Daredevil Season 2 Doubles Down On Its Terrifying New Villain Setup

Daredevil: Born Again is coming down the back half of Season 2, and with only two episodes left, things are definitely getting darker before they get better. Episode 6, “Requiem”, was all about the darkness that rushes in to fill the void of Vanessa Fisk’s (Ayelet Zurer) loss. Wilson Fisk goes full “Kingpin” mode, with no quarter or mercy left for his enemies or anyone else who dares to cross or fail him.

Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and his network of allies feel the walls closing in. Even with help from the likes of Daredevil’s Defenders teammate, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), the good guys end up taking some hard hits as they try to end the war with Kingpin, once and for all. However, while Daredevil and Kingpin are locked into their feud, they both are overlooking a new villain who is slowly but surely starting to emerge from the chaos.

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Dr. Glenn Is Headed For A Dark Change

Dr. Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) has seemed like an extraneous addition to Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, but nothing that’s happening this season is extraneous at all. In Season 1, Dr. Glenn was nearly killed by her patient, artist Bastian Cooper (Hunter Doohan), who moonlighted as the serial killer, Muse. The trauma of that attack, and killing Muse, has left Glenn with clear signs of PTSD, a dark hole that is only deepening as she is faced with all the violence, chaos, and death around her.

In Episode 6, Glenn took a terrifying step towards darkness. After Vanessa’s funeral, Dr. Glenn is perusing her bedroom, and takes a single ruby earring as a keepsake. She’s discovered by Kingpin’s trigger man, Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan), with whom she’s had a growing attraction. Buck recognizes the darkness in Glenn, and helps her embrace it by letting her strangle him in a rage.

Glenn runs away from Buck, shocked at her own propensity for violence, but it’s clear that the once-good doctor has crossed a dark threshold. But how dark will her descent get? If you know your Marvel lore, you know the answer is: all the way dark.

(WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

Marvel’s Dark History With “Lady Muse”

In Marvel Comics lore, the first Muse was a superpowered serial killer whom Daredevil took down; he escaped prison during “Mayor Fisk’s” reign over NYC, and went on a killing spree, while harassing Fisk with giant murals of vigilantes he was trying to take down. He was ultimately defeated by Blindspot, the vigilante he blinded during his first spree, and committed suicide rather than capture or exposure.

After Muse died, his soul was sent to Hell, but it did not stop the villain’s evil. Muse’s spirit begins to influence artist Morgan Whittier from beyond the grave, inspiring her art, as well as her serial killer campaign as Lady Muse (or Muse II).

So is Daredevil: Born Again doing its own spin on Muse II, the same way it did with Muse I? A lot of fans have been wondering why an actress as accomplished as Margarita Levieva (Star Wars: The Acolyte, Task, Allegiance, The Blacklist, The Deuce, Vanished, How to Make it In America) took this role. It seems like it would be a massive waste not let her take it all the way. But, based on the “Easter egg” foreshadow of Dr. Glenn’s tear-soaked face mirroring Muse’s mask, we feel confident that this storyline is going to play out the way a lot of fans want to see.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is streaming on Disney+. Discuss Episode 6 with us on the ComicBook Forum!