Daredevil Season 2, Episode 1 Recap And Review: “Bang”
This past Thursday, March 17, 2016, should have felt like the night before Christmas for any Marvel Cinematic Universe fan. For me, it did. I’m located in Denver, Colorado and once 12:55 a.m. arrived, I kept refreshing my Netflix feed hoping that the new season of Daredevil would show up … and eventually it did!
Episode One of Season Two — titled “Bang” — delivered quite a bit of an emotional explosion and then some.
Not-So-Short Summary: There is a mysterious new player in Hell’s Kitchen who is taking out all of the competition. This new “vigilante” is running around and killing the bad guys (not that it’s a terrible thing to do), but the way in which he’s eliminating them is disturbing.
We are first introduced to this mysterious figure not by face, but by action. The Irish mob is having a celebration of sorts because of the demise of Wilson Fisk and the elimination of the Yakuza. The Irish celebrate the fall of their enemies.
Meanwhile, we catch up with our legal heroes: Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson at Nelson & Murdock, where business has been picking up lately. Unfortunately, more clients do not equal more money because Nelson & Murdock work pro-bono, so no money was entering the bank.
Once the public hears about the Irish mob hit, Daredevil takes it upon himself to track down this new killer. It seems that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is always one step behind. His trail leads him to an old meat packaging center. At the center, Daredevil stumbles upon dying men hanging from the meat rack, which was a very disturbing site.
On the other side of Daredevil’s double-life, Foggy and Karen decide to take on the case of Grado, a fishy Irish hitman who was the only one to escape the Irish mob hit seen earlier in the episode. This was not the first hit on the Irish mob … I mean, we’re talking about the mob of course. But it is the first time the mob or any of the gangs in Hell’s Kitchen have been attacked by a militia-type group. War is on the way on both sides of Murdock’s life, his law firm with Grado, and Daredevil chasing down this new assailant.
Eventually, Daredevil finally catches up with this new murderer and finds out that this person is not of a group, just himself. However, in the midst of battle, the assailant catches Daredevil by surprise and shoots him in the head.
Miscellaneous Musings and Thoughts: Wow, what an opening episode. Over the first season, fans of Daredevil have gotten used to seeing Matt Murdock losing a fight but not like that, he was actually left for dead. It’s a good thing Foggy was there, or some unsuspecting trash man may have discovered the true identity of the hero in red.
Another highlight is that sparks are still flying between Karen and Matt. Sure the two try to hide their affections for one other, but the chemistry is there and the personal connection is as clear as day. Also, Foggy has really come into his own as a person. Not only did he try to get information for his client, but he went inside the belly of the beast for that information.
Only one episode in and the supporting cast has already proven that they’ve stepped up their acting game. Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, and Jon Bernthal were excellent in their respective roles in this opening episode.
One of the key arguments that occurred in this episode — and an overall current theory throughout the Marvel universe — is if heroes actually have the right to be a hero with no restraint.
The way the episode ended was intense, but had me ready to see the next installment immediately. I’m just thankful this show isn’t on a weekly schedule.