Marvel had NO RIGHT making a show this amazing! In said show, we are introduced to Steven Grant, a jittery yet intelligent man who works at a London museum’s gift shop. However, things start to get very weird when Steven starts waking up in strange places, seeing things, and having gaps in his memory. It only gets worse from here, as Steven discovers his split personality—Marc Spector—who drags him into the war involving the Egyptian god of the moon: Khonshu. Begrudgingly serving Khonshu as his avatar, Steven and Marc must work together to stop a villain from unleashing an evil deity that will devour the souls of anyone she deems guilty.
Pro/Con #1: The Story
In spite of such a seemingly simple premise, this show is actually much more intense in many respects. First of all, while admittedly a bit slow, the buildup in the first couple of episodes is amazing! Not only do we get a satisfying summary of Steven’s character, but we also get the aforementioned mysteries surrounding his life: the memory gaps, the bizarre sleepwalking, etc. Plus, for those who are most familiar with Moon Knight’s character, they’d know that Moon Knight’s identity is actually Marc Spector. So why is Steven portrayed as the main character in the beginning? Why does he wake up in the countryside? What’s with all the voices yelling at him? So many questions, and it’s only been the first two episodes! However, after that, the story finally picks up with the goal of stopping Arthur Harrow from unleashing Ammit (the alligator goddess who supposedly kills evil people before they get the chance to do anything). Obviously, the stakes are pretty high now, but especially when you consider the personal stakes for Marc and Steven. A perfect example is in the “Asylum” episode, where they are killed by Harrow and wake up in a kind of afterlife. In order to escape vengeful souls and be accepted into paradise, a hippo goddess known as Tawaret tells them to explore their memories, in order to balance the scales for their hearts. However, the deeper they go, the harder it becomes to keep going. It turns out that Marc had a brother, and against their mother’s orders, took him to explore a dangerous cave. When the rain came and flooded the cave, Marc’s brother drowned, but mom unfortunately didn’t take it well. Not only did she distance herself from Marc, but she would blame him for the death and even beat the poor kid to the point where the Steven Grant persona was created, in order to cope with it all. Eventually, we find out that Marc nearly unalived himself after a narrow escape from death and betrayal, only to be “saved” by Khonshu until he’d make Marc’s life (somehow) worse. Even in spite of everything Marc had gone through, in spite of losing Steven to the vengeful dead, and even though he had the chance to earn his eternal peace; he went back for Steven, lost his chance at peace, and even pushed to go back to the mortal world. The world may not have been kind to them, but Marc and Steven went to save it anyway. I always love stories like this: where the hero goes through the worst pain you could ever imagine, yet still persevere through the pain and do the right thing. It shows their amazing strength, but it also shows the kind of heart we should all strive for.
Although, for all of this show’s incredible feats, it has just as many flaws. For instance, one thing I have to constantly and physically remind myself is that this series is part of the MCU. The reason I say this is because there’s a surprising lack of references, tie-ins, or anything that would connect it to the larger MCU. In contrast, consider shows like “WandaVision” or “Falcon and The Winter Soldier,” where the Blip and other key MCU characters are frequently mentioned (if not at least one time). In addition, we see how the Blip effected hospitals in “WandaVision” or how it effected the displaced people around the globe in “Falcon and The Winter Soldier.” In “Moon Knight,” however, we get nothing on people turning to dust, nothing on Thanos, not even a tie-in to how this effected Marc or Steven’s life. Heck, we don’t even get so much as a namedrop for any big characters like Tony Stark or Steve Rogers. Without these important connections, it makes Moon Knight look like its own unique thing, as if it were either apart from or a soft reboot of the MCU, rather than being a continuation of it. Aside from that, there are also elements from the storytelling that doesn’t sit right with me. As an example, take the ending of the show. Ammit has been bound to Harrow, Marc/Steven has seemingly made up with Layla, and they’ve all been (seemingly) freed from Khonshu’s influence. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, you throw in one last scene with “Dr. Harrow” from the asylum along with Marc being found alone and tied to his bed again. First of all, if Marc and Steven have exited Tawaret’s afterlife, how was a final scene with Dr. Harrow possible? Were they still connected to it somehow? Did it haunt their dreams still? Again, so many questions, except with no resolution as of late. Further, why is Marc tied to the bed? Shouldn’t the problem be fixed since he and Steven have “become a package deal” as Steven put it? Also, what happened to Layla? Why isn’t she with Marc? After such a satisfying moment where they made up and fought side by side, I would’ve thought that she’d never leave Marc or Steven after that. The ending was still satisfying overall, but personally, there were just a few holes that I can’t ignore.
