*Review contains mild spoilers*
I was filled with disgust that everyone else on social media was getting to check out Daredevil Season 2 before I did. As I scrolled through feeds, it seemed that there was always a “check-in” stating that a friend or someone I follow was taking their seat on the couch and beginning the 13 hour journey that I was dying to watch.
However, I’m lucky that my girlfriend was eagerly just as looking forward to the return of Matt Murdock and friends (and enemies) as I was. So around 9:00 pm on the evening of March 18th, we finally got to see the hero of Hell’s Kitchen back again.
The first episode of the season, titled “Bang,” starts off with a typical New York City robbery, a very familiar scenario if you’ve ever read a comic book. Masked thugs are running from the NYPD, but the difference here is the somewhat cliche atmosphere of theft is made more three dimensional by the actions of both the criminals and the hero. The bad guys are shooting point blank at the cops, taking prisoners as they run down the street. Meanwhile, a figure who we don’t see (but we know is Daredevil) is beating these guys to a bloody pulp, making sure they are down for good. This isn’t your typical, Marvel Cinematic Universe style of violence (I do love the MCU, just to clarify) . I don’t care though, I’m game for this kind of action. Pan to a shot of Daredevil (Charlie Cox) on a rooftop after he takes care of business and there it is-I’m hooked.
The rest of the episode doesn’t let off of the gas. We are reintroduced to the offices of Nelson (Elden Henson) and Murdock, a law firm now abundant with clients since crime boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) was put away. However, clients aren’t paying in cash, but rather pies, treats, and the like (Shout out to my favorite pie Strawberry Rhubarb, which makes a cameo in the episode). This seems to really be no issue for Foggy, Matt, or assistant Karen (Deborah Ann Woll), despite the fact that they are running out of money.
However, they come by witness to a highly disturbing crime. In the wake of Wilson Fisk’s absence, gangs and mobs have come forth to “pick up the pieces (so to speak)” and take over territory that they believe belongs to them. This is just the case with the Irish Mob, but unfortunately, as they plan their attack, they get attacked first. Everyone is gunned down hard, sans one, the aforementioned witness, named Grotto (McCaleb Burnett). He wishes for the assistance of Foggy and Nelson, declaring entry into the witness protection program. As he details his demands, he passes out due to injury from the gun fire on his former friends.
Karen rushes Grotto to the hospital while Matt and Foggy do research at the crime scene. Matt gets a lead thanks to his super powered hearing, and goes to seek it out. However, he is hindered by the concerns of his lawyer friend, who knows of his true nighttime heroics. Matt promises to be careful, and goes off to do his “other job.”
Meanwhile, Karen and Grotto are chased out of the hospital due to a shadowy figure with a gun. While everyone else seems to think that the Irish Mob was hit by a small army, it seems to be only one man. In his travels and interrogation, Matt finds this information out too, and before we know it, the conclusion of the episode is a brutal fight between the shadowy figure from the hospital and Daredevil. The figure, of course, is Frank Castle, aka the Punisher (Jon Bernthal), who seems to be the new antagonist towards the hero of Hell’s Kitchen. Crossover giddiness aside, I’m highly interested to see how they explain how the Punisher came to be, along with how he and Matt have similar paths.
Overall, the first episode of season 2 is a very quick hour, and at the point it concludes, there is no time in wasting to go the next entry of the season. Daredevil Season 2 holds a lot of promise. Let us hope that it can keep the pace of “Bang.”
Rating: 9/10
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Logan J. Fowler is a senior writer and video game editor on Pop-Break.com. He contributes his thoughts every week for Trailer Tuesday and ABC’s The Goldbergs.” Logan’s “kid at heart” nature has led to his discussion about pop culture that many geeks love to talk about, including superheroes, Super Mario Bros., Pixar, and Muppets, among other things. In addition, one of his first pieces for the site, “Top Ten Comic Book Movies,” was picked as a “Freshly Pressed” piece by WordPress and remains one of the site’s most well-read articles. Many of Logan’s friends have said that he moonlights as Spider-Man but this is so not true. Wait, are those police sirens I’m hearing?! Gotta go! -thwipp-
