Series Review - Daredevil Season 3 (and thoughts on cancellation)

I have been saying this since 2015 and I'll say it again...Daredevil is no doubt, one of the best T.V. shows, Netflix properties and superhero fiction ever put on screen. I had the pleasure of watching season 3 recently and unsurprisingly, my statement still holds good thereby making this review a bit redundant. I took my time and did not binge on it - like good wine, tasting every sip, thinking about it and reflecting on every episode and it was definitely worth it. Little did I know that I would not be tasting this fine wine ever again but more on that later.

The strength of S3 is not in quantity as with S2 but with quality. We sure do have some new characters this time but they do not seem quite big or iconic...at first. As the series progressed, I noticed that these seemingly minor additions are in fact the main components of the show giving the Devil of Hell's Kitchen a purpose. A lot of time was spent on building up Ray Nadeem, a common working class man who happens to be an FBI agent. Due to an accident in the form of an ambitious career opportunity, he ends up in Wilson Fisk's courtyard. This is where this season's plot is focused.

The story is intricately woven into a sequence of deliberate but unpredictable mishaps and consequences which keeps this season extremely interesting throughout. At one point, I convinced myself this was better than TDK's plot and that is regarded as one of the best superhero films of all time, if not the best films of all time. In my opinion, this season gives TDK a run for its money in terms of complexity and I will fight anyone who says otherwise!

Admittedly, the season starts of quite slow - I'd say until episode 5 after which it moves at mach speed. Emotional scenes scenes don't overstay their welcome and the action scenes are nail-bitingly intense. Speaking of action, there is quite a lot of it this time around with one particular sequence that is notable - about 12 minutes of chaos without even a single cut. Maybe there is, but it was so expertly done that I was unable to spot it even after multiple viewings. Hats off for the choreography and the cinematography. 

Charlie Cox, Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll are, as always, outstanding in their roles as Murdock, Nelson & Page. And it goes without saying that God made Vincent D'Onoffrio to play a comic-book accurate Wilson Fisk. However, the actor who plays Ray Nadeem is, in my opinion, the star of the show. So much weighs on this character mentally and physically and this actor does it all so effortlessly. Another major new character is Bullseye, a sharpshooter and a psychopath who can literally use households objects as throwing weapons to kill his victims. The actor (whose name escapes me) is good but I did not see anything that made the character stand out. If anything, he was to Fisk what Bob was to Nicholson's Joker. The writers do some interesting stuff with his character but it certainly is not something I have never seen.

Now coming back to the sinister clutches of the corporate world, it is not news anymore that Daredevil was canceled a few days after S3 was out. Even with the cancellation of the other Netflix-Marvel properties like Luke Cage and Iron Fist, fans (including myself) were absolutely sure that Daredevil and The Punisher would not see the way of the Dodo as these were Netflix's North Star(s). Alas, the people in suits in their infinite wisdom decided to give the boot stating that the property will live on in "other projects". It is speculated that Daredevil will pick up from where it left off on Disney's streaming service but as to how it'd be done is beyond me; especially since this is a rated R series. It is a shame to see such a wonderful show laid to rest very soon.

I must say, Daredevil S3 surpassed S1 and S2 in every aspect and the only disappointing thing about it is its unfortunate end. But as it stands, it got a proper send-off with the finale in my opinion as if the makers already knew. I implore you all to watch this even though we might not get to experience it again. Don't binge on it, take it slow.

Score - 9/10 (absolutely worth your time)