The season finale of Daredevil: Born Again's debut outing is fast approaching and you can just sense that from the heightening tension in each episode. The fifth and sixth episodes of the Disney Plus series released together and, although they were very different from each other, the stakes were incredibly high. And it's very clear that we're in for one heck of a final stretch of season 1 episodes.
Another thing that became incredibly clear from the second of those two episodes is how Matt Murdock and his archenemy Wilson Fisk are two sides of the same coin once again on a collision course with each other. With Fisk letting out his pent-up aggression on Adam and Matt suiting up as Daredevil to stop Muse, the facades that were Mayor Fisk and Matt Murdock, Attorney At Law, are beginning to fall away - leaving behind the Kingpin and Daredevil.
Where does that leave them both, and the season-long journeys they've had to conceal who they truly are? Let's dive into episode 7 and find out.
The art of the truth
Mayor Wilson Fisk is in his office, being briefed about Muse's attack on the niece of Hector Ayala, Angela del Toro. Daniel Fisher tells him that Angela was able to point them in the direction of Muse's hideout, which pleases Fisk. But that feeling soon disappears when he learns from Buck that Daredevil was the one that saved her. Scarily quiet, he tells his minions to get out.
Matt steps into the shower to cleanse himself after his trip into the tunnels to face Muse. He's washing off that Daredevil stench that he's all too familiar with, cleaning his wounds along the way. Heather joins him in the shower and we catch a glimpse of his bruises. That doesn't stop the pair from getting intimate as they begin to kiss. After that, however, Heather does ask about the bruises and Matt can't give her the answer she's looking for, lying that he bumped into things.
She opens up to him, telling him that she's worried he is self-harming. Matt acknowledges that this new life he has been living feels fake, but reiterates that it has nothing to do with her and their relationship. She knows that he's been pushing down trauma and is afraid of the effect it will have on him; he responds that he's been trying to fight it but he's tired. Heather tells him that it isn't a fight as they confess their love for each other and kiss again. Everything's fine for now, but it will never be fine for Matt. Not really.
Cherry is waiting for Matt in his office, knowing full well that he put the suit back on to stop Muse. He's not happy, reminding him that he promised to give Daredevil up a year ago, but Matt isn't relenting this time; telling him that the cops were doing nothing. They weren't looking for Muse and they weren't looking to get justice for Hector Ayala. And so, he can't let it go, as he visits Angela in hospital. She's not convinced the cops can do anything to stop Muse, but she remembers seeing paintings of faces. That is enough to prompt Matt to investigate.
Buck approaches Fisk, who is still mulling over Daredevil's return. He asks if The Devil of Hell's Kitchen being back is really the worst thing if he's planning on taking down Muse, too. Fisk takes this as the perfect opportunity to lie about Daredevil having him wrongly imprisoned for "crimes he didn't commit" (sure, whatever you say, Fisky). He then mentions his Anti-Vigilante Task Force, saying that he now has the power to use it to take down anyone who steps outside the law (or his corrupt version of it).
Detective Angie Kim reports to Fisk about what they have discovered about Muse. They think his real name is Bastian and that he's an artist trained in Taekwondo. They found some troubling discoveries when investigating his past, including the fact that his coach (Coach Lee) went missing and no body was ever discovered. Fisk is intrigued, impressed even. He asks if there was any sign of Daredevil and she confirms that his return is just rumors at this point. The mayor then thanks her and says he'll take it from here - meaning that his corrupt task force will be doing the job for him instead of the actual police detectives.
Speaking of Bastian, he arrives for a session with Heather Glenn. It's the young man who appeared at her book signings in the second episode; she knows him well now and they've been having sessions together. He talks about Coach Lee, confirming that he hated him but that he also learned a lot from him. He's an artist now, and he owes it all to Heather, he says, as she helped him become who he always saw himself as. She's his, well, muse.
As Bastian's nose bleeds and he begins to use the blood to draw on his notepad she realizes that he's the serial killer that she heard about - he's Muse. But before she can run for the door, he takes her prisoner, tying her up in her own office as he suits up as Muse before her very eyes.
Meanwhile, Matt suits up as Daredevil again and returns to Muse's lair. As he begins to search for any clues as to who - or what - the villain is, he runs his hands over one of the sketches that he has done, quickly realizing that Muse was painting Heather. Officer Powell arrives and Matt quickly uses his baton to subdue him. When he comes to, he alerts Fisk, who tells him this is the task force's chance to take them both down.
