First thing……..
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!!!!!
Now that you have been warned we may proceed. It is difficult for me to binge watch anything because of the profession I am in. Online sports media means being constantly on the look out for the next story 24-7 365. But, thanks to some very late night viewing I was able to complete the first season of Daredevil on NETFLIX in 3 days and here are my thoughts.
This isn’t a traditional review, I am not going to go episode by episode I am just going to point out a few things that were interesting to me.
The most obvious thing is that the supporting characters are the reason Daredevil works. It is similar to Seinfeld (wasn’t expecting that comparison were you?) in that Jerry is just the setup man, but it is the rest of the cast that turns it into must see TV. It is a tricky balance because you don’t want the show TOO FOCUSED on the main character, but you also don’t want so many side stories going on people stop caring.
There are many different things going on in Daredevil, but they all flow pretty smoothly. You will find yourself caring more about Foggy, Karen, Ben Urich and hell even the Kingpin more than Daredevil.
Speaking of Wilson Fisk the way he is played by Toby Leonard Moore is unique, you are either going to hate it or love it, but it captures your attention.
The central storyline is Fisk trying to take over Hell’s Kitchen by any means necessary and Matt, Foggy and their secretary Karen Page are trying to stop them. You get a lot of backstory on everyone, but they spread it out in such a way it doesn’t bog down the story. I always had that issue with Spider-Man, instead of brief flashbacks of the origin story, they had to retell it every time at the beginning, like we don’t know he was bitten by a Spider. We know why Daredevil is blind, but by just mini glimpses of his past it brings more depth to the story.
Be prepare because main characters will die. I am still hurt by Fisk’s best friend, assistant and homeboy Wesley dying, he was one of the best characters in the show. I am also going to miss Leland, the old man was very funny. Also there is a death close to the end of the season you won’t see coming. Hanging out with Matt, Foggy and Kate isn’t a safe proposition as you will see.
Some of the story you can see where it is going, but then there are other parts that will catch you by surprise. As far as Matt Murdock himself, not that he was bad, I just found him one of the least interesting characters. Maybe it is because I know the character so well, it is hard to break new ground with him. What I did like was the fighting scenes. While you still have to suspend your disbelief a little to think a blind man can beat up 20 armed guards but at least Daredevil gets fatigued and gets his ass kicked a bunch of times which makes it more realistic.
The season wraps up with a conclusion not a cliffhanger, so it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. In short, Daredevil is what Gotham should have been but failed miserably at. Even if you aren’t a comic book guy or know anything about Daredevil you can still enjoy. The acting is superb and the storyline is tight and flows well. If you are stealing NETFLIX like I am, I definitely recommend you watch.