Blind defense lawyer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night. Marvel’s Daredevil on Netflix shows the origins of one of Marvel’s well-known street level heroes, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) aka Daredevil, the man without fear and protector of Hell’s Kitchen. Murdock was blinded as a child when he saved a blind, old man and soon after developed hyper-senses, allowing him to hear a heartbeat across a room or the folding of fabric, feel minute changes in temperature and pressure, taste blood in the air, and smell colon from four floors down, and that’s just the basics. Murdock uses his hyper-senses and martial arts training to fight the crimes of Hell’s Kitchen that would go unnoticed otherwise while opening a law firm with his best friend, Franklin “Foggy” Nelson (Elden Henson) and their first client turn secretary, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll). The trio along with help from Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall), a well-known new reporter, and the occasional patching from Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson, a local nurse Murdock met after a rather rough night, they work to expose the crimes of and take down the notorious Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio).

The acting and characterizations are two of the best things about the show. All of the actors and actresses are all well casted for their roles, wearing them like a second skin. The actors are all gifted in portraying the emotions and inner turmoil of their characters in just the ways they speak to the smallest body language details. The actors and actresses skillful performances help add to the already well-developed characterizations. All of the characters are given motives and reasoning to their actions. Even those without much of the background given are shown reasons in personality and ideals for why they act as they do. The characters are well rounded and are portrayed as a real person. The characters are always, well, in character. The characters behaved as their comic book counterparts as they would be expected to in the MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe. The amazing portrayals by all actors and actresses combined with the on-point characterization are define strong points of the show.

The plot of the show is well-developed and always attention holding. From the first minute of the first episode to the last minute of the finale, you’ll be watching and probably binging the entire season. The plot is well developed and gives you the need to watch more while not frustrating you or prolonging something beyond what it needs to be. They’ve found the perfect balance for building suspense and giving answers, neither overdoing nor underdoing. The action and moments of peace are well placed and reasoned, rarely a moment is wasted on screen, leaving rarely a dull moment. The fight scenes are a special highpoint of the show, with each one being well preformed and detailed and none of the villains going down by a single punch. One of the favored fight scenes take place in episode two, “Cut Man,” and was done is one take. This fight scene quickly became well known soon after the release of Daredevil, both for its skill and for being just plain epic. The overall plot and individual scenes were all well done. The plot is well developed, completing the main story line while leaving enough unsaid to give plenty of room to grow for the already confirmed second season.

An interesting part to me was the themes and the questions of morality in the story. The show spends a good amount of time touching on religious beliefs, Matt’s catholic beliefs. The show depicts religion rather well, both of believers and nonbelievers. Matt’s beliefs are an important aspect in his character, with one of the first scenes being him in confession, asking for forgiveness for what he’s about to do. Matt’s inner conflict stems from his nature conflicting with his beliefs. I enjoyed how they touched on this, showing how Matt considered his nature to be his “devil.” Matt is show to struggle with what he does and the guilt of his actions, yet believes that it is the right thing to do and must be done. While Matt’s a devoted Catholic, Karen is nonreligious and Foggy isn’t specifically stated, though usually considered to not be all that religious. All three question right verse wrong and morality over the course of the season. Morality is often brought up in the show, with questions of what’s right and what’s wrong being asked directly in some episodes. The idea that the line between right and wrong not clean cut, but sometimes blurred and gray often brought up. The show also questions nature verse nurture, especially when comparing Murdock, the protagonist, and Fisk, the antagonist. A common theme between Matt and his friends is that you don’t have to be alone, and having friends helps bear the figurative weight. “Daredevil” also touches on several other themes over its thirteen episodes. I found the themes and questions of the show to be one of the more interesting aspects of the show.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the show “Daredevil.” I would like to note that the show is rated R for a reason. There are several points in the show where some might consider it intense, with suicide referenced in several episodes, murder, torture, and beatings in multiple episodes, with episodes three and eight being the most intense. The show overall is amazing, the cast and characters are specular, and the plot and action and one point. I would highly recommended Netflix’s “Daredevil.”