Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is learning from Season 1’s mistakes

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

**Warning: **The following may contain spoilers for all seasons of Daredevil and definitely contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 1 and 2.

The bar wasn’t on the ground, but my expectations going into Daredevil: Born Again season 2 were pretty low. I was optimistic based on how season 1 ended, but season 1 had also proven that the show had plenty of flaws to work through.

If you’ll recall, my review of Daredevil: Born Again season 1 was quite harsh and emphasized a number of weak points. Season 2 is trying to slowly make up for these mistakes, but it might be too little too late. At the same time, the final episode somehow makes up for most of the show’s problems and gives me hope that the next season will be even better.

Story: An upgrade from last season

The plot was a bit better this season, although there were still moments where it felt like things dragged out. For context, Fisk essentially has New York City under martial law and is imprisoning possible vigilantes. The main plot centers around a particular ship full of weapons and the problems that unfold after Daredevil boards the ship in the first episode.

The show shifts away from the more ridiculous courtroom and legal stuff we got in season 1, which was a breath of fresh air and made the courtroom drama of the final episode hit home. It also doesn’t have a filler episode like season 1, which was a relief. Again, my sentiment is that if you’re only doing 8 episodes, they should all be relevant to the plot. Instead, the breathing room episode was a flashback piece with enough fan service to keep everyone calm.

Characters we wanted to see again and attempts at character development

The attempts at fan service were through the roof this season. The show boasted an entire episode of Foggy flashbacks, Jessica Jones in multiple episodes, and even cameos from characters I suspected we were unlikely to see again. Yes, they even got Wesley and Brett Mahoney back.

Daredevil is boasting a black and red suit this season, which was a fun perk. He still faces guilt over his attempt to kill Bullseye in the last season, which leads to some interesting interactions and even a sort of team-up. However, Matt doesn’t face nearly as much internal conflict as we’ve seen previously, and perhaps it was finally time for something like this. He’s more secure in his role, and we did get more screen time with him and Karen, which could have been the showmakers apologizing for his love interest from the last season.

Bullseye gets quite a bit of screen time, as the show attempts to shift him from a villain to an anti-hero. (Or maybe it’s just because the Punisher wasn’t available.) Angela Del Toro is also on her way to becoming the next White Tiger, although she doesn’t see a lot of screen time, and her presence does bring up the concerns that follow teenage superheroes.

They also tried really hard to give Buck Cashman more depth, which was partially successful. If you recall, this was my sentiment at the end of season 1: “If you were to compare him to Wesley from Daredevil season 1, it’s like comparing someone in a Batman Halloween costume to Christian Bale while filming The Dark Knight.” I have to admit Buck made a step up from that, but Wesley is still always going to come in first place in that category.

Continued criticism: The characters we still don’t care about

It was a relief that Heather, the therapist who now works for Fisk, and Matt split up last season, but somehow that didn’t stop the show from keeping Heather around. It felt like they were trying so hard to keep her relevant, and I still came away thinking, “Seriously, no one likes her, and no one cares.” There was certainly nothing this season that made me care about or like her more. Perhaps her turn to villainy makes my dislike more justified?

Daniel also remained an annoying character in the show who continued to make me ask, “Why is this guy here?” Again, his only purpose appeared to be audience annoyance and increasing BB’s screen time. To add to that, BB’s character was only minimally relevant to the plot this season, and you’re really left wondering, “Seriously, why is this guy here?” As much as I hate to admit it, there was relief when it was clear he wouldn’t be coming back.

We’re trying so hard to understand this Catholic thing!

Coming from a protestant, there’s only so much I can say about the catholicism in the show. However, in the original seasons of Daredevil, Matt’s faith is something that’s a big part of his character and the show in general. The original show approached the beliefs of Catholics in a respectful way, which doesn’t happen often when it comes to Christian characters in the media.

This element all but disappears in Born Again Season 1, but it seems like the show creators at least tried to listen to this criticism. No scenes in a church? We can put scenes in a church! They also tried to introduce in some broad terms the concepts of mercy and grace, which are key elements of Christian faith.

At times, it still felt like fan service rather than coming from a place of respect for Catholic beliefs and values. But hey, they’re trying, right?

The suspension of disbelief is in the politics

Going off of who New York City actually elected as their mayor, the hardest suspension of disbelief for the show is that the city would ever elect someone like Fisk and be okay with his actions. Also, the governor of New York in the show is portrayed as this pristine, genuinely good politician, which you would have to be pretty naive to believe lines up with real-world politics in general.

It also appears clear what side of the political aisle the creators are coming from. But if you can get past the suspected political views of the creators and the messaging that feels like it takes you out of the story at times, the show is certainly still watchable.

A great last episode, and hope for the future

The final episode wraps things up in a way that’s better than anything I could have expected. The spoilers were abundant online, so I went into it thinking that I knew how things would go.

And yet, I still managed to be surprised. Matt manages to keep Karen safe, takes the fall like the true hero he is, and models for the people of the city that they don’t need to be like Fisk. There’s plenty of action to be had, as well as some fun cameos at the end.

I remember a review of the live action first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the reviewer speculating if one perfect thing, the Zuko and Iroh duo, was enough to make up for the show’s flaws. I find myself in a similar place. Is one last amazing episode enough to make up for the show’s shortcomings? It certainly makes me not want to give up on the show just yet. I don’t think it will ever reach the complexity or depth of the original show, but the creators are learning from what didn’t work and adapting.

Season 3 is already in the works, so hopefully, we’ll get some sort of wrap-up to the arc where we have a New York City with Daredevil watching over it and Fisk behind bars where he belongs. I remain skeptical but slightly more optimistic than last time. And maybe, that’s a good place to be.

Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash

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If you would like to read my review for Daredevil: Born Again season 1, you can find that below:

[embed]Dardevil: Born Again is a lesson about enjoying the moments Warning: The following contains spoilers for all seasons of Daredevil, including Daredevil: Born Againmedium.com

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