7) Daredevil – Daredevil
One of the many great things about the first season of Daredevil was that it used the fact that it was made for Netflix to its advantage. Instead of having episodic plots, it was one big, protracted superhero origin story. As such, the season finale had all the stakes of the third act of a comic book movie. And thankfully, less city-wide destruction and weird portals in the sky.
Firstly, it shows Matt Murdock finally get out of his black outfit and properly become Daredevil, as he dons the classic red suit (even if it did need re-designing for season two). More importantly, it gives us the big showdown between Matt and Fisk – in both a dramatic and physical sense. After a season of ambiguous morals from both, it packs a real punch to see each character assuming the identity of how the world sees them: hero and villain.
6) AKA WWJD? – Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones had a tough job creating just as fascinating a hero/villain rivalry as Daredevil and Fisk, but it managed it in Krysten Ritter’s troubled private eye and her mind-controlling stalker Kilgrave. One of the very best episodes that showcased this was episode eight, as the pair are forced to live together.
For the first time in the show, we get a fuller picture of Kilgrave beyond just being the spectre of Jessica’s nightmares and a scarily-powerful monster. Through the look at his childhood and his apparent love for Jessica, it’s clear that he’s not really evil. He’s just a child who never learnt you can’t always have it your way (because he actually can).
Nonetheless, the episode doesn’t completely neuter Kilgrave. His warped declaration of affection – moving into her childhood home – is a clever metaphor for how he has corrupted every aspect of her life with his emotional and physical abuse.