It takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, more precisely in the New York right after the first Avengers movie, but, besides a few mentions to a generic incident (at first I thought they were talking about 9/11) it doesn't have much in common with that. It is dark, deeply dark, not only because it takes place mostly at night (so cool shots and exciting fight scenes), but also because it explores the human brutality at a new different level.
The main character, Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, a blind lawyer fighting for the good cause during the day, dark vigilante beating up criminals during the night. In his quest for justice, for saving his city, he faces the loneliness of the heroes, lying to his friends and pushing them away from him. I found this character perfect in how it was presented along the two seasons. Yes, of course being a blind unarmed ninja with the spirit of an old-style boxer helped a lot in this judgment, but the main reason is another.
Daredevil is essentially and deeply a story of a hero finding his own limits and paying the price every time he tries to pass them. In the first seasons, such limits were coming almost exclusively from his enemies, the criminals. That first season, building up the existence of an obscure evil organization controlling the city, was groundbreaking by itself. I can't remember a TV show where the tension and the revealings where managed so perfectly along the entire season. The limit of Daredevil was to fight a faceless enemy, one punch at a time, without any specific direction. Only when the viewer started to appreciate that frustration, they gave us Wilson Fisk, powerful, apparently invincible. In season 2, on the other hand, the limits are coming also from his allies and friends. Even the worst characteristic of Matt Murdock (keep repeating to people his moral value, very catholic to some extent) is finding its limitations when put in front of the truth by Foggy, a very human character, the archetype of the mistreated best friend that keeps everything together.
When the good guy is the Devil, you expect a lot from the bad ones and this show is freaking perfect. We mentioned Wilson Fisk, the central character in the first season, the definitive step up when he makes his appearance in the second one. We saw his childhood drama and we saw how powerful he became before the Daredevil came in to ruin everything. I really appreciated that they didn't explain to us how that child became such a rich and powerful man, I like this kind of things to be a mystery. Season three will probably be about his rise from the ashes of the jail, painting the town with the blood of his enemies and chasing his loved Vanessa. I'm really looking forward to it.
I can't find any problem in the first season (maybe it can be slow from time to time), but something was wrong with the second one. Before telling you about that, let me say that I find it even better than the first one, this is how good the second season is.
The Punisher is perfect. The interpretation, the fury, the madness, the precision, all of that is hitting you from episode one, with violent power. Then it kinda fades away, they decide to develop the two stories in parallel, the more realistic one with the Punisher, the trial, the violence in prison, Wilson Fisk, and the more esoteric one, with Daredevil and Elektra. Although it works, from time to time the contrast in the tone of the two story lines is too evident and less enjoyable.
As a more evident problem in this season, I found the entire Blacksmith plot a mistake. I mean, they could have just mentioned his existence and his responsibilities in Frank Castle's family murder, leaving to the next season (or to the upcoming Punisher's spinoff) to solve it. Instead, they just introduced a very mysterious character, that you identify in the next episode and you see die in the one after that. The effect is just noise in an already very dense season.
In conclusion, those two aspects notwithstanding, the second season lived up to the expectations of the first one and paved the way for an exciting third season and spinoffs. The story, the characters, the action scenes, the human struggle and the great use of the lights have already made this show the best in its genre. We just need to wait another year to be amazed again.
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