REVIEW: ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Episode 7 — “Art for Art’s Sake”

Daredevil Born Again Episode 7 highlights the most egregious issue with the series: our lack of emotional involvement. It’s become easy to over-praise the original Netflix show, even though beyond the addition of Elektra and Punisher, Seasons 2 and 3 saw diminishing returns. That said, it always maintained a heart through Matt (Charlie Cox) and his relationships, namely with Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and Foggy (Elden Henson). Even when they were written to be frustrating, their motivations were clear, and their friendship felt real — we understood that the greatest heartbreak in Season 1 was when Foggy learned the truth. That heart, that camaraderie, is nowhere to be found here.

This is more notable due to how much of a spotlight Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) gets in Daredevil Born Again Episode 7. We don’t know enough about her or have spent enough time with her to care about her storyline. And, considering “Art for Art’s Sake” places her in the direct range of the serial killer Muse, that lack of investment lessens the tension of said standoff. We care in a detached way as we wait for Daredevil to rush in and save the day. But there’s no pull of concern of Matt’s secret potentially being revealed or emotional investment.

However, despite the episode’s focus lying elsewhere, the most significant misstep is when Matt and Heather say, ‘I love you’ because it isn’t earned. Here is what’s meant to be these declarative, romantic moments, and it lands with a thud because there’s no emotional weight. We don’t care about Heather; we don’t care about her relationship with Matt. And the show has done nothing to prove to us that this is how the characters actually feel; it’s simply convenient for what will come next.

The primary focus of Daredevil Born Again Episode 7 is taking the mask off of Muse, revealing it to be a troubled young man, Bastian Cooper (Hunter Doohan), who has sessions with Heather. The first issue with the sequence is that Doohan doesn’t quite radiate the same threat that Muse does with the mask on. Neither Doohan nor Levieva is fully up for the challenge as Heather begins to piece things together, realizing who Bastian truly is and his fixation on her.

Kudos, however, for making it a bloody, relatively graphic moment that contrasts pleasantly with the daytime setting. At the very least, Heather doesn’t go down without putting up her fight. Daredevil’s confrontation with Muse hits the high notes, however desperate and breathless as they brawl once again within tight quarters. The action is suitably bruising, though it could stand in isolation from the episode and be just as effective.

One strong fight sequence can’t save Daredevil Born Again Episode 7. 

Heather is the one who lands the final blow(s) when she shoots Bastian. With him dead, she feels a twinge of guilt that it’s by her hands. Later in the hospital, she tells Matt that she heard Daredevil say her name, and despite the ongoing discussion in the series about masked vigilantes being cowards, here’s hoping the series keeps his secret from her. Because that, too, feels like something that needs to be earned. And the much more interesting story would be Heather grappling with the death of one of her patients and her unintended role in it.

Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) storyline picks up when Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) tries to reclaim her former role. However, while it seems like Vanessa sends Luca to kill Fisk, the lines blur on whether she was protecting Fisk all along as Cashman kills Luca. The potential power struggle between the couple is much more engaging than Fisk’s attempts at being a politician. Though, with Daredevil being spotted, it seems that greater drama is incoming.

As has been the case since the start of the series, all of the supporting cast bog the story down due to the weak writing and barely there character development. From Matt’s coworkers to Fisk’s underlings, not one of them shines through to make their individual scenes worthwhile. It’s just noise until we get back to whatever Matt is up to, and even that becomes tedious, depending on his screen partner.

Daredevil Born Again Episode 7 nearly saves itself with one pivotal fight sequence, but the rest falls flat. As the show continues to struggle to find any semblance of emotional tethers, we struggle to stay connected.

Daredevil Born Again Episode 7 is out now on Disney+.

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