Daredevil season 2 review, first half: 'A wonky start that soon settles into a fierce and exciting pace'

Here we go again, round two of Marvel’s ‘gritty’, ‘dark’ and ‘R-Rated’ TV series. It has been almost a year since we first met avocados at law Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and things haven’t changed in Hell’s Kitchen: gangs run the streets, daylight doesn’t exist and the Avengers are nowhere in sight.

Season two begins with the Devil working his magic; helping out locals by day, beating up bad guys at night. However, there’s a new player in town, The Punisher (Jon Bethnal).

Unlike Murdock’s alter-ego - who refuses to end anyone’s life - Frank Castle is comfortable killing villains, taking out dozens of gangsters at a time with no mercy. This ideological battle, as you may have suspected from the trailers, is the crux of these first few episodes and also highlights the main problem with Daredevil.

In the first season, Kingpin was the definite villain, yet here there is no real bad guy here. Very little differentiates Murdock and Castle, only the idea of ending someone's life, and you can root for both of them.

It’s an interesting concept, having no definitive dark side - one that will likely play a part in the upcoming film Captain America: Civil War - but a concept that is explained through prolonged dialogue numerous times (with one rooftop scene in particular seemingly going on and on and on).

Whereas in fellow Marvel show Jessica Jones many ideas were left for you to infer, the pair's conflict is explicitly laid out, with characters repeating themselves in both actions and dialogue. There really is only so many times you can watch an episode end with Daredevil and Punisher beating each other up before you start thinking there is a glitch in the Matrix.

As a major fan of both season one and Jessica Jones (and Agent Carter I should add), I must say I was a little disappointed with the beginning, but thankfully it all pays off when things pick up around episode four. And oh boy, do things pick up fast. With the introduction of Elektra (Élodie Yung) and a few relationship changes, the pace quickens, dialogue is sharpened, and the action becomes a lot more fun.

Episodes six and seven are by far the season’s best, laying the foundation for an exciting story ahead which I would hate to spoil here, all I will add is that Murdoch’s inner conflict becomes fascinating.

There’s also Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) whose journalistic skills take centre stage as she investigates The Punisher’s past. While her story also begins slowly, it soon picks up, adding yet another dimension to a show which could have easily just focussed on the lead superhero.

Unfortunately, though, it is at the cost of Nelson and Murdoch’s bromance, something you will likely miss from the first season, as is Vondie Curtis-Hall’s Ben Urich, the everyman heart of the show whose shoes have yet to be filled.

Saying that, things are looking promising for the future of the show. Performance wise, Cox, Henson and Woll have remained as brilliant as ever, and Bernthal’s Punisher becomes the live-action version of the character fans have been begging for, as does Yung’s Elektra. They’re both intriguingly complex, with Elektra really standing out as one of the better Marvel characters. Hopefully, the new showrunners can keep the pace they've built up over the first half and deliver another killer Marvel TV show.

Final word: While a wonky juggling act to begin, Daredevil soon settles into a fierce and exciting pace that has me praying to the God’s at Marvel that the show delivers in the second half.

Edit: Some names corrected - apologies commentators - and yes, Rosario Dawson does appear, but only very, very briefly so far, probably just as much as she is in Jessica Jones thus far. Also, for comparison purposes, you can read my glowing review of JJ here.