Daredevil Season 2

Daredevil season 2 continues with the last season left off. The flaws of the previous season are not all gone, Eldon Henson as Matt Murdock's friend becomes particularly intolerable here, though he's not helped by the whiny material they give his character. Nevertheless Henson's performance still is on the same level as his work in the Mighty Ducks. This season benefits greatly from a first half though that features Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle aka The Punisher, launching his far more deadly crusade for justice in the series. Bernthal is amazing the role, and every scene he is in works in some way. The conflict over killing between him and daredevil, with Cox delivering some of his best work, is incredibly effective. The material thankfully does not get hung up with Punisher as his story moves at a strong pace as we unfold from a villain, to slowly understanding what motivates this man. His story absolutely works, beyond on central problematic coincidence within the plot. That's all great though. The season though is sort of broken off into two halves the second half being the return of Murdock's old girlfriend, and naturally trained assassin, Elektra played by Elodie Yung. Although this version of the character is a major step up from the horrible rendition in the Daredevil film, it fails to capture the full potential of the role. A part of this does come from Yung's performance that is often one note in portraying just a general modern femme fatale. She doesn't find enough nuance there, and additionally her chemistry with Cox is lacking. This side though suffers from excessive repetition of the theme again with scene after scene of Matt saying Elektra brings out the worst of him, him trying to change her, her doing something bad, and repeat until we reach the last episode. The side of the story is not all bad, thanks mostly due to the return of Scott Glenn as Matt's mentor Stick, but it suffers similair problems seen in the first season. The Punisher side on the other hand is quite strong throughout, with even D'Onofrio returning far more effectively as Fisk, and once again the action certainly delivers. This again is not a great season, but it is a good one that is a proper upgrade over the first season.
3.5/5