The MCU-fication of Daredevil hurts.
So I decided to make a list of all the decisions that are (imo) hurting this show.
1) making it an ensemble. It’s the stupidest decision ever because the show is already full of too many characters so you’re just taking away precious time from your leads.
2) making it a Matt vs Fisk show. While yes Fisk was always the main nemesis of Daredevil in the OG show, his screen time however, remained contained. Made us both appreciate his development when we got it and also fear him more when we didn’t see him.
3) not only they decide to make it a "Team Red" vs Team Fisk but they also decide to focus on the villains more than necessary???? Why are Buck, Daniel and Heather for example getting way more focus than Kirsten, Angela and Cherry? (Not that I care about Cherry lmao but you know what I mean. Like why did he disappear and Buck has a personality now ?)
4) The lack of focus on Matt inevitably hurts the characters on his team. So for example Karen gets crumbs of a storyline and is left with maybe 5 minutes to shine every other episode. The other people on his team ? Lol. Lmao even.
5) I’m sorry but. Even with the screentime he gets Matt is so so SO misunderstood in his own show. He is relegated to a guy who simply hears other characters (Dex in ep 5, Karen in ep6) and doesn’t really express himself or his thoughts clearly leaving the audience to even wonder wth is going on inside his brain (and if we didn’t have 3 seasons of OG show I swear it would be impossible to even get his thought process this season. So we’re left making up excuses for him : he’s in deep denial etc etc)
6) This all makes us feel like the showrunner frankly doesn’t care much about the hero of the story and isn’t interested much in writing him. The villains and/or antiheroes are his main priority because apparently Vanessa Fisk can have multiple episodes dedicated to her anxiety pre-death and get 3 episodes focusing on her final moments. In an 8episodes season. Right.
7) The fast pace. It’s just too much. It’s scene after scene after scene. None of the quiet moments get to breathe and so the delivery is affected because the audience doesn’t get to sit with a character. Actors are rarely given TIME to truly showcase their range.
7) BIG sigh but. Romance. They simply don’t know how to write it. And I hate to be like “they need a female consultant” bc romance was well done in the OG show and all 3 showrunners were men… but yeah they really need it. (With a few exceptions here and there in the OG show obviously it wasn’t perfect but it was really realistic when it came to how Matt was portrayed as a partner/lover etc). I say this as Karedevil shipper btw: the decision to make them more mature and settled in their relationship isn’t what’s wrong. They are in their late 30’s/ early 40’s and they’ve known each other for more than a decade AND have had something going on even pre-Born Again (“The Friends Code”). It makes perfect sense. But the problem is : the show got cancelled mid-storyline for them. The OG show was supposed to be a 6 seasons long slow burn for these two. The least they can do is give us hints and flashbacks of how it all happened for them to get to this moment. In ep5 for example: why not simply make it a flashback during the Missing Years? It would have been not only a great way to show the impact Foggy has had on BOTH Matt and Karen but also let us see a glimpse of the main couple’s dynamic pre-Born Again. They just reunited after a year being separated yet not one line hinting at it or the fact that they’re both clingy-er than usual for obvious reasons. I will also add : the drop in quality regarding the directing/ cinematography/ score is deeply hurting their portrayal as well. I have already talked about it before but you only have to compare Matt and Karen’s first kiss or their first date episode to Born Again and you can see the difference in the care given to those quiet romantic moments. The lighting/ the blocking / the weird camera angles is hurting Charlie and DAW’s A+ performance. Seriously the only ~romantic~ moments (not counting the fights because those are always my favs 🥰) I genuinely loved for them were early in the season when 1) we first see them in ep1 and their first kiss in the new show and 2) the cuddles in bed scene that felt very realistic and showcased their easy chemistry. I have wayyy more thoughts on how the showrunner’s misguided approach of this dynamic (he talked about how their love is “pure” which I don’t really disagree with but Matt and Karen’s relationship will ALWAYS be messy. Always. That’s the beauty of it and not something to sanitize.) hurts their portrayal but I want to keep this list more general.
8) I am not someone who advocates for intimate scenes in TV shows lmaooo but going from Netflix to this PG13 version is simply jarring (and I don’t understand… they can let them curse but they can’t show the main couple… be a couple…???) It just hurts the show overall because once again : the relationships (whether platonic or romantic) are not given their due time to shine.
9) The quality drop in the dialogue. Not only do we not get the religious debates back but even when they touch upon morality (Karen’s crash out which is glorious) we are left watching one party make their arguments while the other is simply left uttering vague statements such as “this isn’t you” (really? Really??? Last I heard Matt Murdock was a lawyer.) The lack of intelligent repartee simply makes for a dumbed down version of the previous show which was so willing to get to the bottom of a moral dilemma.
10) Which brings us to : the tiktok-fication of modern tv shows and how Born Again is no exception. Characters are not given time to speak but also: too many scenes are shot to get a reaction out of a Tiktok audience. “Cool” action shots, Matt is reduced to an action hero, Karen is given a few “badass” scenes to show she’s a modern independent woman!! (And before you misunderstand my point it’s not that she’s given those types of scenes that’s the problem. It’s way deeper than that and I can’t talk about in depth in this list), sexualisation of violent acts on screen just to get hype (Matt and Dex / Karen and Dex and the way they’re being directed + Heather and Buck (at the very least this one actually makes sense storyline wise and isn’t cheap baiting)). So yeah.
Feeling very disappointed because I wanted to believe in this new show. I really did. But I think it’s time to simply move on and wish good luck to the OG actors who imo deserve way better.
