Watching Daredevil: Born Again Seasons One and Two got me thinking a lot about how Daredevil as a whole relates to Radiohead in a surprisingly significant manner. Spoiler warnings ahead if you haven't watched both seasons yet, you've been warned. And there will be a lot of background detail, so for those who know it already, just trust that it's necessary.
The songs "Everything In Its Right Place" and "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead are both featured in the final scenes of two separate episodes, which happen to be the final episodes of Season One and Season Two respectively. When you start to think about how these songs relate to the situation Matt Murdock is in during these seasons, it starts to make a shocking amount of sense.
Hear me out. Let's say that the original three seasons of Daredevil by Netflix are like OK Computer by Radiohead. They're both looked back upon with reverence and nostalgia, often being claimed to be the holy gospel (and rightly so). And often, they are also seen as the peak of their career. OK Computer is widely regarded to be Radiohead's most successful album, and Daredevil Seasons 1-3 are seen as the spotlight of his character's history. Both of them peaked in popularity during these times.
Now, before I lose you, let's get away from literal real-life analysis. Let's instead take a look at the tone and the emotions behind these products. OK Computer is cold and sterile, but conveys a comforting atmosphere and emotional response while at times diverging into chaos. Meanwhile, Netflix Daredevil is dark, emotional, and gritty, but it also conveys a comforting atmosphere from our nostalgia (unless you haven't watched the original, then don't pay attention to that.) Netflix Daredevil also conveys a sense of hope, even, from the relationships between our main cast and the hope they have for a better New York.
Now, OK Computer was a landmark album in Radiohead's career, and to follow that up was a major challenge for the band. They decided to take what many call "the greatest left turn in music history" and release their next album, Kid A. It was a very dividing album at the time of its release, many fans not knowing what to make of it.
Let's say that Kid A and Amnesiac are Daredevil: Born Again Seasons One and Two respectively, based on the songs they feature. Kid A's divisive reactions mirror the initial reviews of Born Again. People were saying that the show just wasn't the same and that it fell off, while many others (me included) praised it and felt that it was a great successor to the original show.
Well, there we go. We've already got one solid relation between the band and the show, coincidental or otherwise. The tone synergy between OKC and Netflix Daredevil mentioned earlier is about to become important.
Born Again Season One and Kid A both convey a much darker and more sterile feeling than their predecessors. Matt's life is thrown for a loop during season one when he has to cope with the loss of his best friend Foggy Nelson (fly high, king) at the hands of his old enemy, Bullseye. Then, immediately after his death, Matt's other closest companion, Karen Page, leaves and doesn't show back up for a long time. Oh, and THEN, he also has to face a new bloody serial killer and put a stop to Fisk again.
Safe to say Matt is in a really bad place during that season. Far from the emotionally dark but warm and nostalgic comfort of OK Computer. At the end of Season One, we see Matt forming a team to fight against Kingpin and Everything In Its Right Place plays. It all seems to be gearing towards something, but it feels uncertain. Maybe a little unstable. During the development of this song, Radiohead would quite literally draw random lyrics out of a hat. This adds to the feeling of confusion within the lyrics, while the repetition conveys a mantra. Matt is unsure how he can operate in this new life of his, evident by how he quit being Daredevil for a time, but now he feels as ready as he'll ever be.
While Kid A feels unstable and cold, Amnesiac is at times calculated and intimidating, or even excited. This mirrors the setting of Season Two really well. For once, Fisk is scared of losing his empire. He lost his wife, and now he could lose everything else because the people are on Daredevil's side. Matt, on the other hand, is uncertain of where things will go and often acts on the fly to get a leg up; such as when Matt revealed his secret identity as Daredevil in order to beat Fisk in court and free Karen. He'll do whatever it takes to win now, even teaming up with Bullseye, the one man he despises the most.
Pyramid Song is reflective and speaks of being unafraid of death. How Matt, upon getting Fisk to leave New York, allows himself to be arrested, getting just one last kiss from Karen before being taken away. He gets thrown into prison, and he does it with a smile, willingly going into a place unarmed where he might eventually die or just never leave. However, he seems content in the knowledge that New York may see a better future for the time being.
I know, I yapped a whole lot, but I really needed to write down my thoughts on this. All in all, it's still a really damn good show. And I really think Matt Murdock should be a Radiohead fan. He would definitely like their stuff in canon.
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