It’s a shame that Andor has already started because I’ve already stopped thinking about Daredevil: Born Again. Heh. But still, I’m here to talk about my thoughts on the first season of the new Daredevil show. And like the Marvel Zombie I am, I enjoyed the season, though I don’t think it lived up to the hype.

TV Show Rating: 7/10 – Good

I watched and enjoyed the original three seasons of Daredevil when they came out on Netflix. I binged them just like everybody else, and I enjoyed all three seasons. I’m not the biggest Daredevil fan, but I’ve read a lot of his comics and I’m always in favor of more Marvel entertainment. I’ve definitely been fully on board with bringing back the original actors to revive the Netflix show. I just wish it had been a little stronger.

Join me after the jump for my full thoughts/review of the first season of Daredevil: Born Again. Expect FULL SPOILERS for the whole season. And feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments below!

6. An entertaining show, but rough around the edges

I liked Daredevil: Born Again and had a fun time watching the show. The acting was great, the storytelling was very strong, and all of the characters were fun. They did well with the parallels between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, and both had interesting stories. I’ve especially enjoyed Kingpin’s journey as mayor, and using politics and his office to only strengthen and embolden his evil. I liked the stronger use of Bullseye as a super villain instead of just a killer, though more on him later. And I enjoyed the final two episodes. They did a great job building up to the upcoming second season. I think my favorite episode was probably the bank heist episode because it was just pure superhero badassery. Matt Murdock uses his powers and skills to thwart a crime-in-progress, while learning that he can’t stop himself from being a hero. And then Kamala Khan’s father is his sidekick in the episode, which was a great choice!

But as entertaining as the show was, it was also definitely rough around the edges. The story is that the first showrunners were making a completely different legal drama that just happened to bring back Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio. Marvel wasn’t happy with that — for good reason — and they brought in some new showrunners to redo the season. Unfortunately, the large majority of the season was already filmed, so all they could do was try to reshape things. I think the first episode and then the last two were the only ones done completely by the second creative team.

Suffice to say, it shows. Storylines and pacing felt rough at times. Characters felt weak at times. I was pretty fine with all of it in general, but the writing definitely wasn’t as sharp as it could have been. The arcs weren’t as sharp as they could have been. I probably can’t name anything specific, just a vibe as the show went along. The energy and acting were there, but the overall presentation was not as strong as it could have been. Born Again just didn’t live up to the hype that preceded it.

5. Muse was mostly fine

Not every villain needs to be a season-spanning bad guy like Wilson Fisk. Daredevil should definitely fight some smaller villains over the course of only a couple of episodes, or even just one episode. Nothing wrong with that. And I felt Muse sufficed in that regard. He was spooky, he was dangerous, and Daredevil defeated him like a good superhero should. And Muse helped inspire some other storylines, like the anti-vigilante task force, so he served a lot of purposes. But his last episode definitely felt rushed. I know we set up that Muse was interested in Heather early on, but suddenly having him go super crazy in one of their sessions felt a bit too much. Plus, Heather is not only Matt’s new girlfriend and Fisk’s marriage counselor, but she’s also the target of obsession of the serial killer? That definitely felt like too much suddenly thrust upon us in a single episode.

I guess what I’m trying to say is we need an episode that is just Matt fighting Stilt-Man.

4. All actors did a spectacular job

Even if the season didn’t live up to the hype, everybody acted their butts off and did a great job. No complaints there! Cox and D’Onofrio fit their roles like a glove, and were perfect — though D’Onofrio is showing his age a bit. But that can’t be helped. Obviously it was the right idea to bring back Karen and Foggy, and Deborah Ann Woll easily proved why she needs more acting work with only a few short scenes. She better be around for more of season two. I was also quite pleased with the new characters, like Margarita Levieva as the new love interest, Heather, and Nikki M. James as Kristen Mcduffie as the new legal partner. Cherry, White Tiger (RIP), the commissioner and all the other new characters were, likewise, solid additions to the world. The jerk cops in the anti-vigilante task force are sufficiently evil and asshole-ish The show even got me on board with BB Urich in the final episode, even if she’s not Phil Urich…

3. The Daredevil CGI is really wonky

I realize that Daredevil is very acrobatic in the comics, swinging and jumping over rooftops. But every time they tried to replicate that on the show looked terrible. The CGI was not there, and those scenes were unnecessary. It was very present in the first episode when we first see Daredevil, especially when he and Bullseye start fighting in the bar. Just bad. The show would have lost nothing to take out that CGI and find other ways to show Daredevil moving. Hopefully they have time to do it better for season two.

Also, while I’m on the subject, when Matt finally makes his return in costume against Muse, they should have had his return be that cool shot of him running down the subway tracks towards Muse. We didn’t need that wonky rooftop sequence. The running was damn cool.

2. Needs more costumes

I like the Daredevil costume. It could definitely use the “DD” on the chest, but that’s not a deal breaker for me. The costume looks good, both standing still and in action. But the show needed more costumes. I can handle the Punisher not wearing a costume. I prefer him in civvies/police gear. But all we saw of the Swordsman was a quick video clip? Meh. And Bullseye couldn’t even have one bullseye on his forehead? His outfit in the first episode looked really good! They really couldn’t give him one logo?! At least the White Tiger costume looked great, so perhaps the show had more than I gave it credit for.

1. Season two needs a real vigilante army

Marvel missed a huge opportunity to have Jessica Jones and/or Luke Cage in that bar at the end of the season. After Punisher gets captured and Daredevil figures out the full scope of Fisk’s operation, he literally says that he needs an “army” to fight it. Then when the episode reveals this so-called army, it’s just Cherry, the aging bartender Josie, that one good cop from the bank robbery episode, and then a couple of uniformed cops that we don’t yet know. What a let down.

This is a moment where Marvel needs to step up and make some decisions and introduce some characters. They put Swordsman in Fisk’s secret jail, which is fine. But get on the phone to the actors behind Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Get them into season two. You went so far as to bring back the entire Daredevil show from the Netflix era. Now is not the time to skimp out on bringing back all of those characters as well. And create some new characters! How many minor street-level vigilantes exist in the comics that could easily transition into the MCU through this show? Pretty much all of the New Warriors, from any generation of that team. The Slingers, the Heroes 4 Hire, Nightwatch, original Prowler, Paladin, Blindspot; and that’s just a bunch off the top of my head. They’re never getting movies. They’re never getting their own TV shows. Just put them into Born Again season 2 and make your damn vigilante army!

White Tiger’s niece damn well better have kept that magic amulet, is what I’ve got to say about that.

Honorable Mention: Dalton & Bernthal

Based on the last few minutes we saw of Wilson Fisk’s secret prison, we better have an extended sequence where Jon Bernthal’s Punisher teams up with Tony Dalton’s Swordsman in an escape attempt or I will be so cross!

———————-