History YMMV / Daredevil2015

** Wilson Fisk murdering Anatoly and then destroying the rest of the Russians' operations. Is this an act [[DisproportionateRetribution purely motivated by anger]], or has Fisk ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards always hated]]'' working with them? It's clear that the reason Fisk killed Anatoly in such a gruesome way was because he felt personally humiliated by Anatoly intruding on his privacy. But when he meets his partners and pitches his plans to eliminate Vladimir and the other Russians, he says that "We all knew that we would need to eliminate the Russians one day. They were too unpredictable", suggesting that he'd been preparing such a scheme for some time. And in scenes leading up to Anatoly's death, it's made clear that Fisk and his partners were beginning to see the Russians as liabilities because of their inability to deal with the masked vigilante disrupting their operations. All of this raises the possibility that Fisk had been planning to kill Anatoly all along, but his rage over being humiliated led him to personally carry out the deed instead of hiring a hitman to do it.

** Vanessa Marianna is a Pandora's box. Was she an average woman whose love corrupted Wilson Fisk? Is she a ManipulativeBitch who is only interested in Fisk for his violence, power and vision? A mix of all the above? Not that Fisk would mind if she was the second, considering the kind of person he is. Season 3 seems to suggest it was the "mix" type, since Fisk's desires to keep her safe are what drive him to make the deal with the FBI to snitch on the Albanians, and when Vanessa does finally return, [[spoiler:it is she, and not Fisk, who orders the assassination of Nadeem]].
** Daredevil is the first superhero in the MCU to fight crime on the streets unlike all of the Avengers (and S.H.I.E.L.D.), who face threats on a larger scale. While they fill different niches, is he a better hero than them, even the most genuine hero of them all? As the ''Daredevil'' series premiered shortly before ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', which has them partying in the swanky Avengers Tower far removed from the grit of the streets, one might well have asked at the time if the Avengers Tower was just an "ivory tower". It would take [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar around a year]] until the MCU got a street-level hero in the movies themselves, namely Spider-Man. And even then, Spider-Man deals with "Avengers level threats" rather than the gritty, street level crime that Daredevil deals with.

** Wilson Fisk killing [[spoiler:Anatoly]] and betraying [[spoiler:the Russians]]. Is this an act [[DisproportionateRetribution purely motivated by anger]], or has Fisk ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards always hated]]'' working with [[spoiler:the Russians]]? In the next episode, Fisk mentions that sooner or later he would betray the Russians, since they were "too unpredictable". Considering the fact that they were primarily engaged in human trafficking, Fisk has a very valid point.

** In "[[Recap/Daredevil2015S2E3NewYorksFinest New York's Finest]]", Frank tells Matt that he's one bad day away from becoming him. While Matt didn't go down that road, ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' saw Hawkeye lose his family in the Snap and become a vigilante not dissilimar to Frank.

** Leland at one point refers to Matt and Foggy as the magpies WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle, one of whom has a British accent, the other a New York accent. Charlie Cox and Elden Henson are English and American, respectively.

** The previous [[Film/{{Daredevil}} Daredevil and Elektra]] -- Creator/BenAffleck and Creator/JenniferGarner -- had a MeetCute on camera and a messy, public divorce in real-life before the series aired. When Elektra is introduced in this series, she and Matt are exes -- and not [[AmicableExes amicable ones]].

** Early in season 2, there's a scene where Brett compares the Punisher to Paul Kersey, the protagonist of ''Film/DeathWish''. Fast forward to 2018, and Creator/VincentDOnofrio (Fisk) appears in [[Film/DeathWish2018 the remake of the movie]] as Paul Kersey's brother Frank.

** [[Film/{{Daredevil}} The previous live-action version of Bullseye]] only wore [[NotWearingTights ordinary clothing]] including a trenchcoat, rather than the outfit of his comic book counterpart and became so fixated upon Daredevil that one of his demands for being the one to kill him was "a bloody costume". In the show, Bullseye does begin wearing ''a'' costume at some point, but one that once again isn't like his comic book counterpart's. Whose costume is he wearing? ''Daredevil's''.

** There were a number of fans who predicted Wilson Bethel would be playing Bullseye well before it was officially announced, mainly based off of how he was initially announced as being cast as "FBI Agent #2".

