An awkward scene in Daredevil: Born Again has fans wondering what’s going on with Artemis after her strained conversation with Jacques “Jack” Duquesne. Artemis Sledge, played by Katherine LaNasa (who some might recognize as charge nurse Dana Evans in Max’s The Pitt) appears alongside her husband in the show and subsequently finds herself at Fisk’s inaugural black-tie ball in Episode 8, but something is terribly off. While the episode doesn’t particularly explain what’s going on with her, there are some hints as to what happened. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
What’s happening with Artemis Sledge in Daredevil: Born Again?
It’s suggested that the husband of Artemis Sledge, Arthur, has either gone missing or been kidnapped in Daredevil: Born Again Episode 8.
During Fisk’s Black & White Ball in support of Wilson’s mayoral Red Hook Port Revitalization Project, Artemis fondly greets Jack, who MCU fans will know as Swordsman from the Hawkeye series. But the conversation quickly goes awry when Jack says he is surprised to see the wealthy socialite at the ball in the first place given her stance on Fisk’s project in an earlier episode. She told Fisk during a political donor meeting that he “may have a seat at the table right now, for a couple of years anyway [as mayor], but the people in this room still decide who gets to eat.”
Artemis responds by saying that she didn’t want to offend Wilson by not attending, but when asked where Arthur is, she stammers and says she doesn’t know. That’s strange enough until she asks Jack, “Do you?” He picks up on the rather unusual question and asks if she’s alright, prompting her to panic and flee the conversation.
Given that she doesn’t know her husband’s whereabouts and that she’s been effectively coerced into attending the ball and supporting Fisk’s project, it’s theorized that something happened to Arthur. Wilson Fisk has become more aggressive with his actions as mayor, getting his wife to kill Adam and creating the Anti-Vigilante Task Force that answers only to him and openly defies Commissioner Gallo’s orders. As Fisk learns that Matt Murdock has returned to being Daredevil, he has been likewise drawn back to his Kingpin persona.
So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Arthur was taken hostage or disappeared in a way that would force support from Artemis. Later in the episode, even Swordsman is threatened by Fisk and is pushed to support him, so the idea of Fisk kidnapping Arthur would be rather trivial by comparison.
