Just finished episode 8. Fisk has been absolutely brilliant this season so far, always a step ahead of everyone else. But the overall quality has been great, in terms of writing, cinematography etc. A perfect example being
Spoiler:You can tell a lot of thought and planning went into this season.
the exchange between Karen and Fisk in episode 8, and how they even use the positioning of the actors and motion of the camera to help emphasize the shifts in dialogue.
I just finished it as well, definitely my favorite season of any MCU Netflix show.
I got chills in Daredevil season 2 when Fisk warned Daredevil:
"You see, I've had a lot of time to reflect on my journey here, Mr. Murdock! My mistakes, everything I took for granted. And while I try and sleep in this bleak place the one thing that keeps me warm is the thought that I will look down upon this city, the city that birthed me, with the woman that I love, who whom I love with everything that I am. If you're worried that Frank Castle will wreak havoc on Hell's Kitchen just wait."
But holy ****ing hell, I never expected the psychotic trailer park shit that happened this season with
Spoiler:.
Fisk being a ****ing chessmaster, playing the FBI the entire time, getting them to outright serve him, playing on all of bullseye's weaknesses and desires, being "five steps ahead" of everyone almost the whole season, causing mass murder at a newspaper and a church, finally getting married damn
Bullseye also
Spoiler:.
From that badass reveal, to him seeming like a sane person with someone in his life to help him process his emotions... to that disturbing shot of "oh wait shit, he's not actually talking to that person he's stalking her." To his ****ed up backstory and psychopathic tendencies, to his life falling apart and Fisk swooping in and leading him to embrace the urges he'd been suppressing for so long. Just him all around being a badass and a sympathetic villain is like wtf this is awesome
Then there's the conflict between the good guys.
Spoiler:
The way Karen and Daredevil struggle with trusting Matt, the way Matt struggles with trusting Father Lantom and his secret nun mom, the way Nadeen's wife struggles with trusting him, Foggy, Nadeem, everyone being put in these ****ed positions where nothing they do will satisfy their conscience and struggling with nobody else being able to uphold what they need out of them... everyone hits a serious low this season, faced with the tragedy of life dialed up to eleven, and the way they have to reconcile that with each other is at times heart breaking but with moments from most of them where they stand up and find who they could be.
With all that struggle it puts into context one of my favorite parts of this season
Spoiler:
Matt struggling to reconcile the problem of evil (ie. if a loving God exists how can evil exist?), Matt's pained comparison of himself to Job, his statement that all he heard was people pleading with God and how all they got was silence. Matt struggling with this for the entire season, struggling with not wanting to be Matt Murdock, struggling with wanting to kill Fisk, struggling with the people he was letting down and the people who were letting him down. Only to see Matt at the end start to actually work with his friends again and let them into his life, spare Fisk and reaffirm that Fisk would not take who he was away from him, forgive the deceased Father Lantom, and reunite with his friends. Finally coming to a better place with himself in regards to the problem of evil, that facing the suffering in his life helped him manifest something heroic within himself and become Daredevil. And that was the very same thing manifested in the suffering of some of the other characters, Karen stepping up to work with Matt again and being brave enough to face down Fisk, Nadeem sacrificing his life to bring down Fisk, Father Lantom sacrificing his life to save Karen etc. As a Christian the struggling with the problem of evil as a theme in this season was one that really struck a chord with me, and they handled it in a very mature way, not brushing it off like there was an easy answer. Ultimately the conclusion Matt came to, that there was something significant in people facing suffering to manifest something heroic, is the same conclusion I came to when I contemplated the same question, and it's the answer I think is embedded in the core of Christianity. Jesus's death on the cross as the ultimate act of salvation and heroism came through his confrontation of suffering.
And of course the fight scenes this season were phenomenal.
Spoiler:
Bullseye and his throwing shit added it's own unique dynamic for sure and watching him and Daredevil throw down was always thrilling. This season's "hallway fight scene" with Matt escaping the prison was the best hallway fight scene in any season of any of these shows, absolutely insane shit that had my mouth dropped. And that final showdown between Matt, Fisk, and Bullseye was ****ing phenomenal.
But yeah this is easily my favorite season of any of these shows. Holy shit. I expected it to be great but it delivered so much more than I was expecting.
The BEST DareDevil yet!
The overall consistency is better than Season 2, so even though Bullseye is no Punisher in terms of presence or spectacle, the overall show is better (since no Elektra or Hand nonsense). And, as all major characters are already established, not much in the way of filler stuff is present, as there was in Season 1.
I think this might just be the best comic-book based series ever. Can't think of a better or even comparable (Punisher was good, but not this good) series.
In terms of human drama it excels too, with the new characters feeling mature and grounded, sufficient to support their plot arcs and forward the arcs of the major characters.
I knew, about a third of the way in, that I wouldn't be getting the showdown I was hoping for (though, hopefully they is a season 4 and hopefully, things will build to that showdown mid-season). Still, DD, Fisk and the rest carry the show.
Oh and this season, DD is every bit as strong a presence as Wilson Fisk.
It's insane that the same Netflix that makes DareDevil and Punisher, makes atrocious limp-wristed dross like IronFist (spoiling what could have been another awesome series!) and boring non-entities like Jessica Jones and half-baked crap like The Defenders.
Yeah, that's the thing with this season. It took a long time to come out, but damn, it was done well. It's clear to see how much time, planning and effort was put into every aspect of the story. And, because of that, they were able to explore the psychological elements of all these characters in far more depth than they do in the other shows (at least generally).
And, of course, from an action standpoint, it's also clear that they spent a lot of time there as well. Even more simple encounters, like
Spoiler:
the boxing sparring match in episode one, looked really convincing. Those guys were actually moving fast, were agile, had proper technique. Didn't look like actors pretending to be boxers, but like actual boxers.
There is one bit of dialogue that really didn't make sense to me. And it's not really a big thing regarding the plot, but it doesn't seem consistent with what we have seen in the past either.
Spoiler:
After their first encounter, Matt stated that Bullseye was the fastest, most skilled opponent he has ever faced. Sorry, I call BS on that one. If it wasn't for Bullseye's ranged skill, he would have gone down during their very first meeting. But he is supposedly faster and more skilled than Black Sky, Iron Fist and Nobu? Not buying it.
So up to Episode 4.. Episode 3 with the
Spoiler:was cool. Proper ninja stuff. But Episode 4 with the
car lot fight scene
Spoiler:was just frigging awesome....
Prison break
Found season 2 underwhelming after the Punisher arc was done with 4 episodes in. I hope im not speaking too soon, but going by season 3 so far, this might be my favourite superhero show period.
I actually felt like this season got better as it went along, and it already started off strong.
And yeah, the action/fight sequences are great. And this is also a HUGE difference between this show and IF s2. IF s2 had good, polished choreography. But none of the fights really stood out. Pretty much every fight in DD s3 is memorable, from the
Spoiler:
parking garage, to the prison, to the news office, to the church, to the final showdown.