** Season 1: [[HonestAdvisor James Wesley]] is Wilson Fisk's extremely competent [[TheConsigliere right-hand man]], who handles the everyday affairs of his boss's criminal empire. Able to skillfully [[TheHeavy blackmail, bribe, and threaten anyone he so chooses]] into carrying out his dirty work, Wesley simultaneously juggles interactions with the various crime lords of New York to gain their trust and partnership with Fisk. A [[UndyingLoyalty genuinely loyal servant]] of Fisk's who would risk his own life to protect the interests of his friend and employer, Wesley's charisma and micromanagement helped Fisk get his empire off the ground and maintain its power even at Fisk's most vulnerable, impulsive period.

** "That's hard. That's really hard."[[note]]Dex's attempts at faking empathy[[/note]]
** "Who eats a burger with a spork?"[[note]]Dex pulls a prank on Fisk where he takes a bite out of a burger being delivered by room service before sending it in, then watches on the monitor to wait and see how Fisk reacts[[/note]]

** "[[FalseReassurance So I am not here to threaten you.]] [[BaitAndSwitch I'm here...]][[PreMortemOneLiner to kill you!]]" [[note]] Fisk says shortly before choking Ben Urich to death. It's since been used by the fandom when imagining altercations between two parties. [[/note]]

** Fisk crosses him whenever he hurts innocent people. He was the one who orchestrated the murder of Elena Cardenas and the bombing against the Russian Mafia, which cost the lives of some innocent people who lived nearby. He also killed Julie Barnes, Dex's morality chain, just so he could continue to have Dec as a loyal attack dog.

** The show managed to save Karen Page's character in the eyes of many people. In the comics, Karen's most well-known attribute was her role in the ''ComicBook/BornAgain'' storyline, where she became a drug-addicted porn star that sold out Matt's identity for a heroin fix, information that eventually made its way up to Wilson Fisk, who then proceeded to dismantle Matt's life. The show gives Karen a much more proactive role, even having her take over Ben Urich's role as Daredevil's newspaper confidant and informant by the end of Season 2. Her drug addiction was relegated to her backstory in season 3.
** Season 2 managed to save Karen in the eyes of those who felt that in Season 1, she came across as someone blindly charging into things and getting people killed. Season 2 shows her meticulously researching and to be less willing to involve others. Season 3 went a step further in this regard, giving Karen an entire episode dedicated to her backstory.

** After everything Fisk put Dex through, up to and including [[spoiler:killing his MoralityPet, Julie just for the sake of controlling him]], and even going so far as to feign a fatherly affection for him after the fact, it's hard ''not'' to hope Dex succeeds in slaughtering both him and Vanessa, especially when she is revealed to be just as evil as he is, if not more so.

** One more for Season 3, with the Brechtian presentation of Dex's backstory being a highly unusual and thus instantly memorable style for the show. Many consider it to be Fisk's version of Misty Knight's crime scene reenactments.

** [[spoiler:Ben Urich's death, given the character's historical connections to upcoming franchises Spider-Man and Jessica Jones. According to WordOfGod it was a sad case of the deal with Sony for the rights to Spider-Man not quite being worked out in time, as they made the first season under the impression that this was the only time they could have used him. As a result, Karen's Season 2 storyline is used to further develop her investigative side and even ends with her getting hired by Ellison, setting her up to more or less take over Ben's role beginning in Season 3.]]
** [[spoiler:Karen killing Wesley. His actions seem unusual for him in abducting her, and his death leaves the show without its most notable character in Fisk's empire. However, it forces Fisk to become more personally active in his enterprises and the plot. And his death does eventually have payoff in season 3 when Fisk does find out about it]].

** Early in Season 2, Brett mentions what the police call "Devil-Worshippers," people inspired by Daredevil to go out and fight crime like he does. They are never seen, and never mentioned again.
** Season 3 features no acknowledgement at all that the last time we saw Karen and Ellison was in ''Series/ThePunisher2017'', Ellison was deeply betrayed by Karen hiding that Frank was still alive, other than a remark Ellison makes to Karen about her becoming a pain in the ass in much shorter time than Ben Urich managed to do so.

** The show's crew didn't even try to top Wilson Fisk as the BigBad, with Season 2 instead being composed of several mini-arcs that each have their own main villain, [[spoiler:one of whom is even Fisk again.]] And then bring back Fisk for Season 3.
** The second season in general, while still acclaimed, wasn't seen as good as the first one by critics, with a 75% rating in Rotten Tomatoes in contrast to the first one's 98%.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: A lot of Fisk's actions in Season 3 seem very influenced by the election of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump as President, with Erik Oleson even making remarks in interviews that hinted that Trump's presidency was influential in writing the season. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Daredevil/comments/9rcmas/parallels_to_between_fisk_and_trump/?utm_content=comments&utm_medium=user&utm_source=reddit As one Redditor pointed out]], there are lots of parallels, like the fake news comment Nadeem makes to Karen when she's trying to ask him how Fisk got out, to the way Fisk uses the media to create smokescreens to hide his actions, or the idea that law is circumvented through control, and the FBI is run by a deep state (or criminal organization). Hell, the hotel he's under house arrest in is known as the ''Presidential'' Hotel.

