Netflix’s Daredevil – sorry, Marvel’s Daredevil, because Marvel insists on sticking its name at the front of all its properties now, like some corporate Tyler Perry, no matter how clunky it makes the titles or how immature it makes the company look – is off to a hell of a start. It hits the ground running, and its pilot episode “Into the Ring” very clearly wants to get exposition done with as quickly as possible. That urgency makes for some occasionally clunky storytelling, but for the most part this is a very successful hour of television.
The opening sets the tone: Matt Murdock’s father cradling his boy in the wake of a car accident that robs him of his sight, all while the child howls “I can’t see!” Good stuff. (No word on whether or not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will come into play during the series’ run.) Then we’re in the present day, where Matt and his law partner Foggy Nelson are renting a new office space. The scene with the realtor has its ups and downs, which hopefully isn’t indicative of the entire show. The down: Matt and Foggy lay out their legal philosophies to a realtor who has to be very uninterested; Matt only wants to represent clients who he knows are innocent, whereas Foggy wants to represent anyone whose check won’t bounce. Sure, whatever, but there must have been a better way to introduce this (it doesn’t help that Elden Henson, playing Foggy, tends to overact every third or fourth line). But the up is very promising: the realtor says that rent in Hell’s Kitchen has gone way down after “the incident,” by which she means Loki’s attack on New York in The Avengers – sorry, Marvel’s The Avengers – which is a pretty brilliant way of weaving Marvel’s televised and cinematic worlds together. Sure, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. exists, but Daredevil is a much more grounded show, free (so far) of magic or flying cars, and Matt Murdock has no connection as of yet to the Avengers, so through his eyes (see what I did there?) we can see how the everyday citizens of New York were affected by the Chitauri invasion. Smart storytelling.
Nelson & Murdock take on their first client (ever), Karen Page, played nicely by True Blood‘s Deborah Ann Woll, who always managed to rise above the stupid shit she had to say and do on HBO’s pulpy vampire soap. Karen is introduced holding a bloody knife and staring in horror at a dead man; we know she’s innocent, but once again Daredevil makes a hell of an introduction.
Through Karen, Murdock’s world is set to collide with that of Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin, who isn’t seen in “Into the Ring,” but only heard speaking (the less-is-more approach really works; Daredevil is clearly working up to a big reveal scene for Vincent D’Onofrio). Karen knows that her employer, Union Allied Construction, has been embezzling funds, and it almost costs her her life. While behind bars for murder, a prison guard named Farnham tries to kill her; she fends him off, but the next assassin sent after her, Rance, poses a better chance of finishing her, until Daredevil shows up.
I’m sure you’re wondering (actually, you’re probably not; I can’t imagine you’d be reading this if you haven’t watched the show): how are the fights? The answer is, pretty fucking good. The violence is realistic and inelegant; Daredevil doesn’t speak during the altercations, and music is sparsely used, if it’s used at all. Punches and kicks land with a dull thud (nice work by the foley department), and most importantly, Daredevil is pretty evenly matched in the two fights he gets into in “Into the Ring.” He doesn’t swoop in and immediately kick everyone’s ass, and it’s a wise move on the show’s part, because even though Charlie Cox looks like this –
– Daredevil is insisting that he’s not a superhero, he’s a crime fighter. You know his nickname: The Man Without Fear. Man is the operative word there (compare that to the “Invincible” Iron Man, the “Incredible” Hulk, the “Amazing” Spider-Man, and so forth). Daredevil doesn’t structure itself like a superhero show; it’s more of a procedural that happens to center around a man who puts on a mask and beats the shit out of bad guys. The phrase “dark and gritty” is massively overused, but it’s also pretty applicable here. Hell’s Kitchen looks nothing short of terrifying, and “Into the Ring” ends with a montage showing a suicide, a murder, and the cries of a child being kidnapped. It’s a solid, confident debut, and it bodes well for the rest of the season.
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