The cast is solid, and even Elden Henson has improved, coming off as less comic relief and more an actual person.
All in all, I'm excited to see how the rest of the show plays out, given how much praise I've heard for the later episodes.
Overall Grade: 8/10
Notes:
*The sequence where the Punisher wipes out an Irish gang is a particular highlight of the episode, as we're given a brief highlight of a group of gangsters, each with their own personalities, and then watch as they're gunned down by a terrifying unseen force.
*Matt taking out those weird bank robbers one by one was a little too on-the-nose for a superhero show like this. I'm not saying it wasn't cool, but for a show like this, it's weird and out-of-place for the tone.
*Matt and Karen is not a ship I support. MattxClaire and FoggyxKaren 4 lyfe.
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