** [[FairCop Ray Nadeem]]. An honest and hardworking FBI agent who only wants best for his family. He goes into financial debt to handle his sister-in-law's cancer treatments [[spoiler:thanks to Fisk cutting off her insurance]], tries his best to weather things as [[spoiler:he gets blackmailed into working for Fisk and Dex. And after an effort to get him to speak out against Fisk in front of a grand jury fail due to Fisk tampering with the jury, he just goes home, films a dying confession to his family, and [[FaceDeathWithDignity is just resigned to his fate]] when Dex comes by to kill him.]]

* FightSceneFailure: While some whiffing is to be expected on a show with this many fight scenes, the fight between [[spoiler: Fisk and Castle]] in "Seven Minutes in Heaven" is particularly unconvincing, with few of their blows looking like they're connecting or having any impact, and the actors way overselling their reactions.

** The Daredevil movie had a scene where Bullseye spared a priest in a church, not out of morality, but because he's busy with Daredevil. [[spoiler:Dex on the other hand, kills Father Lantom in the cathedral while targeting Karen.]]

He didn't help himself at all by calling Elodie Yung's portrayal of Elektra on par with Creator/JenniferGarner's, as they had opposite strengths and weaknesses. Plus an utterly bizarre criticism of how Elektra's characterization makes little sense until you get the reveal about her true motivation later on, when that's ''exactly the point'' the show was going for.

--->'''Claire:''' Your outfit kind of sucks, by the way.\\
'''Matt:''' ''[unmasked]'' Yeah, it's a work in progress.
** In "[[Recap/Daredevil2015S1E11ThePathOfTheRighteous The Path of the Righteous]]", Melvin asks Daredevil if he wants a suit like [[SharpDressedMan Fisk's]]. Consider [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/0/6063/4457354-dd2014014_int2-3.jpg Matt's 2015 costume]].

** In Ellison's first scene in season 1, he pushes Ben Urich to cover a fluff story headlined, "Rumors Bubbling: Will Hell's Kitchen Finally Get a Subway Line?" which Ben writes off as worthless. The first season came out in April 2015, and that September, the southern part of Hell's Kitchen received subway service with the extension of the 7 train to 34th Street-Hudson Yards.

** Fisk beating people up like a gorilla tends to also look like a toddler throwing a fit, especially when is in prison jumpsuit which makes it look like he is wearing a onesie. However, his fight with the Punisher is saved because even Frank seems to think it's funny.

** Season 2 managed to save Karen in the eyes of those who felt that in Season 1, she came across as someone blindly charging into things and getting people killed. Season 2 shows her meticulously researching and to be less willing to involve others.

** Wilson Fisk's [[spoiler: return in Season 2. His absence in the first part of the season is a major plot point as it creates a vacuum for other gangs to move in. The show goes just long enough without checking in on him that many viewers just assumed they'd have to wait until Season 3 to get more Fisk, only for him to come roaring back towards the end of the season. Best part? He ''uses the "kingpin" name for himself'' after disposing of Dutton. And he makes the FBI agents under him use that as his codename.]]
** Season 3 doesn't just bring back Wilson Fisk as main villain, it also brings in a highly reinvented version of Bullseye, Matt's other known arch-nemesis.

** Vincent D'onofrio puts in a valiant effort to make them seem heavy, but the barbells Fisk lifts while in [[PrisonsAreGymnasiums prison]] clearly don't have much weight to them.
** The various newscasts at the beginning of "Aftermath" are all very obviously green-screened, with the actors playing reporters all standing in front of superimposed BRoll with much different lighting. It doesn't help that all the shots have exactly the same composition, indicating they were likely all shot on the same soundstage at the same time.

** Ray Nadeem. All of the elements are there to show he was supposed to be a sympathetic character... the relative with cancer (which has financially impacted him heavily), the difficulties at work, his family being terrified of the latest developments, and then being manipulated by Fisk. The problem is that the character comes off sort of shallow and bland, rendering these just a collection of cliches that have less impact than they would if he seemed a deeper or more thoughtful person; so when he makes arguments to get Fisk things he wants, or goes around hassling Karen and Foggy because Fisk fingered Matt, he more comes off as just a jerk and a pest than a principled FBI agent doing his best in trying circumstances.

