Daredevil: Born Again (Season 2)

As someone who really enjoyed the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, it pains me to say that I didn't find the second season to be all that engaging. There are plenty of things that I like about it, but the story just failed to captivate me. And there isn't even much of a story to begin with.

Sure, Murdock tries to gather allies in his effort to resist and systematically dismantle Fisk’s corruption - but, what else is new?

My favorite parts of this season are the parts that actually tried to do something different. There just isn’t enough of that here.

Daredevil's new black suit with D's across the chest? Fantastic! Easily the best suit Daredevil has ever worn on screen. It's just a shame that the show doesn't do much with his actual character. Sure, the finale ends with a shocking twist that I personally didn't see coming - and, since Marvel has already started production on Season 3 of Born Again, I definitely want to see how this twist will effect  Murdock's development - but there isn't much growth in between the first and last episodes.

He does develop an interesting dynamic with Bullseye, admittedly enough, but their relationship isn't enough to carry the entire season. Though, Bullseye clearly steals every single scene that he appears in. I mean, killing people with milkshakes and lobsters? That's crazy! Bullseye's a mad man and I absolutely love Wilson Bethel's portrayal of the character.

But the acting is solid from everyone in the cast. I still love Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin, and Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page. These are incredibly talented actors and they're still delivering really good performances here. I just wish the show had more to do for their characters.

And I should probably admit that I only cared for these characters specifically.

BB's propaganda storyline didn't do anything for me. Daniel Blake's turn to becoming a good guy didn't do anything for me. And Angela’s story of becoming the second White Tiger didn't do anything for me.

Heather having PTSD due to her past experience with Muse seemed like a promising storyline, but that plot didn't lead to anything satisfying. In my opinion, at least. And the same can be said for Matthew Lillard's character!

I like Matthew Lillard; I'm glad that he's in the MCU! But I just didn't care for his character at all. Especially since he basically acted as a stand in for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. So, while I hope that his character will have an interesting development in some future project, I have to admit that he didn't really do anything for me here.

I did like seeing Jessica Jones again, though! Especially since - with the reveal of her having a kid - we actually got to see a new side of her character. Unfortunately, while it was nice to see Kristen Ritter again, I don't think her inclusion added much to this story.

And I think my main issue with this season can be perfectly explained with Vanessa's development as a character. Because, while I like how Vanessa's character has been handled in this universe, it's clear that the writers didn't know what to do with her in this season. So, instead of letting her development drag on any further, they just killed her!

Now, we all know that Vanessa's death is a canon event - one that should have given Fisk some interesting development - but it also doesn't build towards anything interesting. Kingpin doesn't go crazy; he doesn't build a super collider; he doesn't do anything!

Which brings me to my issue: despite the fact that we all like these characters, I think their most interesting stories have already been told.

I loved the first few Netflix shows as much as anyone else, but I've also accepted the fact that that era in Marvel's history is over.

Yes, I enjoyed the flashback episode and how it tried to emulate the aesthetic of the Netflix series, but nothing in that episode is as memorable as anything from the original show. Recreating the original aesthetic for a bit - while fun - doesn't make up for how uninteresting the actual story is.

I do like how political the story gets, though. Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Task Force clearly resembles Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And that resemblance definitely made the season feel a bit socially relevant. Which isn't nothing.

Plus, there are some genuinely awesome action sequences sprinkled throughout the season. But, while there are definitely some elements that I  enjoyed about it, that doesn't change the fact that I ultimately found the season to be a bit disappointing. This is definitely my least favorite season of any Daredevil series.

Which means that Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again would, unfortunately, not get a recommendation from me.