Daredevil Season 3 Fixes Marvel’s Netflix Slump
Daredevil just seems to get what audiences want from Marvel’s Netflix shows.
I was cautiously optimistic about Daredevil, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of Matt Murdock’s latest outing. Bar The Punisher, The Defenders shows have been in a slump for a couple of years now, struggling to recover since Iron Fist’s debut.
The shows have been on an upward climb since – Iron Fist Season 2 was actually good – but with the news that Iron Fist and Luke Cage have both been cancelled, it was hard not to fear the worst about Daredevil’s long-awaited third installment.
So, you can imagine my relief upon realising that Daredevil Season 3 basically nails it. One advantage this show has its lead characters. In Daredevil they have a very compelling and popular superhero, and Charlie Cox’s portrayal of the Man Without Fear is just as excellent as it was in the previous two seasons. Foggy and Karen have proved to be divisive in some quarters, but this time out their journeys are compelling. Foggy gets to show us how awesome a lawyer he is as he tries to bring down Fisk legally, while we finally get to dive into Karen’s mysterious backstory. Honestly, that doesn’t serve a huge purpose in the larger story, but I’m glad that we got it anyway after it had been teased for two full seasons.
The new characters are also a hit. Joanne Whalley’s Sister Maggie is a likeable addition to the cast, and she plays a vital role in Matt’s recovery after the events of The Defenders. Jay Ali’s Agent Ray Nadeem is unexpectedly one of the best characters this show has ever produced. I’ve always found it a struggle when Marvel’s Netflix shows give us copious scenes with characters from the local police force (Luke Cage, looking at you) and I never liked the amount of time we spent with the FBI in The Punisher either.
So it’s nothing short of impressive that I was backing Agent Nadeem from day one. Admittedly, his first appearance feels a little random, showing him hosting a family gathering that does have you wondering how this guy is relevant, but it quickly becomes clear. That debut scene makes you realise just how much he has to lose, and you can’t help but sympathise with him as Fisk slowly makes his life a living hell throughout the season. His arc is very well written and Ray Ali’s performance is fantastic. I think I actually prefer Nadeem to Misty Knight.
Of course, I can’t mention new characters without talking about Wilson Bethel’s Bullseye. Everyone’s aware of Colin Farrell’s infamous performance in the 2003 movie, but Bethel brings a new dimension to the character that I’m not sure we’ve even seen in the comics. Benjamin ‘Dex’ Poindexter (his real name in the show) gets a fascinating origin story here, with Bethel doing a fantastic job at portraying someone who is really just balancing on the edge of sanity at every given moment. In spite of how cruel Bullseye can be, you understood why and it does make you feel sorry for him, if only just a little bit.
Watching Kingpin carefully manipulate him is a joy to watch. But then, watching Wilson Fisk do anything in this show is a real privilege. Vincent D’Onofrio is predictably excellent, and imagining a season of Daredevil without him just feels odd. This season, Fisk really earns his title of Kingpin and you see how excellent a puppet master he is. There are times when you feel he really is one step ahead of one and you’re not sure how anyone can actually beat him.
Talking of Kingpin and Bullseye, I have to mention the action scenes. Once again, the fight choreography in this show is unlike anything else around right now. One reason for that is that Bullseye’s powers lend themselves to awesome fight sequences. Marvel’s Netflix shows regularly try and pit their heroes against villains who share similar powers, and the results are often quite dull and bland action sequences. It’s for that reason that Daredevil vs Bullseye is a treat to watch.
Bullseye’s talent for turning any object into a deadly projectile are at odds with Daredevil’s preference to get up close and brawl with his enemies. This means that their fights involve the two characters constantly trying to get the upper hand and create a situation where their talents thrive and put the other on the back foot. It’s a fascinating to and fro that is particularly enjoyable to watch in the pair’s opening fight, in an office where Bullseye is able to turn any kind of object into a lethal projectile, from staplers to pencils to an ornamental baseball.
The best action scenes aren’t exclusive to Bullseye, however. My personal favourite is a single-take tracking shot with Matt Murdock trying to escape a prison in full-fledged riot mode. It’s easily the most impressive scene Daredevil has ever done, even beating Season 1’s iconic hallway fight.
One of the biggest problems with the Netflix shows has been momentum; the biggest criticism of each season. Every show has struggled with a 13-episode count. Luke Cage has particularly struggled with the need to fill its runtime, and for all its undeniable quality, Jessica Jones has always been a slow burner. Even a minor criticism of Daredevil’s incredibly well-received first season was that the story slowed down a bit towards the end.
But Season 3 managed to keep the pace up every step of the way. Sure, some scenes carried on a minute or two longer than they needed to, but I never found myself checking my phone like I did when watching Luke Cage. Things unfold at a quick pace in the first few episodes leading up to the first fight with Bullseye, and then a mini-mystery in the middle prevents the show from sagging. It all nicely leads up to a tense and high-stakes finale, that culminates and wraps up beautifully.
The only minor criticisms I really have are a handful of scenes that go on a little longer than they should, and a couple of others that show Matt talking with his inner demons. These demons take the form of Fisk and later, his father. I get Fisk, as in Matt’s eyes, the Kingpin is pretty much the devil incarnate and his single greatest foe. It does feel a bit odd to get this exchange while Kingpin is still alive and very much active this season though. And the idea that Matt’s subconscious would summon a version of Matt’s father to hash a few things out with him seemed a little farfetched, but if you suspend your disbelief then you can get past it pretty easily.
And that’s it. Daredevil Season 3 literally gets everything else right. Daredevil has always been a consistent source of quality in Marvel’s Netflix shows, when others have stumbled amidst the weight of their episode count and occasionally bad writing. It’s nice to see its grand return, even as others are unceremoniously binned by the streaming service. It gives you faith that these shows can still tell amazing and compelling stories. It deserves one more season I think, one more with the current show runner to tell one final story for Matt Murdock in his classic suit.
But to be honest, if this is Daredevil’s last outing, then he went out on one hell of a high.
Josh is a huge a fan of Star Wars, superheroes and video games. He spends most of his time wondering who would win in a fight between Boba Fett and Star Lord.
