Review of Daredevil: Season 3

By Dave B.

In Daredevil: Season 3 (Netflix, Marvel), a gravely injured Matt Murdock recovers from injuries sustained at the end of Defenders (viewing previous Marvel/Netflix shows is not required to understand the events in this season of Daredevil, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt). He’s lost hearing in one ear, as well as his senses of smell and taste. As he recovers in the basement of a church, he finds himself estranged from God, his friends, and even himself: he wants to discard his existence as Matt Murdock and exist solely as his alter ego, Daredevil, a vigilante who’s only rule is that he will not kill. That rule is put to the test when Daredevil must confront his archnemesis Wilson Fisk and deal with the rise of a new threat…one who never misses a shot.

​The newest installment of Daredevil may be the best one yet. It serves as a kind of soft reset of the Daredevil character and series, going back to elements that worked in first season, but were lacking or less focused on in the second. Netflix’s Daredevil series always has the best fights of any of its collaborations with Marvel and Season One was highly regarded for its gritty and intense fight scenes. While nothing this season compares to the first season’s “Hallway Fight”, the same sort of primal brutality is present in most of season three's episodes. The Prison Fight in episode four is particularly impressive and intense. This season also benefits from increased screen time for Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). D’Onofrio was born to play this character and steals nearly every scene that he’s in. He perfectly portrays Kingpin’s combination of intelligence, ruthlessness, and rage, making him one of the most effective (and occasionally one of the most relatable) Marvel villains. 

Generally, I’m not a fan of when a show or movie has more than one major antagonist at a time. Plots tend to lose focus, the movies/episodes run overly long, and none of the villains end up being portrayed as of big of a threat as they may deserve (Spider-Man 3 and Daredevil: Season 2 are perfect examples of these problems). The third season of Daredevil deftly avoids these issues by having the primary antagonist (Fisk) create the secondary antagonist (guess who!) This allows the man who doesn’t miss to be an instrument of Fisk’s will, avoiding the need for screen time and plot focus to be awkwardly and excessively split between the two.

​My only significant complaint about Daredevil: Season 3 is that most of the major plot lines (except for one huge one) are entirely predictable. Throughout its 13 episodes, it’s easy to guess what will happen next. Fortunately, in most of the episodes, the next fight or explosion is right around the corner, so there is little opportunity to become overly bored. I’m recommending this season of Daredevil and ranking it behind only the first season of Jessica Jones as far as Netflix’s Marvel shows. 

Rating: 8/10