Luke Cage: Soliloquy of Chaos

 "What are you, a pimp stormtrooper?"

I know, it's been a while: a confluence of Stranger Things, Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Boys meant new telly had to overshadow my planned content. But, now that only The Boys is still going, I can plough on.

Anyway, yes, as ever with penultimate episodes, this is an exercise in getting the pieces in place for the finale, so Misty can go after Mariah and Luke can give Diamondback a good kicking. And yes, it's a little eyebrow raising not only that Shades has a folder conveniently clearing Luke of the crimes Diamondback framed him for in the first place. Also, Luke doesn't even bother to check. And since when did Americans free black people from prison after their innocence was proven without dragging their feet? There's no justice in that country. And don't get me stsrted on their bail scams, their plea bargain corruption, their not letting people vote after they've served their time.

But this is a superb bit of telly despite the above plot hole. I'm no hip hop head, but the stuff with Method Man is profoundly moving, with the Harlem community coming behind Luke, a black man unjustly harassed by the police. I noticed the Trayvon Martin reference, which was highly appropriatre. Yet we also have Priscilla, by now established as hard but fair, as a counterpoint to a Misty who by now is entirely on Team Luke.

The tension, the action (Shades escaping his planned murder in the lift), the calm chess playing grace of Bobby, the characterisation of Mariah and Diamondback, the acting throughout, the fact that Luke has the cops on his side... my God, I'll miss Luke Cage. This is damn good telly.

Daredevil: A Cold Day in Hell’s Kitchen

 “What if this isn’t the end? What if this is just the beginning?”

This, in the end, is a fairly predictable finale, but it’s so well-crafted and emotionally resonant that that’s ok. It’s not much of a spoiler, given the forty years since Daredevil #181, that Electra dies, so why not have an emotional Matt pledge to be with her, and go with her anywhere, before their final battle against the odds, just to rub in the fact we all know she’s not going to survive?

It’s an all-out battle with Nobu and the Hand, with much of the supporting cast involved as hostages. Even Frank Castle, while taking a lower profile, gets to play his part at the end… while wearing that proper Punisher skull t-shirt. Daredevil finally gets his billy club, too.

It’s a highly satisfying closer, and that’s not even taking into accountthe cameo appearance of Jeri Hogarth from Jessica Jones- will Foggy take that high flying job? Will he appear in other Netflix Marvel shows before the next season of Daredevil? And we get that dramatic moment, right at the end, where Matt finally reveals to Karen that he’s Daredevil.

I’ll wait for the Netflix shows to transfer to Disney Plus, then I’ll carry on with the first season of Luke Cage…

Daredevil: Bang

 "If I take a night off, people get hurt."

I know, it's been a while. I've always intended to carry on with the now long ended Netflix Marvel series, but there's so much good telly to watch and so it's somehow been several years. But now, although unspoiled, I'm led to understand that the Netflix stuff is about to possibly become a little more relevant to future stuff, so here goes. I'll endeavour to make a project of doing all of them, alternated with other stuff, until they're done, with the occasional short break if I happen to do any other Marvel or DC-themed telly, so the blog isn't too comics-heavy.

Essentially, this is s splendid episode. The direction and visuals are superb, with an excellent pre-titles action sequence and particularly excellent and effective lighting throughout. The chemistry between Matt, Karen and Foggy is wonderful, even as it's being gently established that the law firm is in deep financial trouble through being essentially run as a charity by people who are extremely nice, but perhaps not sustainably so. And, of course, our three leads remind us how wonderful they are.

And then there's the arc plot- of what at first seems like a paramilitary organisation massacring all those gangs who are trying to take over from the vacuum left over by the fall of Wilson Fisk. The long bit of clever misdirection with the gathering of the Irish mob, the speech, and the eventual massacre, feels like The Godfather or The Sopranos, with a very pleasing whiff of Scorsese.

And the conclusion, as DD realises these paramilitaries are in fact one man, the man enters the hospital in pursuit of brave Karen and her charge, and DD is shot in the face... ooh, I've missed Daredevil. More please.

Stranger Things: Chapter Four- The Body

”I think somehow she’s channelling him.”

“Like Professor X!”

So the police have found Will’s body- that’s it, right? Joyce is just crazy and the gang are just deluded? This episode we begin by sharing their doubts- and Joyce (to the sounds of Joy Division’s splendid “Atmosphere”- loving the contemporary soundtrack) reaches seemingly her lowest ebb, in denial and chopping a hole in the wall of her house. And Mike lashes out at Eleven for supposedly lying- and then there’s Will, on the radio. It’s a beginning that has us on multiple tenterhooks.

