Episode Seven: “Art for Art’s Sake”
Fans of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen may rejoice once again with the arrival of the seventh episode of “Daredevil: Born Again” (2025) titled “Art for Art’s Sake.” The episode further expands on the next moves of the villainous serial killer known as Muse.
After the police do a sweep of Muse’s lair, Mayor Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) is informed by Detective Angie Kim (Ruibo Qian) that their lead suspect is a troubled man named Bastian Cooper (Hunter Doohan). Fisk is also displeased after learning that Angela del Toro (Camila Rodriguez) told authorities she was saved by Daredevil (Charlie Cox).
The audience later finds out that Cooper is Muse during his therapy session with Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), and the audience is treated to Cooper’s acting ability.
Cooper was actually shown in one scene in episode two, “Optics,” where he attends Glenn’s book signing. For his short time on screen, Doohan does a swell job playing a twisted, disturbed young man.
However, the performance is the only positive about Muse’s character. Before this episode, Muse was perfectly built up as an unknown dark force in the background. His presence gave the same feeling as the real-life serial killer Henry Howard Holmes in Erik Larson’s book “The Devil in the White City” (2003).
With how his character is handled in Episode 7, showrunner Dario Scardapane and the writers should have shelved him for another season where he could have been fleshed out and given a better story. Muse is not the weakest part of the show. Instead, he needs more screen time, development and a better story.
Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force investigates Muse’s lair and finds portraits of Glenn as well as Daredevil. Before she can be killed for another one of Muse’s grand bloody pieces of art, Daredevil swoops in to stop him and save her.
He and Muse battle it out and Muse eventually breaks loose. Before he can kill Heather, she fatally shoots him. She faints as a result of losing blood, and Daredevil is able to stabilize Muse before the Anti-Vigilante Task Force finds him.
Later, Fisk publicly announces that his Anti-Vigilante Task Force is responsible for subduing Muse and not Daredevil like the young BB Urich (Genneya Walton) speculated. She is then threatened by Daniel Blade (Michael Gandolfini) while they are alone in Fisk’s office to take down her blog about Daredevil saving Glenn and defeating Muse.
Glenn makes a recovery, and she meets Murdock at her bedside in a hospital room. She reveals to him that she heard Daredevil mention her name before she fainted. Meanwhile, Luca (Patrick Murney) discusses with Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) that he would rather be doing business with her and that Fisk should be taken care of.
In a trap, Vanessa lures Luca to where Fisk is having dinner one night. When Luca arrives, he sees that Fisk is eating alone. Before he can pull the trigger, Buch Cashman (Arty Froushan) shoots and kills Luca.
“Daredevil: Born Again” has a faster pace compared to the original Netflix show. “Art for Art’s Sake” was only 45 minutes long, a contrast to the original show’s 50-minute episode length. It would have been nice for the show to let viewers linger on certain scenes and characters like Muse.
Filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Morehead are set to direct the final two episodes of the season. The duo is famous for their work on the Marvel series “Loki” (2021-2023) and “Moon Knight” (2022). Hopefully, they can provide Daredevil fans with a strong and memorable finale.
