If the first season of the Netflix Original show Daredevil was essentially an origin story, then Scott Glenn was an integral part of that – despite only appearing in one episode. His character, Stick, is a cranky, old, blind man, who is revealed to have been something of a mentor to the young Matt Murdoch, back when he was initially dealing with the onset of his remarkable powers during his troubled childhood. However, their relationship is also revealed to be complex, with the reappearance of Stick in Murdoch’s life prompting a violent confrontation.
It is with interest, then, that we regard the Twitter announcement of Stick’s return.
The old man is back. Stick is returning to Hell’s Kitchen for season 2. #Daredevil pic.twitter.com/bnTPLBY1tF
— Daredevil (@Daredevil) September 16, 2015
The image features a paper friendship bracelet that the child Murdoch once innocently tried to gift Stick with, only to have the mentor reject him as being too emotionally dependent. This backstory, along with the brutal nature of his departure from his season one episode, makes the return of Stick a potentially explosive prospect, in terms of dramatic narrative.
The first season established a remarkable, grounded tone to the action, bolstered by incredible performances from Cox and D’Onofrio, in particular. The arrival of Scott Glenn in episode 7 served as something of a mid-season bridge between first impressions, and a greater understanding of the character of Daredevil. This allowed the drama to resonate on a much deeper level, creating compelling tension, and real emotional impact. That being the case, we can surely expect the return of Stick to be entirely devoid of exposition, and instead be simply geared toward shaking things up for The Man Without Fear.
Scott Glenn joins a number of returning cast members, including Charlie Cox (Matt Murdoch/Daredevil), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple), Vincent D’Onofrio (Wilson Fisk), and Matt Gerald (Melvin Potter/Gladiator). New to the show are Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher, and Elodie Yung as Elektra. It is not yet clear whether the production will take steps to improve on last season by actually adding some female talent to its roster of directors, or indeed whether there will be more than one, single, solitary female writer involved this time around. All will be revealed when the second season Daredevil episodes are released on Netflix in 2016.