Back at Heather's office, Muse attempts to kill her. He leaves a sheet down on the floor, which he plans to use to make "art" with their bodies one more time. Before he can, Daredevil crashes through the window and a fight ensues.
Things get violent pretty quickly again as Daredevil uses his grappling baton and shoots it through Muse's shoulder to stop him from lunging at Heather with a knife. They get physical again, fighting up against Heather's bookcase. As Muse attempts to go in for the kill, Heather grabs her gun and repeatedly shoots him, killing him instantly. He falls onto the white sheet, blood soaking through to his white suit, as he becomes his own twisted art. Heather then collapses from blood loss, but Daredevil manages to stablilize her just as the police arrive.
Fisk arrives later to convene with his task force and Sgt. Cole North tells him that Daredevil saved the day. Fisk "corrects" him, telling him that the Anti-Vigilante Task Force stopped Muse. They silently agree on taking the false credit; Fisk knows he can't give Daredevil the power he once had.
Power struggles
Wilson Fisk might have spent much of this episode attempting to abuse his power through the use of his Anti-Vigilante Task Force but the rest of it was spent attempting to hold onto the power he once had as the Kingpin. We saw his dark side come through again in the previous episode when he violently assaulted Adam and threw him back in his cell, but his "release" then and there didn't solve anything; as it always does, his empire is slowly beginning to crumble.
Vanessa meets with Luca, who isn't happy - and not just because Fisk insisted he pay retribution money in the previous episode. She tells him that it was her who told Fisk to say that. Luca, however, isn't phased by this because he thinks they have a bigger problem, telling her that things worked better whenever she was in charge. He wants to do something about it. Intrigued, Vanessa asks him if he's looking for her help or her permission. He tells her that this is up to her.
This ends up being a far more pivotal conversation than you might think because, at the end of the episode, Vanessa texts an unknown number Fisk's location. Luca receives a text at the exact same time and drives to that location; it turns out that Fisk is having dinner on his own. Luca enters the restaurant and pulls a gun, keeping Fisk in his sight. Before he can pull the trigger, Luca is shot and killed by Buck, who was waiting in the darkness for him the whole time. Fisk, calm and unphased, carries on eating, tells Buck to call Vanessa to ask her if she'd like him to bring her home some food.
A haunting end to a haunting episode.
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6 ending explained: Muse's death causes more chaos
Daredevil: Born Again's sixth hour was all about fallout. A lot of the things that took place in this episode were built on reactions to what happened in the previous one. Everyone was reacting to the fact that Muse was real, and how violent he was. Fisk was reacting to Daredevil's return, and so was Matt - albeit in a very different way. And both of those characters were reacting to their returns to who they truly were.
Fisk is allowing his corruption to run roughshod all over the NYPD once again with his Ant-Vigilante Task Force, and that much was clear from the episode's final few scenes. BB Urich was strong-armed into printing lies about the task force's involvement in Muse's demise, and the fake news spread like wildfire as the corrupt cops got the credit for the heroics of Daredevil - whose return has been kept out of the public sphere. Like we already said, Fisk is afraid of how quickly he could become a hero of the people again - and no corrupt criminal-turned-politician can contend with that.
As he desperately attempts to control the narrative, it appears that he has also taken control of a planned uprising among the crime families. Buck was ready for Luca to attack Fisk, so that must mean that the Kingpin was aware of what was going down. And judging by his comment about bringing Vanessa home food, we can assume that Mrs. Fisk warned her husband about the planned coup. If that is the case, the most dangerous power couple in the MCU could very well be back on the same page after all this time.
Speaking of couples, it sounds like Matt and Heather have quite an ordeal to get over, but the question remains if they will be able to do it together. Heather has shown an unusual fascination with vigilantes, so how will she feel now that she has gotten up close and personal with Daredevil? Will the heaviness of dealing with the fact that she killed Muse weigh on her? As Matt reminded her, it was easily self-defense, but she was clearly shaken by doing it nonetheless.
As for Matt himself, he's still processing his wounds - both physical and mental - of the past year. Now that Daredevil is officially back, there are more wrongs to right, but will he be able to do that? He knows Fisk is not to be overlooked in his new role as Mayor, and with the problem of Muse taken care of, are the two foes once again on a collision course with each other?
Daredevil: Born Again is available to stream on Disney Plus.