'Daredevil: Born Again' Episode 7 Review

Marvel

Apr 3

With just three episodes left in its first season, Daredevil: Born Again looks to be closing in on its sure-to-be dramatic conclusion. After last week’s humbler Episode 5 followed by Episode 6 jumping deep into the main plot, Episode 7 (titled "Art for Art's Sake") keeps the momentum going with a brooding, suspense-filled episode that finally connects dots and pay-off teases from earlier on into the season.

WARNING: This review will contain MINOR spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again.

Muse remains the figure of focus in this episode, and we are given more about his character, but also thanks to the presence of daylight, are given a greater look at his terrifying outfit and gear. He continues to exude menace here, and we come to understand him just a bit more given he is far more talkative than in his other appearances on screen. However, there is a negative aspect to his appearance that would dive into spoiler territory, so we’ll have to just note his role as something that could have been slightly improved.

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Elsewhere, the tension between Fisk as mayor and Fisk as crime boss continues to boil, with the payment between New York’s criminal syndicates remaining unpaid, and Vanessa being put to the test as a result. Fisk is also grappling with a lot of new feelings in this episode as a result of Episode 6, but by the end of this week’s story, we can see Fisk’s transformation from crime boss to mayor has seemingly begun to find a happy middle ground. Future episodes may reveal there are issues with this middle position, as a satisfied Fisk who gets disrupted is an incredibly dangerous force.

As for the world of Matthew Murdoch, his relationship with Heather Glenn has grown complicated as she has begun to suspect he has been hiding things from her. While their relationship overall remains strong, there are hints in this episode that she may be close to truly understanding just what torments her new boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Matt has begun to seriously fray just like Fisk did in prior episodes, which is part of the tension with Heather, but also at his law firm. We’ve not seen Matt take a proper case in a few episodes, and Kirsten McDuffie has started to notice just how distracted he’s become. It may be only a matter of time before Matt is unable to maintain the balancing act he’s kept up for a year since Foggy’s death.

Other sources of praise for this episode include the action scenes, with some great choreography, and the development of side characters new and old. A particularly powerful scene near the end of the episode between BB Urich and Fisk’s underling Daniel Blake highlights an ongoing storyline, while also showing the changes Blake has undergone thanks to Fisk. This season as a whole has been constructed incredibly well, with small hints and details in prior episodes rippling out to strongly impact later ones. Episode 7 ultimately sets up the finale for drama, secrets, and actions, and we can’t wait until we get there.

Review: 9/10

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