Daredevil Season 2 trailer breakdown: The Punisher comes to Hell’s Kitchen

in Marvel, Television

Over the past year, Netflix has rolled out an impressive amount of quality original content. From “Making a Murderer” to “Master of None,” the streaming service has found a way to appeal to audiences on a large scale. Perhaps their most popular shows in 2015 were the Marvel series “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones,” and the success of both has laid a strong foundation for the Netflix-based MCU.

With that in mind, Marvel released its first full length trailer for “Daredevil” season 2 yesterday. In case you missed it, here it is below.

Our first reaction was definitely one of excitement, with the trailer primarily focusing on the use of Frank Castle (played by Jon Bernthal) as a foil to Matt Murdock. In many ways, the Punisher and Daredevil could have gone down similar paths, and that is made clear with the emphasis on the line “You know you’re one bad day away from being me?” While Daredevil seeks to clean up the streets of Hell’s Kitchen because it is where his father was killed, Castle is driven by revenge after his family is killed by local criminals.

With that in mind, the trailer does an excellent job of laying the foundation for Castle’s transformation from family man, into the hardened vigilante who will stop at nothing to avenge his family’s murder. The trailer starts at his home, potentially through the eyes of the police or other individuals investigating Castle’s house. With rumors circulating that Frank Castle’s backstory might be altered slightly (potentially drug dealers may have killed his family instead of the mob), it is smart to build the character from the most relatable aspect of his character.

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The use of the mailbox and carousel do well to ground Castle, and create a level of sympathy before he begins his rampage through Hell’s Kitchen. Several shots also establish his considerable arsenal, giving the impression that Castle has a considerable military background. The background is important to establish, as he is a tactical genius on top of his considerable skill as a vigilante. This is often what spurs his comparisons to Batman, as both are not only well equipped, but are physically imposing against many of their antagonists.

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The images of Castle also establish his look for the series. Not surprisingly, his iconic skull image is absent, and that seems likely through most of the season. It is possible he’ll don the image toward the end of the show, but there’s little reason for his to rush out the image. After all, Daredevil didn’t get his red costume until the first season was nearly complete. Not only does Bernthal firmly establish a look that is forged by loss and a lack of remorse, but beneath the surface something else is driving this performance. It would be wise to establish potential connections to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as the character’s initial introduction was driven by the Vietnam war.

This Frank Castle also utilizes Bernthal’s strengths as an actor. He is most known for his work on “The Walking Dead,” but has also played important roles in “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Sicario” as the muscle in various operations. Part of what makes Berthal work in these scenarios is his physical presence, as well as a hint of on-screen charmisma. It looks like Marvel is using both of these aspects of Bernthal to help create a character that we root for, even when he is doing bad or potentially evil things.

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With the Punisher established in great detail through the trailer, it seems that Matt Murdock is going through a journey of doubt and questioning his role in Hell’s Kitchen moving forward. He continues to show off his resolve by telling friends like Foggy Nelson that he has to continue his work because “blood is being spilled,” while those around him begin to question whether or not he is the cause for some of the violence in Hell’s Kitchen. A similar aspect was posed in the Dark Knight trilogy, and it makes sense that Daredevil’s actions would spawn copy cats and potential escalation from criminals.

He also seems to be in a bit of juggling act with the women in his life. While a previous relationship had been forged with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) in season 1, it looks like Matt will have his hands full with a potentially budding relationship with Karen Page (Deborah Ann Wolf), and his ex-girlfriend Elekra Natchios coming back into his life.

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With Murdock facing both personal turmoil, as well as physical beatings on a nightly basis, it is hard to imagine that he will be in the best mindset to deal with every problem that comes his way. While he does still have support from his friends, it is possible some of that support will run its course during the season’s run. After all, Foggy has already voiced his displeasure with Matt putting himself on the line. Maybe the physical toll will be too great at some point for his friends to let Murdock kill himself.

The physical match between the Punisher and Daredevil is also established well. Not only are there several instances where the two do battle in the trailer, but when you look at Daredevil’s costume up close, it looks like even his armor is having trouble keeping up with the beatings.

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The most striking thing from the costume as it appears in the image above is the stitching down the middle of his mask. It appears that during the course of the season, Matt will be beaten on so thoroughly that his actual mask will crack in two. It also adds an cool aesthetic choice to his costume, with the image essentially resembling a scar across his mask. The “scarring” blends well with the darker costume, with more of the armor showcasing the black ninja suit style, mixed with dark red from his costume from season 1. It’ll be interesting if it kept on as part of the costume to further inspire fear in those who go up against him.

Daredevil Season 2 Title Card

Overall, there was a lot to take in from the trailer, and with a second trailer exploring Elektra only a couple of weeks away, it will be exciting to see how much is revealed. A lot is going to happen in this season of “Daredevil” but if the last season proved anything, the show is more than up for the task.

Daredevil” Season 2 premiers on Netflix on March 18th, 2016. It returns stars Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Wolf, Elden Henson, Rosario Dawson and adds newcomers Jon Bernthal, Elodie Yung, and Stephen Rider.

in Marvel, Television

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