Summary: I'd say that people who have never heard of DD or read any comics would still be able to watch, and potentially enjoy, this programme. Series 1 is compelling viewing, series 2 is all build-up and no pay-off. There isn't a great plot so we're left to only care about the characters, who are inconsistently written sans DD himself.

As I say above the series is very much character-driven instead of story-driven, the emotional stakes for the City of New York are practically non-existent and the villain's end-games are never fully realised. With this being the case then, a quick summary of each character:

*SPOILER WARNING*

Daredevil/Matt Murdoch - Charlie Cox is excellent in the role and hits it pitch perfectly, there is none of the martyrdom we see from Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent in Murdoch and none of the confused "one- step-behind-the-villain" buggery that you see in most other superheroes when he's Daredevil. It's worrying however that the blind man running around the city in pyjamas is the most sane and relatable character in the series.

Foggy Nelson (lawyer, Matt's business partner) - comic relief and poor at it to boot. Later in S1 starts behaving like a wife going through menstruation and projecting husbandry onto Matt (his partner in their law-firm). It's so hokey and unbelievable that a criminal lawyer, as Foggy is, could be that naive about the issues that cause contention.

Karen Page (burdensome legal assistant) - someone that desperately needs institutionalising. The character goes through personal tumult and trauma early in Series 1 and uses this as a nice jumping board for descending into fits of either euphoria or hysteria depending on how intensely Foggy or Matt (whom her romantic interest flits between) eyeball her. Alternates between wanting to bang Nelson or Murdoch and treating the two like they are her parents on the verge of divorce. Really poorly written, an emotional wreck in each episode and given far too much screen time.

Ben Urich (Internet-hating journo) - a Nolan-esque character that's so world-weary and depressing you think he might just sigh out his inner organs. He's believable though and plenty brave, he fits in nicely with how they've painted the city.

Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (antagonist) - big, bald bastard with constant "does my end justify my means?" doggerel flowing out of him. He's a good character and a good actor plays him but it's just too INTENSE and silly, a man with emotions this out of control could never rise to the position he occupies. Plus we never get any context about how powerful he is in comparison to the other crime-lords in NY. Half the time seems furious, half the time seems terrified, all the time seems sad and a little bit bored.

Claire (token Marvel sassy woman/nurse) - the worst character by a country mile. DD saves a room full of kids from torture and death and gets them to the hospital for her to treat in secret, she thanks him and comments that he saved lives tonight. Later DD is on the roof of the hospital advising Claire that he needs to keep watch as the kids captors will try to steal them back, Claire then gives him a lengthy and naive lecture about the City not needing him and Matt being a martyr/having a messiah complex and when he refuses to "Come downstairs and join the rest of the humans" she leaves him where he is shaking her head as she goes. In the very next scene the hospital is besieged by the child-swiping ninja's and her friend gets butchered because DD couldn't get to her in time, she then very nearly gets killed herself...I mean seriously? SERIOUSLY? Worst of all, she doesn't even repent afterwards and the audience gets no closure because she doesn't acknowledge her own foolishness and Matt's heroism - quite the opposite in fact.

Frank Castle/The Punisher - Bernthal is perfect for the role, just awesome. A physical specimen of sublime ferocity with a demeanour of pure, unstoppable retribution-driven rage. His character's biggest problem? We are shown time and again how cartoonishly depraved the criminal denizens of this New York City are and yet we are expected to have questions about the morality of Castle's actions because he kills those whom he knows have wronged others. He's the harsh antidote to all of the cringey, naive friends of Matt's that think the impossibly corrupt legal system still has all the answers and that it's not up to vigilante's to save people's lives. "Nah Matt, let that little girl get butchered in front of her family, we need you to come out for a beer tonight." - I wish I was joking.

Elektra Natchios - member of the 1%, not as pretty as others seem to think, psychotic, manipulative, completely selfish and utterly without redeeming qualities. Does what she does because she likes it and not necessarily because it does good for the world...terrible that she and Punisher co-exist in the same series, they're only slight variants of each other.

Overall it is compelling viewing, but binge-watching it will leave you more than a little confused about why each character behaves the way they do - stupidly. As it's already on Netflix and as such free, I would recommend it.