Thanks to the cats, I binge finished the last five episodes of Netflix’s Daredevil the other night. (They were taking turns sitting on my lap and I didn’t want to disturb them.) I had planned on stretching it out a little, but still, an excellent show.

The strength of the series to me was the length and format. The 13 episode mini-series offered enough time to develop all the characters and viewers didn’t need to rely on prior knowledge of the character to make sense of it all. The development of Wilson Fisk was particularly well done. Villains often make the movie/series and this is an excellent example. The series spent time showing him in different aspects of his life, including his love for Vanessa. Vincent D’Onofrio pulled it off amazingly (I suspect an Emmy nomination for him.)

Matt Murdock was also well developed and played well by Charlie Cox. The flashbacks worked will in the longer format and we got to see him with both his father and his friendship with Foggy in the early years.

Overall, I thought the casting and acting made it work. All the characters were brought to life by the actors.

I know how mainstream superhero depictions are going to end. The hero will win. But this series still managed to surprise me with its plot and its characters.

For Marvel readers, there were hints of what’s to come in the other Netflix series. The Hand will certainly make an appearance. Elektra was referred to. I’m sure Madam Gao will be back, probably in Iron Fist. The one I really wasn’t expecting was Van Lunt and his astrologer.

I highly recommend watching it.