While at times the characters got too chatty and analytical (making the pace dip), this season was still just as good as season one. At times I felt like I didn’t entirely know what was going on, maybe because I wasn’t paying close enough attention. I could barely remember Nobu from the first season, so that tells you I need to rewatch some parts…
Scott Glenn is still a jarring actor to watch as Stick, missing punchlines by a hair so that it takes you out of the story. But you still forgive him, as his role in the story arc starts to make more sense (cue Elektra–AKA dear little “Ellie” in this series).
Jon Bernthal as the Punisher was a good choice, though his lines were a bit too melodramatic and used to fluff up the time (“I miss my family sooooooooo much”–that kind of thing. We get it). Elektra’s lines, too, were a bit over the top. She comes off as as an intelligent, calculating woman until the writers have her open her mouth. She asks Matt with childlike panic “Do you still love me?” after killing someone he tells her not to and I cringed–perhaps the delivery was just a bit too off to make that line work as something she’d say aloud. It’s as if the writers couldn’t decide whether or not her childhood trauma would keep her childish.
When Matt Murdock is cleaning blood off of Stick’s lips with precision, you can see his eyes following his own finger. HOW DOES HE KNOW THERE IS BLOOD ON HIS FACE HE CAN’T HEAR IT. But I can make excuses for it; Maybe Stick told him where the blood was, whatever.
The climax and wrap-up went too quickly–another problem with the pace. It was also, perhaps, too neat: the Punisher’s storyline twist was a bit too intricate and tidy for me–I had to resist rolling my eyes.
But all of these finger-waggings aside, I find myself still making excuses for the show. They’re little nit-pickings that I happily overlook. I just hope the writers and producers read this and are reminded not to get too sloppy, now.
[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name – singular) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, goodreads, and Vulcan’s shit list.]
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