5 things to watch for while binging 'Daredevil' season 2
Spoiler alert! The following contains mild spoilers for the first seven episodes of Daredevil season two.
The Man Without Fear is back. And he's here to entertain you all weekend long.
The second season of Marvel's Daredevil officially arrived on Netflix Friday, all 13 episodes of it. Now since some of you are likely trying to subtly watch it on your work computers right now, and may not be able to pay full attention, a couple of things might slip past you. But don't worry, we rounded up the five most important things to watch out for, at least in the first few episodes. Best of luck on your binge, friends.
1. The Punisher and Elektra
Say hello to the new kids on the block. They're names you've probably heard before (The Punisher had a few movies of his own a bit ago and, yes, this is the Elektra that Jennifer Garner played except not awful). Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, takes over the role of primary antagonist of Daredevil, filling the hole left by Wilson Fisk from last season. Elektra, meanwhile, has a slightly more complicated role to play (ex-girlfriends are like that). You can read all about the new characters in USA TODAY's interviews with the stars here and here.
2. A faster pace
The first season of the show had a nice, slow burn for itself, taking its time to reveal villain Wilson Fisk and really taking advantage of the Netflix binge model, allowing episodes to flow into one another. Season two, on the other hand, starts off with a bang and keeps on giving the hits, one after the other. But before you think the show has changed its tune too far, the more aggressive pacing fits far better with The Punisher. Similarly, Fisk was a slow-burn kind of guy in and of himself. In a neat form-follows-function way, the show is chugging a long at the speed its characters demand. And it's exhilarating.
3. Foggy and Karen 2.0
Matt may not treat his Scooby Gang with the respect they deserve (come on, Matt, really), but that hasn't stopped either Karen or Foggy from growing up a bit after their experiences in season one. Yes, Karen is still investigating and taking risks when she probably shouldn't (and buying this ridiculous story about Matt being an alcoholic? Girl, come on), but she is the glue holding Nelson & Murdock, and their clients, together. Foggy, meanwhile, gets his own, albeit non-traditional, badass moment in a certain episode. You'll know it when you see it.
4. Luke Cage and Jessica Jones reference
Did you miss the other Marvel show on Netflix to debut last year, Jessica Jones? If you did you might not quite catch what Rosario Dawson's Claire (aka Night Nurse) is talking about in an early episode when she discusses about how she helped out another person "like Matt." As in another superhero. She's referring to the finale of Jones when she helped save the life of Luke Cage, Jessica's erstwhile lover with super strength and unbreakable skin (helpful against bullets, not so great for putting an IV in). Dawson has been confirmed to appear in the upcoming solo outing for Cage, making her the true connective thread through all the Marvel series thus far.
5. A fight scene to rival the single take fight from season one
In the third episode of this season, Daredevil takes on what can only be describes as an entire biker gang one after the other as he makes his way down a stairwell. It's a scene that can't truly be described -- it needs to be experienced. The scene feels like a logical cousin of the famous one-take hallway fight scene from season one. But now in season two, it's bigger, harder and even more jaw-dropping. Brace yourselves.
You can scroll through photos from season two below.