** Daredevil is the first superhero in the MCU to fight crime on the streets unlike all of the Avengers (and S.H.I.E.L.D.), who face threats on a larger scale. While they fill different niches, is he a better hero than them, even the most genuine hero of them all? As the ''Daredevil'' series premiered shortly before ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', which has them partying in the swanky Avengers Tower far removed from the grit of the streets, one might well have asked at the time if the Avengers Tower was just an "ivory tower". It would take [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar around a year]] until the MCU got a street-level hero in the movies themselves, namely Spider-Man.

** In the Season 3 finale, Matt repeatedly [[spoiler: stops Dex from killing Vanessa, despite knowing that Vanessa was guilty of conspiring to murder Agent Nadeem. Was it simply out of his [[ChronicHeroSyndrome typical instincts to defend the helpless]], or was he trying to keep her alive [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou for pragmatic reasons?]] After all, if Vanessa dies, Matt has no real leverage on Fisk to keep him from telling the world Daredevil's true identity]].
*** [[spoiler:Although Matt only uses her as leverage after beating Fisk and refusing to kill him when Matt came fully intending to kill Fisk. So it's likely the former or a mix of both.]].
* AngstWhatAngst: A retroactive example. In Season 1, Matt sets Nobu on fire during their fight. Whether or not he believes Nobu survived is left ambiguous until Season 2 confirms that he believes Nobu dead. You'd think given the focus on his ThouShaltNotKill rule, he would have some angst over that one time he burned a guy to death, even if it wasn't his intention.

* CantUnHearIt: Creator/CharlieCox's well-acclaimed portrayal of Matt Murdock has caused many to automatically imagine his voice whenever they are reading his adventures. Likewise, with Karen Page and Foggy Nelson, it's often hard to not imagine hearing Creator/DeborahAnnWoll's and Creator/EldenHenson's voices. Also, Creator/VincentDOnofrio as the Kingpin.

** Shipping Karen with Frank Castle became one overnight and has a massive following on [[https://www.tumblr.com/search/karen%20x%20frank Tumblr]] which only grew after the release of Series/ThePunisher2017, even though in reality there was very little chance of the pairing happening due to Karen being [[spoiler:in mourning over Matt getting "killed" at Midland Circle during ''The Defenders'']] and Frank being emotionally unavailable. It's more or less sunk by ''Daredevil'' Season 3, but it continues to be far more popular to ship Karen with Frank than Matt.

** In "[[Recap/Daredevil2015S1E1IntoTheRing Into the Ring]]", Karen Page is nearly killed in an attempt to stage her death as a suicide in police custody. This becomes a bit harder to watch after July 2015, when a woman named Sandra Bland was found hung in a jail cell while in police custody, with many suspecting foul play in the death even though it was ruled a suicide (it's possible this scene was a reference to the death of Ron Settles, who died while in police custody in 1982 as a result of a bogus traffic stop).

** Early in Season 2, there's a scene where Brett compares the Punisher to Paul Kersey, the protagonist of ''Film/DeathWish''. Fast forward to late 2017, and Creator/VincentDOnofrio, who portrays Fisk, appears in the remake of the movie as Paul Kersey's brother Frank.

** Wilson Fisk manages to be the personification of this trope. Despite the fact that he's somewhat awkward, vulnerable and often times [[PsychopathicManchild childish]], the man is unquestionably AffablyEvil, WickedCultured, ''and'' a MagnificentBastard ''combined''. He further improves in Season 3, becoming a CrazyPrepared {{Chessmaster}}.

** Foggy Nelson also gets this. Some find his tendency for light-hearted jokes to be lame, that the time given to his and Karen's budding relationship is a bad mix of RomanticPlotTumor and GiveGeeksAChance, and consider him a huge wet blanket due to his constant attempts to make Matt stop being Daredevil when the audience ''wants'' to see Matt being Daredevil. Others find him charming, and that his PluckyComicRelief balances out the otherwise dark tones of the show. His supporters also cite his actions in "Nelson v. Murdock" to be heartbreaking, and also point to his fears for Matt's safety as legitimate reasons to want Matt to give up Daredevil.

* MoralEventHorizon: See [[MoralEventHorizon/MarvelCinematicUniverse here]].