At times during Season 2 of Daredevil, it feels as though a more appropriate title for the series may be The Separate Adventures of Elektra and The Punisher, Sometimes Featuring Daredevil! Elektra steals the season with her journey from being a killer under the control of greater forces to becoming a hero in her own right, and a champion of her own destiny. Her status as a breakout character makes it likely that should Daredevil return for a third season (which is very likely though Netflix hasn't officially renewed it yet), she will appear. It seems that the question is not "Will Elektra return for Daredevil Season 3?" but rather, "What will Elektra be in Daredevil Season 3?"
Spoilers for Daredevil Season 2 ahead. During a momentous rooftop showdown with Nobu and various members of the Hand, Elektra takes a blade — one of her own Sai blades, to be precise — to the stomach to save Matt Murdock. She later dies in Matt's arms and is buried under a cloudy gray sky. All of this would indicate that Elektra was gone for good and not returning for a third season, but this is a comic book show after all, and death in comic books is as permanent as chalk on a sidewalk.
Elektra is last seen being placed into a giant, mystical-looking sarcophagus belonging to the Hand, a group that believes they can use their magic to circumvent the rules of life and death — and Nobu's return seemed to prove that they are right about that. Thanks to that scene, all signs point to Elektra being resurrected, but would she return as the Elektra that Matt has come to know, or will she be "Black Sky," the mysterious force that inspires the Hand? It's rare that characters on television return from the dead without being changed in some way, so expect a different Elektra to pop up in Daredevil — or another part of the Marvel Universe — once she's out of the sarcophagus.
Élodie Yung, the actor who plays Elektra, seems to think her character will go through a major change, as she recently told IGN, "I would love to appear in The Defenders ... because hopefully she’ll maybe be on the bad side." Elektra's final moments of life seemed to indicate that she was finding pleasure in doing good, but Young believes we may next see her as someone The Defenders (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) would have to fight against. But perhaps Elektra will be the Bucky Barnes to Matt Murdock's Captain America — someone who is turned bad but yearns to be good again, and causes a falling out between a group of heroes.
Elektra has quickly become essential to the story of Daredevil, and even if she had remained in her grave, the effect of her death would've been felt as the series went on. However, all signs indicate that Elektra will be returning — in one form or another. The only question is which side she'll be fighting for the next time we see her on Netflix.
Images: Patrick Harbron/Netflix (2)
