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| REDEMPTION |
So, I've made the commitment to myself and to you, the audience. I will not binge "Marvel's Daredevil." In a society that demands everything be served to them right away, especially on Netflix, it's almost a crime that we have forgotten about the timeless tradition of waiting for something. Of course we live in a fast-paced world now, with everything to be found with the click of a mouse or the typing of a keyboard, but there is something special about it, and this is why HBO is still so important right now....they still make you wait week to week to see what happens.
This of course brings me to "Daredevil" Marvel's latest foray into TV, only this time without the limits of network rules. For the sake of explanation in these entries, I'll review each episode individually, one a week, for 13 weeks. It's going to take some willpower, but after just one episode I know this isn't a show I'll want to binge; this is a show I'm going to want to savor.
Episode One, entitled "Into the Ring" begins with our origin of a young Matt Murdock involved in a chemical accident, rendering him blind. Boom, origin established. As our episode unfolds we meet an older Matt, now a lawyer, and his partner-in-law, Foggy Nelson, looking for office space in New York's Hell Kitchen. Elsewhere, a young woman named Karen Page is found in her apartment crying over a dead body. The police arrive and instantly she is the suspect of the murder.
Nelson and Murdock take up the case and as things unfold we find out that Page might be a part of something much bigger involving the corrupt construction company, United Allied, and something about pension payments. By the end of the episode most of the loose ends are tied up, but we catch a glimpse of things to come, and frankly, the excitement overwhelms me a little bit.
While there isn't much bad with this first episode, I'll concentrate on all that is good. The film adaptation of "Daredevil" is fuzzy in my mind, and to be honest, I'm not going to revisit it, there isn't much to compare at this time. From top to bottom, "Daredevil" is a very meticulous attempt by Marvel to create a realistic alternative to it's film universe and it's TV brethren "Agents of SHIELD" and "Agent Carter." While DC's TV creations "Arrow" and "The Flash" have ruled many fanboys' TV for the past three years, Marvel's 'Man Without Fear,' will likely leave these two in the dust (full disclosure, I'm still a big fan of "The Flash" melodrama and all).
The casting is A+ with Charlie Cox, who you should remember as Owen Slater from "Boardwalk Empire, as Murdock, sporting a spot on American accent and the martial arts moves to match. Deborah Ann Woll, who played Jessica in "True Blood," plays the woman-in-peril Page with conviction and emotion, and Elden Henson, who you of course remember as Fulton Reed in "The Mighty Ducks" franchise, plays Foggy Nelson with a certain slimy charm.
Full disclosure, I'm not an avid Daredevil reader, but I know the basics, and this season is shaping up to be the perfect balance of back story, fan service, world building, and allusions to future Marvel-ness, namely "The Defenders." In short, you'd be blind to miss "Daredevil."
Fun Fact: The first appearance of Daredevil is in "Daredevil #1" from April 1964.
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