I'm two episodes into watching Daredevil again. I have so many other things I want to watch and I have so little time, I feel like I'm cheating, but I've really been in the mood for it.
One very simple thing I noticed about the series, which started in 2015, that's different from to-day's Disney+ shows, is it features stories about the hero trying to help people. Not on the periphery while he's trying to sort out his identity or get emotional validation--it's the point of the story. The first episode is all about Matt and Foggy helping Karen and figuring out one of Fisk's schemes and the second episode is about Matt struggling to stop a human trafficking ring. Sure, there's personal stuff, like flashbacks to Matt's past and we get insight into what motivates him. We have Karen and Foggy going out for drinks and her dealing with the trauma of home invasion. But all this is window dressing or circumstances to explain the difficulties inherent in the central problem--How do we not only help people, but how do we become people who want to help people? How do we mature in that direction, go from being selfish children to adults who look out for other people?
Also, with Karen, we have perspective on how good it can feel to be saved! Which is a central point people make when trying to describe why Superman is great. The superhero isn't always the reader's avatar. Sometimes you're empathising with the victim and you get the opportunity to fantasise about how nice it would be if someone were there looking out for you, someone you could count on. What a difference it makes when the makers of a show actually know what they're doing.
Daredevil is available on Disney+.
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