Things then deepen as an already suspicious Hopper realised that Will’s autopsy was carried out by the cat ate, which is odd. It’s at this point that we, the viewers, know damn well that all is not what it seems and Joyce is right to refuse to identify the body, whatever Jonathan may say.

Nancy cracks during a lesson on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, realising that one of Jonathan’s ostensibly pervy photos shows something next to Barb, while the people as the lab speak of a “rift”. There is clearly some kind of Lovecraftian monster lurking in a reality at some kind of right angle to ours, and the way it’s being slowly built up is absolutely bloody terrifying as Mandy and Jonathan discuss the “man with no face”.

We end with a few revelations; Nancy and Jonathan develop a pivotal photo, the gang hear Will using the big school radio, and Hopper uses his fists to dig deeper into the conspiracy. Will is alive, and we just can’t stop watching.

Stranger Things: Chapter Three- Holly, Jolly

“So, do you think Eleven was born with her superpowers like the X-Men or she acquired them, like Green Lantern?”

We begin with Barb finding herself in a weird, and very well-realised, other-worldly place, with a nasty looking monster- and then we cut away for maximum scares, again showing but a glimpse of the beast. Suspense, not spectacle; that's what makes good horror, and good horror this is. It's also a plus that the cinematography is deliberately quite retro and in line with the early '80s setting. Barb, however, is probably doomed. It's particularly nice how her peril is juxtaposed with Nancy having sex with Steve... although Barb's only climax is to fall into a pit. Let's hope Nancy had a better climax, although I doubt it. I bet Steve's the kind of utter wanker who thinks sex is over as soon as he's spurted.

Like the first episode with Will, this episode sees the terrible realisation slowly settling over Barb's friends and family that she is indeed missing. Understandably Nancy panics, and we see what an utter douche Steve is as his first thought is to hide from his parents what he was doing, Barb be damned. There's also a good scene between Nancy and Karen, her mother, as Nancy lies about what she did the previous night and Karen tears up, hopeless, not knowing what to do as her daughter slips away from her.

We also have Joyce going deeper and deeper into using lights to communicate with Will, with Jonathan understandably quite disturbed. And the kids plan "Operation Mirkwood" while trying to get Eleven to levitate one of those cool Kenner Millennium Falcons- I'm fairly sure mine is still in my parents' loft.

Interestingly, the cops visit the lab- and Hopper realises they're being lied to, turning him into a determined conspiracy theorist which, unlike in real life where conspiracies are generally a load of old right-wing bollocks, makes him a lot more likeable, along with the fact that he lost a child of his own. And further research on microfiche uncovers more details. The chase is on, Watson.

Things end on a bloody scary note, though, with Joyce’s clever Christmas lights ouija board telling her that Will is “right here” and he should “run”. And then the cops seem to find his body...

I know I should be interspersing this with blogging my other regular series. But this is a Class A substance here...

Stranger Things: Chapter Two- The Weirdo on Maple Street

“We never would have upset you if we knew you had superpowers.”

The focus for this second episode is the mysterious psychic girl, now ensconced in Mike’s basement and very insistent that no adult must know where she is or bad things will happen- as, of course, we have seen. It’s touching to see the growing connection between Eleven, as she tragically seems to be named, and Mike.

Meanwhile Joyce seems to be going off the rails after hearing Will’s voice in a phone call- but we see and hear what she does, which makes us emphasise with her. Plus Winona Ryder is VERY good. Will seems to be calling from wherever he is- and, in a nice nostalgic touch, this often tends to involve the then current “Should I Stay or Should I Go” from Combat Rock, a popular album from the Clash even if I personally think Sandinista was their last good album. We get a nice flashback with Jonathan teaching young Will about Joy Division, Bowie and Television as a good older brother should. We also get to see their douche of a dad, Lonnie, with a lot remaining unsaid- was he abusive?

Meanwhile, Nancy and her friend Barb (it’s weird seeing a teenager with glasses like that) are off to a party at the home off rich creep Steve, who wants to get inside Nancy’s pants. Creepily, Jonathan follows them and takes pictures of them while hiding- what’s he up to, seemingly perving around like this while his poor mother is receiving another weird phone call from Will and blowing up another phone and having weird experiences with light bulbs? This is eerie stuff in all sorts of ways. Especially when something starts pushing on the wall and impossibly distorting it. This is getting better and better.

