5 out of 5

Created by: Drew Goddard

Fantastic.  Not flawless, but a bar raiser: for television, for – gulp – our expectations from Marvel.  The very existence of a full season of a big name licensed property showing up on an online-based service is enough to underline how the nature of how we watch TV has changed, but Daredevil is also very much the first show, to me, of this modern mode that no longer feels like it has any remnants of ‘episodes,’ rather existing as a true whole tale, effectively divvied up into just enough episodes to make it as impactful as possible.  This doesn’t mean there aren’t elements that drift in and out: subplots, filler – but, like one of the first stars of this “new” era of television, Breaking Bad, Daredevil disguises these asides by actually using them to inform the overall story or the characters, such that when you arrive at the final episode, all that came before it feels relevant.  So while I’m not going to claim that someone couldn’t have figured out how to compact this down to a film, the version chosen for the small screen is truly designed for the small screen, and cannot be imagined elsewise without sacrificing the elements that make it so strong.  For Marvel, the company already upped the film ante with Guardians of the Galaxy, proving that an entirely unrecognizable troupe could garner attention – allowing for the fact that the film is a lot of fun, of course – pretty much just based on a brand name.  For home viewing, SHIELD took a while to find its footing, but this confidence seemingly filtered over into Agent Carter, which was remarkably strong without having to rely on constant MCU nods or too much superheroism.  Daredevil might seem like a safer bet because he is a name, but it actually seems like a riskier venture: if Carter fails, no big deal, she doesn’t have to be integral to the bigger picture.  Daredevil is and should be a big picture guy, though, so if you bumble it on your television show, it’s going to be rockier if you ever want to merge the character into the movies.  The decision to build up DDs story more sequentially also shows faith in the richness of these characters…  And the move has paid off.  Matt Murdock’s “rise” to don the red suit – paralleled with Wilson Fisk’s rise to become a magnate of evil – gives these two comic icons incredible grounding, which is important when trying to insert street-beat humans into the oddly more easily swallow-able “bit by a radioactive spider” origins of the MCU leads.  So Marvel has done it, and hopefully not screwed themselves: they’ve conquered film and TV.  Yeesh.

The casting is perfect.  Charlie Cox as Matt / DD nails the intelligence and awareness and humanity of Murdock while also completely believable as a dude that can don some duds, jump around and kick ass.  And, though it seems pithy to say for some reason, he does the blind bit incredibly well: there’s not a moment where I was taken out of the show to realize I’m watching a sighted actor.  Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page may be a little too timid or innocent for real life, but she’s similarly excellent in her role, bringing the right dash of fear and curiosity to her part to make her instantly recognizable as one of DDs slew of damaged women characters (whoops, maybe not a compliment) or, to those not familiar with the comic history, fully acceptable as the type of girl who would get mixed up with Foggy and Matt.  And Foggy, played by Elden Henson.  Although perhaps a side character, equally as important as Matt and Wilson Fisk, and yet again, the show finds the right match to bring the partnership to life.  Foggy, in comics, is something of a bumbling law ingenue, and Elden trades out the bumbling more for jocular, but it works.  It works better than the bumbling would have, given the tone of the show.  And jesus christ Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, the rising kingpin of crime in Hell’s Kitchen.  When first sighted, the timidness in the character’s approach seems like an ill match.  Can D’Onofrio fill the shoes?  Until the show plays its cards that this is all part of the character’s arc, and Vince frighteningly does fill those shoes, one heavy, terrible step at a time.

The production is aces.  The shuffling directors come with slightly different editing shifts, but overall, the show is kept on track with a cohesive feel.  The city breathes; the sets – the bareness of the Nelson / Murdoch office; the cluttered alleyways; Fisk’s minimal home – the sets are precise.  And god bless that Goddard and crew never tried to do any kind of “radar” nonsense for Matt’s ‘sight,’ opting instead for well-paced close-ups or sound filters to let us know how attuned Murdoch is to his surroundings.  And yes, overall we’re crowded with shadows for the series, but it’s never blanketed in utter darkness, even when there’s a man dressed fully in black hopping around in the night.  They remember to let the light in occasionally, or at least to effectively light those many warehouse battles so we can appreciate the excellent choreography.  Tying this all together is an amazing score from John Paesano, which pulses and grows with our characters and the show’s themes.  Many films’ / shows’ music will climax at any given thrilling moment.  Paesano certainly accentuates those moments, but you can feel restraint… which is finally released upon the key confrontation in episode 13.

…So that was my attempt at summarizing.  So, so brief.  Sure: Rosario Dawson disappears, and the amount of fight abuse Matt takes is a little ridiculous, and the final battle can’t help but be a little underwhelming when we’ve had such dynamic choreography the whole way through, but the story… and the writing… and the acting… and the obvious passion of the whole production… make these nitpicks feel only like nitpicks.  Well, Marvel, your high approval rating with Daredevil has shown you’ve won this round.  Good luck on the next.  I’m sure we’ll all be there.