Well, that was disappointing. “Art For Art’s Sake” scuttles some of the goodwill earned by last week’s two episodes and overall, may be the weakest of Daredevil: Born Again. In its efforts to push the story along, the episode accidentally shines a light on what might’ve been lost amid the show’s creative shakeup.
Of the main cast, Heather has felt like the least developed character, despite being in the orbit of the central leads. A therapist dating a retired-ish superhero and helping the villain through his rocky marriage is an interesting spot for her to be in, at least in theory. But since she’s just a sounding board to Matt and the Fisks, and not entirely aware of what’s going on in either party’s lives, it just means one woman’s getting lied to by three people for the price of one. And yet, she’s somehow wound up with another, fourth client with a secret of his own.
Remember Bastian Cooper (Hunter Doohan), the kid who went to her book signing in episode two and hasn’t been seen since? In what is surely a shock, he turns out to be Muse. This reveal might’ve felt obvious to some when he first appeared, but it especially sticks out so late in the season. With just two episodes spent touching on him, it feels like much of what was intended for him in his civilian life was meant to play out across multiple appeances and got chopped down significantly. It’s a sharp contrast to the White Tiger arc earlier this season, which gave space for Hector’s story while also weaving it in with Matt’s journey starting his crisis of heroic faith.
© Marvel TelevisionDespite his comics counterpart being shrouded in mystery, Bastian being Muse isn’t inherently a problem. And to Doohan’s credit, he gives a good, unsettling performance as he slowly unravels in front of Heather’s eyes, much to her growing fear. But since this is his second episode in the spotlight, Born Again is forced to hurriedly explain his backstory, give him interiority, and display that he has some kind of relationship with Heather which didn’t exist before now. So at the same time Bastian’s in therapy, the cops have already determined his identity (We learn he grew up taking tae kwon do, which explains why he wasn’t completely demolished in the last episode). Once he hears police sirens, all the intrigue and creepiness displayed in those fleeting appearances and last week instantly vanish, so he can be a kid in over his head and ready to do a murder/suicide because that’s just how these stories play out.
As the Muse plot gradually plays out, we see the fallout from Matt choosing to suit up as Daredevil. This puts a strain on his relationships with Heather, Kirstin, and Cherry. Of the three, Cherry is the most pissed, since he specifically told Matt to not get involved in the Muse situation and feels like he’s responsible for keeping his friend on the straight and narrow. Since he’s a superhero again, Matt wants to go back to the vigilante/cop dynamic he and Cherry used to have, but that’s a no go for Cherry, prompting some strife between the two.
Meanwhile, Fisk is spiraling out. Just hearing of his nemesis’ return makes him reminisce about the brutal violence Matt enacted on blue collar workers that were under his employ all those years ago. He promised Matt in the pilot that he’d use his mayoral power to shut down any vigilante action in the city, and he’s more than ready to make good on that promise. When he learns of Bastian and Heather’s connection, he’s practically giddy to send in the anti-vigilante force to rescue her.
This leads to the episode’s big action scene as Daredevil and Muse go for round two while the task force make their ascent up the building. Mid-fight, Heather scrambles for Muse’s gun and empties the entire clip into his body, killing him. It’s the most noteworthy thing she’s done all season, and something she’s understandably shaken up about, even as Matt tries to rationalize her decision without sounding like a sociopath. Fisk, on the other hand, sees this as a win: sure, the task force didn’t take Muse down, but he’s got no problem crediting them with the death to boost his anti-vigilante stance.
© Marvel TelevisionThe show is all but saying it’s planning to do a version of Zdarksy and Checchetto’s Devil’s Reign event, and holding up the fallen Muse’s mask to the press is a declaration of war. There’s nothing wrong with that, given Daredevil: Born Again has two episodes left before the season ends. But this step towards that eventuality is noticeably shakier than those before it, and disappointingly undercuts its central villain along the way.
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