And then poor Barb drips some blood in the pool and a monster gets her- yet another superb jump cut, and yet again not quite showing us a glimpse of the beast. This is exactly what horror should be. At this point I’m officially hooked.

Stranger Things: Chapter One- The Vanishing of Will Byers

”Mornings are for coffee and contemplation!”

So Mrs Llamastrangler have decided to watch Stranger Things now that Atypical is up to date. Mrs Llamastrangler took some convincing as she tends to resist things which are overly popular but, well, we’re now five episodes in and it’s only the unfortunate need for adulting that’s prevented us from bingeing further. We’re hooked.

This is the first episode, and by definition has a lot of work to do. There are the gang to introduce- Will, Lucas, Mike and Dustin, first seen playing D&D. This is (I think) 1982, so I’m wondering whether this is D&D or AD&D; I hope we find out. This is America, so they’re playing in Mike’s parents’ enormous basement, and this is the early ‘80s, so they all leave on bikes and mention X-Men #134 which, if I remember correctly, is one of the Phoenix Saga issues. Ah, the rush of nostalgia. I was five in 1982; these kids would be a few years older than me.

And then we have the horror stuff. The episode started with what looked like a scientist running through a corridor into a lift, and being grabbed by the unseen monster from the lift roof. And now Will goes into the science lab next to town... and vanishes, while a lightbulb does something weird. It’s all very well shot indeed.

We also meet Will’s mum Joyce (Winona Ryder, the only famous cast member) and Mike’s family including his older sister Nancy, as the ripples of Will’s disappearance spread across town. It’s already clear that, of the three remaining kids, we will be focusing on Mike. So far, with the horror and the POV of pre-pubescent boys, it feels very much like Stephen King’s It and its adaptations. The early ‘80s setting makes storytelling easier- no mobile phones (although the plot requires Sallie talkies!), no internet- and allows us to wallow in constant nostalgia. The fashions, the card, the hairstyles are all very well done, and it all looks like an American version of my early childhood.

We also get to meet Hopper, the local sheriff, gruff and not particularly likeable, at least at this stage until we learn he’s mourning a daughter (ouch), and a fugitive child stealing food from a cafe and who seems to have some kind of psychic powers. What’s shocking is that, when the cafe owner calls social services, he is shot and killed by the “social workers”; there is clearly a cover-up to return the girl to the nearby lab. Fortunately, she escapes, and is found by the boys.

As first episodes tend to be, this is a whirlwind. But I’m getting to know the characters and intrigued by the premise. The horror is also very well shot- unlike most current horror films- and the nostalgia is fun. More please.

Daredevil: Daredevil

"...Or you'd kill him. Which would probably have the same effect on someone as Catholic as you are."

The finale finds time to begin with the funeral of Ben Urich, a good man in a bad world, and it's lovely to see the widowed Doris Urich flat out refusing to blame Karen for his death. It's not lovely for Matt, though; a good man has died, as he see it, because he failed. Fisk has to be stopped now. And so the rest of the episode shows us how the house of cards can fall down very, very quickly.

 It all unravels because of a piece of hubris from an angry Fisk. And that, it seems is a weakness; he angrily kills the traitorous Leland even though said turncoat has an insurance policy in the person of Detective Hoffman. Remember him? That probably wasn't a clever thing to do. Now all Matt has to do is find Hoffman, keep him safe and get him to make a statement to the police.

He and Foggy are making a serious effort to reconcile, but Matt very quickly sets out to find Hoffman and use him to bring Fisk down. And then Fisk falls, very suddenly, to the strains of Nessun Dorma. It's a glorious sequence. And Fisk, heartbreakingly, tries to propose to Vanessa during his arrest but isn't given time. And Matt, Foggy and Karen get to celebrate.

It doesn't last. Fisk is extracted by his underlings and is soon on the run.But Matt has paid a visit to his friend Melvin Potter and we see- after soooo long- the red costume and billy club we've been waiting for. It's not Matt Murdock in a simple black outfit; this is Daredevil. Where has he been?

Daredevil gets his bloody, one-on-one showdown with a desperate Fisk. At last Fisk is finally brought down. We see a bereft Vanessa, a jailbird Fisk, and Daredevil surveys his city from a rooftop. What an episode. What a season. What a programme. After the much-mocked 2003 film at last we have a screen Daredevil to be proud of, with writing and acting of the first rank. Roll on Season Two.

Daredevil: The Path of the Righteous

"We're going through a rough patch."

