Alright, season complete. I quite enjoyed it overall. I thought the dialogue, acting and action were generally head and shoulders above season 1. There are some awkward moments from time to time but way better overall, IMO.
As a side note, I may be the only one who doesn't think "the first half of season 1 was great, but then..." - I think the first 5 episodes of S1 were generally boring and repetitive. A lot of "stay out of my way or I'll kill you" and then Cottonmouth doing his laugh and ignoring it.
So it may take ~3 episodes to get going this time, but I thought it was worth it overall. I thought Bushmaster and Mariah were superior to Cottonmouth as antagonists.
Some quick hits, with spoilers marked.
- Mariah is BSC and I love it. Love to hate her. I saw one reviewer say her performance is "uneven" and I guess it can be, but her character will go from slang and calling someone a N in one scene, to talking to reporters about Harlem and what it means to America, to putting out a hit on someone, sometimes back to back to back. She's crazy as hell and I love it. It's like in Season 1 where she's fake crying for Cornell, then Misty calls her on it and Mariah calls Misty a trick.
- I thought they handled guest appearances perfectly. Colleen Wing for one episode(s), Foggy Nelson for one episode(s), a much-improved Iron Fist for one episode(s). Even a one-episode flashback series with Scarfe was solid - stronger performance than anything he did in S1. Shook things up from time to time, but also for the right amount of time without being a huge detour or feeling obligatory.
- The fights may not be quite Daredevil level but they stepped up their game for sure. Bushmaster especially is a treat to watch, but Luke isn't a slouch either. And Misty does well also.
- I actually kinda like Shades, and I thought he had a good part this season. A lot less "silently 'intimidating' with silly sunglasses" than in S1.
- Overall, I'd say...
DD1 > DD2 > JJ1=LC2=Punisher >> Defenders >> LC1 >>> JJ2 >>>>>>>>>>> IF1
Much-improved, and looking forward to IF S2 and DD S3 news from Comic Con.