Daredevil: Born Again released another episode last night, “Sic Semper Systema,” and Geekly’s here to share their thoughts. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Daredevil: Born Again approaches its season finale (or at least the cliffhanger before its break for the second half of the season), and the show manages to turn up the heat.

With four episodes in, Daredevil: Born Again proves it can build off the previous show’s success. The new series works best when it centers on Murdock and Fisk. With a few exceptions, the best moments are rooted in characters who originate from the original Netflix series. Wilson and Vanessa scenes have me hooked. I feared for Vanessa’s well-being whenever she and Wilson discussed her infidelity. That mistrust is rewarded in “Sic Semper Systema’s” closing. I won’t spoil it here, but there’s a great payoff.

Is it me or does Matt Murdock’s love interest Heather Glenn work better as the Fisk’s therapist than she does Daredevil’s lover? I love Margarita Levieva’s performance with the Fisks. I don’t know if Daredevil: Born Again has done enough to establish her as Murdock’s significant other. And I think that’s an issue with the new series. Again, four episodes in, and patterns emerge. Daredevil: Born Again had to rid itself of Karen Page and Foggy Nelson because they knew Murdock’s secret identity and would eventually support his vigilante work. Heck. Karen suggests that Matt don the cowl in the first episode. The new series wanted Murdock to fight returning as Daredevil. But it hasn’t done enough to build the new recurring characters in Murdock’s life. There are some exceptions.

As I said, I do like Heather as the Wilson’s therapist. Mayor Fisk’s advisors Daniel and Sheila are fantastic. “Sic Semper Systema” shows Kingpin’s former “business” peeking through his day-to-day as mayor. You know how the old Fisk would’ve handled Daniel’s mistake. Daredevil: Born Again does a great job of building this tension. And then throwing in a dark comedic moment. After Mayor Fisk says he won’t fire Daniel for his incompetence and Daniel insists that he’ll never be able to make amends, Sheila tells Daniel, that’s nice, now shut up. She put her job on the line for him and I saw in Sheila’s reaction to Fisk and Daniel’s “talk” that she feared for her and Daniel’s lives. Zabryna Guevara (Sheila) and Michael Gandolfini (Daniel) give great performances.

I also enjoyed one of “Sic Semper Systema’s” one-off characters. Charlie Hudson III’s Leroy Bradford works to show Murdock as a lawyer and the corruption of the legal system. Hudson is only on-screen for around ten minutes, but these moments are powerful.

Hamish Allan-Headley’s Officer Powell has been a standout for this young series. The scenes that include Officer Powell illustrate NYPD’s corruption. Powell serves as a great foil. He doesn’t factor into White Tiger’s murder (that we know of), but someone with connections to the NYPD is behind White Tiger’s death. Evidently, The Punisher has fans within the NYPD. The scene where Matt finds the casing from the bullet used to murder White Tiger is pitch-perfect. I don’t want to spoil it here, but moments like this hint at Murdock’s return as Daredevil. Sure, we physically see Murdock practice martial arts toward the end of “Sic Semper Systema,” but his investigative skills impressed.

Daredevil: Born Again handled The Punisher’s inclusion well. As I suspected, he wasn’t behind White Tiger’s murder. I’m glad he doesn’t steal too much screen time, and Frank Castle pushes Murdock’s buttons. Again, I’ll try not to spoil the scene, but The Punisher gives Murdock the push he needs to dust off his Daredevil attire. Jon Bernthal is a fan favorite for good reason. He embodies The Punisher. Daredevil: Born Again does a great job of hinting that The Punisher continues to fight the good fight. I can’t wait to see him in a future series.

And that brings us to this season’s main villain Muse. Our featured image above is one of Muse’s murals. You can see his name at the bottom right. I may be heading into mild spoiler territory here. Beware. We don’t see much of Muse. Daredevil: Born Again is holding him back for the final two episodes before it goes on break, and that’s a good choice.

In the comics, Muse is active while Wilson Fisk is mayor (Daredevil comics, circa 2016). He paints his murals with human blood, so the red “paint” above (and in this week’s featured image) derives from the blood of his victims. Also in the comics, Muse had superpowers like heightened strength and increased reflexes. He’s an inhuman and also targeted other inhumans. This could be a way to tie Muse (and Daredevil) into the greater MCU and potentially reintroduce the Inhumans. I wouldn’t be surprised if Muse was a standard-issue human, but I’d be a little disappointed if he didn’t have the last and most significant of his superpowers: imperceptibility.

People don’t notice Muse is around because his body is a sensory void. This ability also works on Daredevil. Daredevil: Born Again mentions Spider-Man repeatedly and one of Spidey’s greatest enemies is Venom. Low key, Venom’s best ability is that he doesn’t trigger Peter Parker’s spider-sense. Muse plays a similar role to Daredevil, and the series (specifically the scene when Matt does detective work) is building up to a reveal that no one can sense Muse.

“Sic Semper Systema” generates a lot of speculation. That’s a great thing for Daredevil: Born Again. The series had a rocky start, but there’s hope for a strong cliffhanger next week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.