"I found the Nelson and Murdock sign in the trash."

"A very rough patch."

Fisk shows rare vulnerability as he struggles to save the poisoned Vanessa, while both Matt and Foggy spend much of the episode lying to Karen and not saying why they've fallen out. There's a lead- Karen and Ben know that Fisk killed his dad- but the evidence is weak and it's doubtful they can use it. The situation seems to have hit rock bottom.

Meanwhile, Claire gives Matt the idea of body armour. She'll always be there to patch him up, but her heart is closed to him. He's too dangerous. And Matt's priest then mentions, as part of a philosophical conversation, the Devil as a figure to encourage sinners to find the path of righteousness. We can see where these two things are going. And so he visits Melvin Potter (the Gladiator himself!) to commission a certain set of red-hued items. Daredevil is coming.

Fisk angrily swears revenge on Vanessa's poisoners. He's a fascinating villain portrayed brilliantly by Vincent D'Onofrio. Interestingly, he isn't a psychopath. He has morals, of a kind. What he does he does from a genuine love of his city. It's just the means by which he does it that he's damned himself.

We end with Karen captured by the resourceful Wesley going rogue. She is, it seems, in very deep trouble. And yet, she's resourceful. I don't know about the state of New York, but I think English law would certainly acquit her for what she manages to do in shooting him. Go Karen...

Daredevil: World on Fire

"Could be the machines plotting, but I don't speak computer overlord..."

At last. Five episodes in and Daredevil clicks for me. I get the programme, I get the characters and I'm enjoying the ride. And yes, the fact that this is a superb hour of television certainly helps. I knew I was right to have faith and stick with it.

The episode is structured around three budding relationships, all very different in terms of wealth and terms of the morals of the three men. Our first couple- and, indeed, the least dwelt on- is Matt and Claire. Here we have no date, but an admission both that she's falling in love with him and that she has grave concerns both about the ethics of what he dies and, of course, his safety. They kiss. She's living with him. But there's some discomfort there. That's to continue in future episodes, though: the rest of this episode consists of Karen slowly falling in love with Foggy because he is, simply, a good man with integrity beneath the self-deprecating quips. Vanessa, in direct contrast, consents to a relationship with Fisk (there is no talk of love here) in full knowledge that what he does is morally murky, to say the least, that he had hurt and killed before, and he will hurt and kill again. 

Fisk, incidentally, is not himself right at the top of the food chain by himself: he is, it seems, one of a consortium of four, all of which we will no doubt come to know further. He is powerful nonetheless, though: in the episodes most disturbing scene a criminal gives his name to the cops and is simply killed by them, making it look like self defence. That's how far Fisk's tentacles can cover.

Foggy, though, gets a contrasting scene where he gets the better of his opponent's lawyer, from a fancy law firm, utterly devoid of ethics and, if all that wasn't enough, his ex. I'm sure Karen thought he was awesome. I know I did.

The two respective dates are a blatant contrast- Karen and Foggy in the tiny, ruined apartment of a poor but grateful client; Fisk and Vanessa in the most opulent surroundings imaginable. But one is about real attraction and the blossoming of real love, whereas the other is all about the lure of the "bad boy" and the seductiveness of power. Still, the scenes with Vanessa and Fisk are truly electrifying.

This is a masterful exercise of structure, theme, characterisation and dialogue. Superb. Quite the cliffhanger too...

Daredevil: Rabbit in a Snowstorm

"Used to be if you killed a man you sent his wife flowers. Now you send his wife with him."

This is the first episode with no introductory stuff, and it's an episode with no real heroics. Instead, it's an episode where Matt and Foggy make a moral compromise in representing a dodgy client with even dodgier backers. It also introduces us to Ben Urich, a principled journalist in a cynical, Murdochian world. It's not hard to see him as a parallel to Matt, both of them principled Philip Marlowe figures floating in a world with moral anchor. Yet both must make compromises.

Set against this is Karen's decision not to compromise. In showing Urich all the stuff she knows from the first episode she is doing the right thing, not the smart thing. 

Oh, and we get our first proper introduction to Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. He's a villain with power, presence and charisma and will, no doubt, stay in the background for a long time until he and Matt meet.

What we don't get, despite the displays of Matt's superpowers, is any costume stuff. No doubt there'll be some of that next episode. As for this one, it's perhaps better thought of in terms of set-up, mood and character development for the long term, and may seem better in hindsight, but it perhaps underwhelmed slightly.