If there’s one thing the first two seasons of Daredevil taught us, it’s that you just can’t keep Matt Murdock down.
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Left to an uncertain fate at the end of The Defenders crossover series, the blind vigilante returns to action October 19 in season 3 of the series, a joint production of Netflix and Marvel Television. Daredevil’s third season picks up where The Defenders left off, and brings back much of the series’ recurring cast — including Charlie Cox as the titular blind attorney who moonlights as the hero of Hell’s Kitchen, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, and Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson — along with some fresh faces.
Digital Trends got an early look at Daredevil season 3‘s first six episodes, and while our full review of those episodes will run October 12, we can offer up some spoiler-free hints about what you can expect to see when Daredevil rises from the ashes once more.
A long road back
Given Matt Murdock’s predicament at the end of The Defenders, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he’ll have a tough time getting back into fighting form. Season 3 of Daredevil is effectively a new origin of sorts, exploring not just how Matt Murdock became “The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” physically, but the psychological elements that prompt him to run around at night, beating up criminals. Think of it as a Daredevil deconstruction.
Taking that deep dive into the character isn’t a speedy process, though, and audiences can expect a slow burn as season 3 gets rolling. Fortunately, their patience will be rewarded once all of the major players get up to speed a few episodes in.
Bloody good
It would seem hard to top the level of violence in season 2 of Daredevil, due in no small part to the introduction of Frank Castle, the brutal vigilante who eventually earns the nickname “The Punisher.” Still, the second season makes a serious effort to meet (and possibly beat) that mark in the first six episodes. At least two action sequences are among the bloodiest this series — or any other Marvel-Netflix collaboration, for that matter — have offered up.
Friends and foes, new and old
Previews of season 3 have already teased some of the familiar faces returning for the next Daredevil story arc, but if you haven’t had the new additions to the series spoiled for you already, it might be wise to avoid some of those trailers and promotional clips. As in past seasons (and other series), the well-known Marvel Comics characters joining the Netflix-verse in the third season of Daredevil are introduced with some subtlety, so fans might want to preserve that element of surprise surrounding the characters’ true hero (or villain) identity.
‘Born Again’
Anyone looking to get an early start on season 3 of Daredevil would do well to pick up a copy of Born Again, writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli’s comic-book story arc. This seven-issue storyline in the pages of the Daredevil series clearly inspired some of the events that transpire in the first six episodes of the third season, but perhaps more importantly, it seems to have inspired the overall tone and themes explored in Matt Murdock’s latest adventure. The new season isn’t a comprehensive adaptation of Born Again, so you don’t need to be all that concerned about spoilers in the comic book.
Season 3 of Daredevil premieres October 19 on Netflix.
