I’m So Glad Marvel’s Disney+ Revival Is Finally Picking Up Steam as Muse Steps Out of the Shadows

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Episode 6.Despite starting strong, Daredevil: Born Again hit something of a low point with Episode 5. A short yet tedious bank heist did little to inspire confidence in the Disney+ series — not counting the return of Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapur), who continues to be a delight — really took the show on an odd route. In our previous recap, we made it clear that the TV-MA Marvel series needs to refocus on its central narrative as Season 1 enters the home stretch. Thankfully, Episode 6 of Daredevil: Born Again does just that.

Before the visually stunning opening credits even roll, it’s quickly apparent that Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) are right on the edge of reverting to their old ways as Daredevil and the Kingpin, respectively. Matt’s hunger for justice is making him ravenous — especially while other vigilantes like Swordsman are filling in the spotlight — and Wilson Fisk is starting to grow tired of the world of politics. They’ll almost undoubtedly come to a crossroads the moment they learn of Muse — New York’s latest serial killer who may have been making his presence known in the show for longer than audiences initially thought.

The Hunt for Muse Begins in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Episode 6

Daredevil: Born Again fans may have noticed that there’s been a lot of graffiti in the series, primarily in the background sequences. As Episode 6 reveals, these are no ordinary murals. In actuality, the paint used to create these works of art contains traces of human blood, and they appear to be the calling card of a new serial killer named Muse. The homicidal artist has also apparently amassed a cult following. As two unsuspecting women try to get a picture with the villain, they ultimately meet a grim fate and become part of his gallery.

How Muse’s activities have been able to go on unnoticed for as long as they have is a mystery, but it becomes clear that this monster has been doing this for quite some time — so long that the late Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes) was on Muse’s trail before the vigilante’s execution. This is relayed to a skeptical Matt by Hector’s niece — and likely future inheritor of the White Tiger mantle — Angela del Toro (Camilla Rodriguez). Matt initially dismisses the claims as a family member’s pursuit of justice, but a later conversation with an unusually tense Cherry (Clark Johnson) reveals that Muse has killed a minimum of sixty people, making him one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, let alone in New York’s history.

News of Muse’s killing eventually makes it to the office of Wilson Fisk, who, once again, can’t seem to catch a break in the cutthroat world of politics. His meeting with the city’s elite does not go as planned, with even Jacques DuQuesne (Tony Dalton) — the partner of his now-imprisoned associate Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga), who first appeared in Hawkeye — casting doubt on Fisk’s aspirations for the Red Hook ports. However, Fisk isn’t able to dwell on that too much, as Muse claims two more victims, leading the former Kingpin to put together a ragtag task force of undesirables.

Daredevil and the Kingpin Are Officially Back in ‘Born Again’ Episode 6

Difficult questions must be met with difficult answers, at least according to Wilson Fisk. Whether he knows how and why Hector Ayala was killed or not, Fisk decides to recruit the very men likely responsible for the White Tiger’s murder. Where even their own police commissioner views them as the most crooked of the crooks, that doesn’t stop Fisk from making them the members of his new vigilante task force, with them being given just about every privilege if it means bringing Muse and any other costumed heroes or villains to justice.

That task force is probably going to bring in problems for Matt, who, after hearing that Angela has gone missing, literally says “f**k it” and decides it’s time to become Daredevil again. That’s for good reason, too, as Angela finds herself being abducted by Muse for his next perverse masterpiece. Thankfully, the recently revived Devil of Hell’s Kitchen arrives in the nick of time, as a brutal one-on-one fight kicks off as Angela’s blood is drained from her body.

Matt isn’t the only one getting some action tonight, either. After making his special task force of troublemakers, Wilson Fisk also decides to tie up another loose end. Giving him an ax to help even the odds, Adam (Lou Taylor Pucci) — the man who had an affair with Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) — is forced to fight Fisk to the death, and one can probably guess who the victor is going to be.

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Episode 6 Has the Show’s Best Fight Sequence So Far

No fight so far in Daredevil: Born Again has been able to match up to the opening Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) massacre — until now. Daredevil learns very quickly that Muse is a killer who’s able to handle himself, as the two have a riveting back-and-forth in the film’s grand finale. Even better, the fight matches up perfectly with Fisk’s fight, using really well-done match cuts to organically bounce back and forth between the respective sequences. It’s a riveting number that finally gets the show back to where it needed to be after stumbling through a few slower and less-engaging episodes.

The fights do end how one would expect. Matt saves Angela, while Muse makes a quick and mysterious getaway, and Fisk makes it so Adam won’t be telling any of his constituents about the abduction that took place. More importantly, this appears to represent the key moment when the two characters really return. Matt tried to be a noble lawyer, and Fisk tried to be a better mayor, but it doesn’t seem like it was meant to be. We may have been watching Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk for a while now, but this is the first time in a long time that we’re seeing Daredevil and the Kingpin be born again.

The first six episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are now available to stream on Disney+.