Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS from Daredevil: Born Again, season 1, episode 7.As Daredevil: Born Again season 1 nears its end, the Marvel Cinematic Universe threw in one of its biggest surprises in episode 7. While the MCU TV show has been dealing with the emerging threat of Muse in Daredevil: Born Again, this week’s episode pits Dr. Heather Glenn in his way, as Bastian initially came to her for therapy. However, it didn’t take long for the psychotic serial killer to make Heather his next target.
While Daredevil: Born Again episode 7 saw Matt Murdock fully suited up and coming to Heather’s rescue, his showdown with Muse had a very unexpected conclusion. In the midst of the chaos, Heather pulls a gun and shoots Muse, leading to his shocking MCU death. While Muse may be out of the picture, Heather is now forced to live with the fact that she has taken someone’s life.
Following the conclusion of Daredevil: Born Again episode 7, ScreenRant interviewed Margarita Levieva about Heather’s big scene with Muse. As Heather works in a profession that is all about helping people with their health, Levieva discussed the character’s traumatic experience with Muse and how this will affect her in the future of the Daredevil: Born Again story.
How The Heather Vs. Muse Showdown Was Constructed For Daredevil: Born Again, Episode 7
“I Think That’s Also Why Heather Really Kind Of Falls For Him”
To start off the interview, Levieva spoke about Heather’s actions that led to the Daredevil: Born Again episode 7 ending, with Muse now dead. From having an intense therapy session with him before Muse almost tries to kill her, Levieva stated that, “Their relationship began during the book signing.” As for the actor, “Hunter Doohan is such an extraordinary actor, and from the moment he walked up to me, there was just so much coming off of him, and so much energy and vulnerability.”
Levieva praised Doohan and described her working experience with him as crucial, stating that, “I really felt him deeply immediately, and he’s a really terrifying character, because he is so sympathetic in the beginning, and because he’s so vulnerable, and because he’s so earnest, I think that’s also why Heather really kind of falls for him, because she believes she can really help him and and sees the goodness in him. That’s why it’s so jarring and just unfathomable when whatever unfolds unfolds.”
He was just such an extraordinary actor. That therapy session was a very, very long scene on the page, and it was one of those where [it] both felt like it was a huge mountain to climb, but once we got into the dance, it was so fluid and felt so real. It was terrifying, but it felt very real, which was really helpful for the show.
The Mental State Of Heather Glenn After Daredevil: Born Again Episode 7
“Taking Someone’s Life Is Not Something She Ever Thought She Would Do In Her Lifetime”
With Heather having to make a drastic decision towards the end of Daredevil: Born Again episode 7, Levieva also explored what was going through the doctor’s head when she decided to pull a gun on Muse. For Levieva, what Heather is now going through is “extremely traumatic. It’s life-changing, I think, for someone who’s in the service of helping others to then take someone else’s life is just too much to even understand at first, and the moment that she does shoot him, we talked about it a lot.”
Levieva had asked herself, “Is it a conscious [decision]? Is it full-on revenge, hunger, kill? Is it sort of like a blackout kind of kill because so much physical violence is inflicted upon her up until then. There are a few moments where she actually hits her head. So we were wondering if there was a version of it where she’s almost unaware of what she’s doing, and it’s kind of like automatic.”
As this leaves some things ambiguous for Heather’s actions in Daredevil. Born Again episode 7, Levieva teased that “I don’t want to really reveal what I decided for myself it was. It’ll be interesting to see how people interpret it, but the effects are evident right away, even in the hospital scene, when she wakes up from the concussion and realizes what she had done, it’s so unbearable for her to process.” For Heather, “taking someone’s life is not something that she ever thought, obviously, that she would ever do in her lifetime. [It] really rocks her,” according to Levieva.
However, with Heather’s profession being to help others with their mental health, Levieva also addressed the complexity that her Daredevil: Born Again character is now facing after dealing with Muse. “That’s complicated, and that’s what’s so beautiful about the writing and the creators of the show,” said Levieva, before adding that, “Obviously, we’re dealing with such big themes and this idea of vigilante and violence and what is done in the service of serving the greater good. How far can we actually take that sort of violence into our own hands? Where does it all end?”
