Daredevil Season 3 Will Break Matt Murdock Down, Completely

Matt Murdock's life is about to get a whole lot worse. Following the events of The Defenders, Daredevil is hurt and living on his own in secret. He is not sure he even deserves to be a superhero anymore, and he might not even be able to continue his career. Season 3 of Daredevil, promises to break Matt down completely, and the question will be whether or not he can return to form.

During a visit to the set of the show's third season, CBR learned from showrunner Erik Oleson and star Charlie Cox how Matt Murdock will handle the fallout from The Defenders, and it's not good.

The Man Full of Fear

Central to his plans for the season, showrunner Erik Oleson made it clear that the Man Without Fear is actually afraid of something, and the idea that "our fears enslave us" will be a central theme for everyone. Breaking down that idea further, he talked about the current state of American politics, and how that has seeped into our everyday lives -- including Matt Murdock's.

"The country is very divided, the world has a lot of problems, and I think ultimately that it's everyone's fear that ends up manifesting in ways that pit us against each other." Essentially, the villains of the world are able to capitalize on those fears and take us down. Oleson conjectured, "The old adage is 'a house divided against itself will fall,'" and that is what happens to Matt in Season 3.

Echoing Oleson's statement, Charlie Cox described how Daredevil is completely divided, as a person. "He is a walking contradiction in everything that he does," Cox said about his character. "Hopefully you can equally see him as someone who is a moral upstanding member of society, and in the same breath see him as someone who is an absolute menace and someone who is detrimental to law enforcement and to a society running smoothly."

This, of course, only helps to magnify whatever it is that Hell's Kitchen's defender actually fears. "Matt goes from believing that he's Matt Murdock with this alter ego of Daredevil, to believing that he's Daredevil with a lie of Matt Murdock." He's conflicted, he's divided, and he will fall.

The Fall of Daredevil

Feeding off the fears that Matt begins to feel this season, we will witness a complete breakdown of what the character has come to stand for, and what he believes in. "When we meet Matt at the beginning of this season, he's basically dead," Cox said. "It's amazing that he's not dead."

Cox gave us an idea of exactly what Matt will be dealing with on an emotional and psychological level when we see him again. "He is convinced that he will not be able to operate as he has, and as a result he cannot be Daredevil." It is hinted that the character will deal with both mental and physical pain following his near-death experience, and as a man who believes in God, "The first thing that takes a massive hit with that kind of information is his faith."

When everything you do is powered by your belief in a higher power, and then you feel like your God has betrayed you, it can lead to terrible things. "Matt's relationship towards God and his faith has changed dramatically," Cox explained. "He still believes in God, but he now believes in a punishing God." This new point of view fundamentally changes Matt because, "If you're someone who believes he was given this gift in order to help, and then that's taken away, but you're still alive, it throws everything into question."

As a byproduct of his trauma and pain, and the fact that he has isolated himself, things really begin to break down for him. Cox warned that madness starts to creep in, and Matt becomes something even more frightening than he ever was as the vigilante known as Daredevil. "What's really scary about someone who's not right in the head is when they seem normal for a period of time, and then you see something," and you know that something is not right with them. This is the Matt Murdock we can expect to see in Season 3, and it's not a pretty sight.

Arriving Oct. 19 on Netflix, Daredevil Season 3 stars Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Joanne Whaley, Vincent D’Onofrio and Wilson Bethel.