Even if you’ve never seen the show before, you’ll still really enjoy it.
It’s somewhat unfortunate that on the same week when Netflix announced that Luke Cage was being axed, they released the finest series in the Marvel TV universe to date.
Granted, the fact that Disney are about to launch their own streaming service, Disney + , might have something to do with the news regarding the futures of Iron Fist and the Hero of Harlem on Netflix, but when it comes to Daredevil, the online streaming giant and Marvel have already come close to perfection.
In many ways, Season 3 of Daredevil is so good that if this is the end for ‘The Man Without Fear’ on TV -Vincent D’Onofrio is confident that we’ll be seeing more Daredevil though- it couldn’t have been timed any better because in many ways, Erik Oleson (showrunner) took what Nolan did so well in The Dark Knight and added to it.
These people agree and here’s why you really need to be watching Season 3 of Daredevil.
This daredevil tv is sooooo beautiful. someone said it was the dark knight of tv and I can’t unsee it now.
— Bari (@baridura) November 4, 2018
So far, Daredevil Season 3 has been The Dark Knight of TV shows.
— nation of (@NationOfEagles) November 2, 2018
Daredevil Season 3 is literally to Superhero tv series what the dark knight was to Superhero movies, just wow!
— Muad’dib (@Fredilo_) October 30, 2018
@Daredevil with its season 3 has taken the superhero series standard to an all new level.
Matched the standards of Nolan's Dark Knight.— Mallhar (@sixyardbox_) November 4, 2018
Sympathy for the Devil.
Ok, if you’re coming to the character blind (pardon the gag), here’s what’s it all about.
A blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night. Matt Murdock fights the crime of New York as Daredevil. In his legal career, he’s helped by his best friend Foggy Nelson and the ballsy Karen Page – a woman that Daredevil rescued from attackers.
Both Foggy and Karen don’t know Matt’s secret identity. In terms of villains, Daredevil squares off against Wilson Fisk – a powerful, fiercely-intelligent, and ruthless gangster.
That’s it in a nutshell.
The obvious question.
We know what you’re thinking? Do I have to see the first two seasons of Daredevil to fully appreciate Season 3?
Well, it certainly helps because Season 1 is a bloody great piece of TV that’s brimming with wonderful fights, a superb hero in Matt Murdock, great performances and a truly iconic villain in Wilson Fisk.
Ok, spoiler alert because here are the cliff notes regarding the plot.
Season 1 – Matt Murdock fights for justice during the day and becomes a vigilante by night. After his father died and an accident left him blind as a child, his anger and rage are syphoned into his alter ego. Karen kills one of Fisk’s henchmen in self defence, there’s an epic fight in the hallway, Matt becomes Daredevil, Fisk goes to jail. The end.
Season 2 – We learn about a sinister organisation called The Hand that are plotting to take over New York, Daredevil’s arc is pushed aside to make room for The Punisher and Elektra, there’s an awesome sequence with ninja zombies at a hospital, there’s literally a gigantic plot hole in a mysterious New York building, Elektra *probably* dies, the friendship between Matt/Foggy/Karen is at breaking point.
The Defenders – Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Daredevil team up to fight The Hand, Sigourney Weaver is terribly underused, the season ends with a building falling on Matt Murdock but he manages to escape, Foggy learns that Matt is Daredevil, it’s not a great show.
Thankfully, Season 3 of Daredevil is good enough to give The Dark Knight a run for his billions. Here’s why.
The villains
Much like The Joker and Killmonger in Black Panther, Vincent D’Onofrio’s performance is so good that despite your best judgements, you’ll be drawn to his magnetic mix of brutality, sophistication and charm. In Season 3, Fisk starts the whole proceedings behind bars but much like Heath Ledger’s iconic character, there’s always a plan.
If The Joker was primarily concerned with showing that anarchy reigns supreme and “when the chips are down, these… these civilised people, they’ll eat each other,” then Wilson Fisk is primarily concerned with proving that society is rotten to the core.
The institutions that we trust with our protection are tainted because people are just that, people. They’ve got weaknesses, breaking points, flaws, violent tendencies, ambition, pressures, emotional needs, mental health issues etc.
Fisk is clever enough to exploit and manipulate every single one of these.
Ultimately, what makes Season 3 of Daredevil so good is how Fisk taps into the mind of a seemingly ‘good’ character and twists them until they can no longer recognise themselves in the mirror.
In doing so, it overtly references the fall of Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight when the righteous D.A embraced anarchy and became Two-Face.
As he said, “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” The new axis of evil in Hell’s Kitchen provides Season 3 of Daredevil with some of its best moments and the rise of Bullseye in Daredevil is a joy to behold.
Also, the sheer brutality on offer can even rival The Joker’s famous magic trick with a pencil.
Hammers, baseballs, knives, laptop screens, church pews, a pair of scissors.
If it’s not nailed to the ground, it’s used in a fight sequence.
The Arc
The Dark Knight was a crime epic that masqueraded as a comic book film.
The greatest trick that the (Dare)devil ever pulled is managing to get away with it’s overt leanings towards the horror genre. With the PG-13 restrictions reserved for its big-screen Marvel counterparts lifted, Daredevil revels in violence and darkness. This is best seen in an epic 11-minute long take that’s like a personal descent into hell as Matt has to fight for his life with villains coming at him from every angle. All hell breaks loose.
Torture, death, and violence lurk in every corner of Hell’s Kitchen and yet, Matt Murdock has a strict no-kill policy.
At the start of the season, he’s broken physically and mentally. Matt wonders if Daredevil is his true self and Matt is the mask, much like Bruce Wayne wonders the same about Batman.
In many ways, he’s the walking embodiment of Catholic guilt and yet, he revels in the bloody and physical aspects of vigilante crime fighting.
You could make a case that Agent Ray Nadeem, brilliantly portrayed by Jay Ali, is the real hero of the show because his story arc is far more interesting than Murdock’s.
We’re not going to spoil too much about what’s in store, but as the final credits roll, let’s just say that you’ll be taking a far more vested interest in the potential merger between Disney/Marvel with Fox.
On that note, we’re urging whoever takes creative control of Daredevil to let current team retain creative control.
Trust us, it’s better the devil you know.
Clip via Netflix
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