Mayor and Mrs. Fisk, Doctor Glenn Will See You Now
“They Gave So Much, And There Was So Much To It”
Image via Disney+
With Heather’s introduction to the Daredevil: Born Again cast, one of the pivotal storylines is serving as the therapist for Mayor Wilson Fisk and his wife, Vanessa Fisk, as the villainous couple are trying to heal their marriage. As Daredevil: Born Again is able to show a domestic side to the Fisks, Levieva commended the creative team for how they’re approaching it, stating, “That’s what’s so beautiful about the writing, because they actually are very honest in those therapy sessions. They’re just avail with terms that obviously are not directly correlated to what is actually happening in their lives, but are still able to express what is underneath and the emotion underneath that is happening for them.”
Levieva also praised her fellow co-stars, describing how “it was wonderful working with them. Vincent [D’Onofrio] and Ayelet Zurer, both are just extraordinary actors and we really try to play those scenes like we were having real therapy sessions.” When it comes to her function as Dr. Heather Glenn in those moments, “All I had to do, honestly is just listen to them and take them in. They gave so much, and there was so much to it, [it] was eliciting so much in me without me even doing anything, just by observing and listening to them.”
For those who followed Daredevil: Born Again’s creative overhaul will recall that the initial version of the Disney+ drama was very close to not even having Zurer back as Vanessa, as the role was initially set to be played by a different actress before the show got retooled. One of the things that were indeed tinkered with during Daredevil: Born Again’s re-development process was, in fact, the Fisks’ marriage counseling storyline, as Levieva confirmed that the arc “changed pretty drastically, because the relationship between the partner [Sandrine Holt who played Vanessa pre-creative overhaul] that Fisk had in the first version was quite different from his relationship with Vanessa Fisk, because that relationship was already established.”
While the therapy sessions were handled differently, Levieva addressed that Wilson’s intentions with therapy were always the same, as she said he “genuinely [wanting] to save his relationship, no matter how complicated or raw or deceptive, that part of it was always true, and the part of Heather, really feeling for these two characters and really feeling connected to them and wanting to help them, that part has remained.”
Will Heather Find Out Matt’s Secret…Or Does She Already Know?
“It’s Very Complicated, And It’s Also Very Layered”
Image via Disney+
In every great superhero adaptation, a protagonist is eventually forced to deal with the challenges of living a double life, and Matt is no stranger to that through his time in the MCU. With his new relationship with Heather, she is currently not aware that Matt and Daredevil are actually the same person.
When asked if Heather would theoretically be able to accept this concept if she ever found out, Levieva stressed that, “It’s a lot, and obviously we’re in a world that is extreme and dealing with extreme circumstances, because in the real world, [laughs] the idea of finding out that the person that you’re basically living with and believe could be your partner for life, perhaps is Daredevil, is pretty out there.” The MCU actress added that, “and then to also have a patient who’s a vigilante, it’s a lot for Heather. I wondered a lot through the season, ‘How much does she suspect?’ She is a highly capable doctor or psychiatrist, so it’s her job to sort of pick up on the clues, and her intuition has to be really sharpened.”
According to Levieva, she wondered “if there was a part of her that just didn’t want to know that,” before bringing up that, “Sometimes in life, you’re like, ‘I know something is off, but I don’t want to know. I want to believe the fairy tale right now. I want to believe this life that I’ve chosen for now.’ So I’m curious to see what would happen if she finds out.” However, she was also asked if there is a possibility that Heather actually already knows that Matt is Daredevil. But according to Levieva, “It’s very complicated, and it’s also very layered. It really taps into this emotional and mental gymnastics that human beings do sometimes, unfortunately, when faced with pretty traumatic situations, just sort of knowing what is happening, but not wanting to admit it to themselves.”
For Levieva, coming to that realization about Daredevil and Matt could also mean that, “If they admitted it to themselves, it would mean admitting some things about themselves that maybe they didn’t want to hear or know. The fact that Heather is attracted to Daredevil, the fact that she has fallen in love with someone that is living this double life, if she were to admit that to herself.” Lastly, Levieva teased that, “I think she would have to admit some deeper truths about herself to herself, and she’s probably not wanting to do that.”
Daredevil: Born Again drops new episodes on Tuesdays at 9 PM ET on Disney+.
Check back soon for our other Daredevil: Born Again interviews, as well as our previous ones with:
Daredevil: Born Again
9/10
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Showrunner
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Chris Ord
- Directors
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Michael Cuesta, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
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Chris Ord