Daredevil Season 3 Review

Netflix wisely begins the third season of Daredevil with a recap of the story so far. Being reminded of season two and Defenders lowers expectations for the new season. They weren’t bad, merely mediocre. Neither lived up to the high of the explosive first season. Without Wilson Fisk, the show faltered. Kingpin is back and so is the storytelling.

Daredevil balances multiple story lines with ease. Anchoring these story lines is the return of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of crime in New York. Similar to this summer’s Avengers Infinity War revolving around Thanos, Fisk is the center of attention.

This works from a structural and thematic perspective. Punisher showed that Fisk rules his prison; he’s as powerful behind bars as walking free. His climb back to power impacts everyone else in the season. Matt, Karen and Foggy have their own character arcs, but they all shift based on Fisk’s actions. Kingpin is the protagonist, not the hero.

D’Onofrio is electric as Wilson Fisk. The man is a monster, but one that always feels very human. Fisk receives bad news and beats the messenger to death. Brutally violent one moment, D’Onofrio switches from rage to collected calm as he orders the body disposed. In the wrong hands, the scene could go over the top, but here he’s uncontrolled without being manic. He plays just the right side of crazy.

Wilson Fisk isn’t the only stand out villain. Ben “Dex” Pointdexter is an FBI sharpshooter teetering on the edge of a mental illness crisis. We’re treated to an extended look into his past, which mirrors Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk’s. Dead parents and early acts of violence as children join these characters in a shared experience. It’s how they grew from them that defines them.

Matt fights against his pain by helping others. Wilson controls the world around him in a way he couldn’t as a child. Poindexter breaks after his small support system crumbles. Other people replace his own lack of moral compass.

His psychologist and a crisis worker, Julie, help restrain his violent tendencies. Manipulation by Fisk brings out the killer inside Dex. It’s a reflection of old gender stereotypes. Females are emotional and empathetic. Men are violent and sadistic. The show avoids becoming obvious and cliche with this angel/devil on the shoulder situation, building it organically into the character.

Charlie Cox continues to own the role of Matt Murdock. When first announced, I didn’t understand why they cast him for the role. He didn’t look or feel like Daredevil from the comics. The first season proved me wrong. I’m not a casting director. Hats off to Julie Schubert for her skill in that role.

Elden Henson as Foggy shine in his supporting roles. Foggy runs for District Attorney to oppose Fisk. He’s rational, but optimistic to a fault. He’s the perfect counterpoint to the increasingly unhinged Matt Murdock. Plenty of people consider him a low point of the series, but I find him a delightful relief next to the edgy Matt Murdock.

Karen Page, played by Deborah Ann Wolfe, has become Netflix’s new connective tissue between shows after appearing in Punisher. She’s a better fit for the role than Claire Temple. Claire was a reluctant participant in Daredevil’s world, where Karen embraces it. She’s an active force in the narrative, driving it forward and creating moments of change for other characters. Claire would have run from Fisk, where Karen stands up to him.

Daredevil season three’s plot is basic, following Fisk’s return to power. Watching this to see a deep and twisting plot is a mistake. This is a character study. It’s a small-scale story that feels big, because of its impact on the people affected. The Hand doesn’t threaten to destroy the world through a complex string of bizarre events. This season has more in common with Netflix’s Mindhunter than Daredevil season two, and that’s a great change.

Not that everything is perfect. Matt Murdock almost died at the end of the Defenders. He spends the first few episodes struggling with the loss of his sense powers from the trauma he suffered. Depowering the hero is a common comic story line. It’s been done to death. The redeeming feature in Daredevil is how it parallels Matt’s struggle with Fisk return to power.

Daredevil  spends too much time with new character FBI agent Nadeem. Jay Ali does a great job as nave agent Nadeem, but he’s written foolish to the point of disbelief. He’s blinded by desperation and falls for Wilson Fisk’s promise of information and cooperation, but he fails to follow up on leads from Karen and Foggy until its far too late.

Opportunity blinds Nadeem to the danger Fisk presents. The writers make this very clear, but it’s ridiculous to think he wouldn’t check into Karen and Foggy’s possible evidence against Fisk. Having him investigate, but not well enough, would have made the rest of his character arc stronger. Failing to discover the truth would make his eventual fall under Fisk’s control more dramatic.

The action scenes this season are good, but nothing quite hits the high of the first season’s hallway fight. None of them standout as terrible, but that’s because most don’t stand out. There are only two exceptions to this rule, and both involve gunfire.

The first is the dramatic firefight during Kingpin’s transport from prison. There’s genuine tension as they come to kill Kingpin. The audience knows Fisk won’t die, but we’re not close enough to anybody else to be sure they’ll live. Agent Nadeem is the most well known new character present, so killing him off makes the most sense. Instead the show instead uses the attack to introduce another major character. This is the first appearance of Dex, and he comes in like a force of nature. He kills the attackers and disappears. No words, just actions.

The second is another firefight during a prisoner transport. This one features Matt Murdock leading Nadeem through the firefight, while trying to maintain his cover as a blind man. It plays up Nadeem’s reluctance to trust Matt’s enhanced senses at first, but slowly shifts him to trusting Matt’s every command.

Season three overflows with complimenting narratives and scenes. I’ve mentioned a number of story parallels throughout this review, and there’s more. Matt, Dex, Foggy, Fisk, Nadeem and Karen all struggle with their family this season. We get insight into where these characters came from and who they’re attached to. The more I reflect on it, the more impressed I am.

Netflix just cancelled Iron First and Luke Cage. It would be a shame if they cancelled the entire Marvel lineup. Daredevil proves a second season slump doesn’t have to be devastating. Jessica Jones deserves a third season too, and I hope Daredevil gets a fourth.