Who would have thought that the mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen could hold so many ninjas simultaneously?
I’m only kidding.
Daredevil has taken my household by storm.
I joined Netflix on a whim late last year to watch Jessica Jones (JJ) and had not really thought about Daredevil (DD). I watched JJ all the way through – and loved it – before watching the first series of DD. I couldn’t believe that I found something better.
Marvel has the whole superhero series thing to itself. Not since the first season of Heroes have I had my interest captured with such tenacious bear trap-like grip.
I have been told by some who have watched Daredevil first that they preferred Jessica Jones. Others have stuck to their guns on whatever they watched first.
I found JJ’s reliance on a single villain stretched too far.
While DD had Wilson Fisk at the heart of things enough went on to keep it moving at a pace and without getting too bogged down in the 1-on-1 thing.
In comparison, DC superheroes pretty much have it all wrong. It does not take a Villain-a-Week to make a hero show. Agents of Shield has worked that out, as has Agent Carter. I realise that a series like Arrow or The Flash does have a central villain, but somehow it doesn’t feel the same. The weekly dose of new villain overrides the core villain arc. With JJ and DD, the core villain permeates the story and binds it.
It means that everyone in the house (more or less) watches Daredevil. We view in brief bursts; never enough time to boxset the whole thing. We might manage two episodes. Three, occasionally.
I liked the balance of Foggy and Matt in Season 1. We’ll see how it pans out in Season 2, although I fear – from some round reading – that it might be a little too much along the lines of “Stop it, Matt, you’re killing yourself.”
DD really shows how to get a superhero series right. Low key, gritty, engaging. No need to flare or a flurry of villains. No need for some bolted on police procedural angle getting in the way.
A delight.
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