Top 5 Episodes In ‘Daredevil’ Season 2

We're a week out from the Daredevil Season 2 premiere. All caught up? Decompressed after your binge? I can say for myself, after seeing a certain superhero blockbuster this week, this show is currently winning the ongoing Year of the Superhero Rivalry (more on this theme in an editorial coming soon). Daredevil vs. The Punisher was a deep conflict of ethos and methodology, functioning as a great spine for the season. When Elektra entered, it added a fun, sexy dimension to a what can be a very dour show. It is not a flawless, with plenty of kinks yet to be worked out, but Season 2 offered so much awesomeness, it's honestly hard to pick it apart (I'm totally going to try though). Without further ado, here's my top five episodes from this season and why. Obviously, spoilers abound! Click Next to start the list! For my thoughts on the whole season, check out my entire review here. 5. EP13: "A Cold Day in Hell's Kitchen" An imperfect episode with great moments, a microcosm of the show: impressive but flawed. Why showrunners feel they must save comic-defining features like Daredevil's billy-club or Punisher's skull symbol for finale is depressingly arbitrary. The Hand are cool visually but their motives are either too vague or make no sense. Either way, the only one they bothered to name - Peter Shinkoda's Nobu - was such a cipher he was plot function rather a character. So when he kills Elektra (a powerful moment even in the terrible movie), it feels largely incidental. And the show wastes no time showing that it won't last so what emotional impact there was is drained. This all is the negative stuff, I realize but it speaks to the strength of what works that it feels like a balance. Carrie-Anne Moss's cameo is sweetly surprising. Foggy and Karen seem like self-actualized characters finally. The Matt/Elektra heart-to-heart is well-done by both Charlie Cox and Elodie Yung and Punisher pulling a Han Solo for Daredevil was a fist-pump moment. While not technically renewed, it seems obvious there will be a season 3 and when that comes, it may payoff or clarify some of the issues I mentioned. 4. EP10: "The Man in The Box" That Matt Murdock/Wilson Fisk interrogation scene? 'Nuff said. 3. EP8: "Guilty as Sin" Like a lot of 90s kids, I was raised on Law & Order reruns. I still love a good courtroom drama and Nelson & Murdock representing Frank Castle is a great way to involve the characters and examine morality in the context of a Punisher trial. Whether it was watching the implosion of Matt's life, Frank's meltdown in court or Stick's return, it was a satisfying conclusion to this mini-arc and an even better introduction to the next with the well-hidden return of Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk a.k.a Kingpin. 2. EP9: "Seven Minutes in Heaven" Three words: Punisher prison riot. The show delivers. Plus, Fisk returns and finally gets to be Kingpin! I loved how it was a bottle episode that told a complete story about Fisk's takeover of the prison and adoption of his nickname. D'Onofrio appeared in three episodes this season and they are all on this list. He'll always primarily be Det. Robert Goren from Law & Order: Criminal Intent to me (once again, 90s kid) but his Wilson Fisk threatens to usurp that role in my mind. In D'Onofrio's hands, Fisk is a tragic monster, a rattlesnake. You almost can't blame him when he bites, like he does when Matt ill-advisedly threatens his fiancee Vanessa's immigration visa. I said almost! 1. EP3: "New York's Finest" That fight scene, holy hell. That is how you top something! When Matt stops the elevator to save the old veteran, I smiled and when he laughed when the fight began I laughed with him. One of the great things about his season was seeing Daredevil in full costume. It gets a lot of flack but it grew on me and I enjoyed seeing the comic booky elements come to the fore after they established the Nolan-esque crime drama in Season 1. But that fight scene would be meaningless without the extended rooftop scene, where a chained Daredevil debates vigilantism and morality with the Punisher. It's a beautiful two-man play that gives the necessary weight to the acrobatics and stunts. It's a marriage of style and substance. Overall, my opinion is that Season 2 is better than Season 1. It's more narratively-concise (not that that means much on Netflix), less embarrassed by its comic origins and certainly more fun. Going back to that certain superhero blockbuster opening wide today, the last one is a big reason I'd say Daredevil Season 2 is superior as a superhero story. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Top 5 Episodes In ‘Daredevil’ Season 2

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