Pro/Con #2: The Characters
Much like half of the multiverse saga, one reason I love this show is because of its amazing characters! Not only are they so well-written, but the actors and actresses give their characters some extra kick! For example, take Layla. Throughout this whole show, she’s given nothing but Black Widow vibes due to her steely focus and professionalism even in the face of danger. Whenever Marc tried to push her away, Layla refused to listen to his pitiful excuses and join him on his mission. Even when Marc left her behind in London to go to Egypt, she still followed him over that vast distance and even found him in a large, bustling crowd. But this isn’t where her awesomeness ends, as she’s not afraid to stick it to powerful deities! When Khonshu tried to convince Layla to take Marc’s place after his supposed death, she interrupted him and expressed her outrage of how he treated Marc, before stomping his proposal to the ground. Even when she agreed to be Tawaret’s avatar instead, she made it very clear that it was only a temporary arrangement. What makes all of these examples all the more effective was May Calamawy’s acting: her serious expressions, the urgency mixed with calm professionalism in her voice, and how bravely she portrays her character. Saving the best for last, though, I absolutely have to talk about Oscar Isaac’s depiction of Moon Knight. First of all, at least for me personally, it was a bit weird at first to see Isaac in a Marvel project after only seeing him as Poe Dameron in Star Wars. So to hear him talk in a British accent, rambling about Egyptian history facts, and acting like a nervous wreck with sleep deprivation? I was caught completely off guard, but in the best way possible! Not only that, but he also manages to slip into the Marc persona where he’s a lot more dark, brooding, and borderline defeated after all the crap he’s been through in life. I also love how Isaac displays how Marc tries to hide all his pain, but just hearing the tone in his voice and his quick “hand-wavy” responses just draw us in and want to know more. It especially becomes more effective in those moments where he slips up and either kicks a car window in anger, or yells at Steven in the asylum episode. It’s already impressive enough how one person can embody a singular character, but embodying a singular character with multiple personalities? That has to be challenging! Yet, Isaac does a fantastic job as he perfectly transitions between Marc’s multiple personalities.
Nevertheless, no matter how much you love a certain show or movie, not every character is perfect. The ones in Moon Knight are no exception, and as much as I hate to say it, but not even Layla. The one thing I kinda have an issue with is small, but it still bugs me all the same: her new superpowers in the finale. When she agrees to be Tawaret’s avatar to help save the world, the hippo said she had a “fabulous costume in mind.” Now, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was hoping for a bit more than “Falcon 2.0”. First of all, I seriously don’t get how her costume makes any sense. If she’s supposed to be the Scarlet Scarab, why does she look like a bird? Also, Layla not only serves a literal hippo deity, but said deity is a goddess of women and children (don’t get me started on being confused as to why she’s managing a ferry to the underworld if that’s the case). Therefore, it’s very confusing to see how that theme is portrayed in her new costume. Not only that, but while her costume admittedly doesn’t look as bad as I remember, it’s overall very bland and not very memorable. This is especially true when it feels more like a copy and paste of Sam Wilson, instead of going for something more original. Still, Layla’s new look doesn’t bug me nearly as much as the one thing that I always talk about in previous articles: the villain. I don’t know why, but with a lot of these new projects, the villains just haven’t been as good as the original movies. With Arthur Harrow, for example, I almost feel like I want to like and sympathize with the guy. However, I find the guy just as annoying and forgettable as Layla’s bird suit. For instance, we hear him go on and on about the state of the evil in the world. He kept preaching about how Khonshu’s way of punishment after the crime was ineffective, and how he now wants to stop it before it can happen. But aside from some side mentions about being Khonshu’s avatar before Marc, we don’t get a lot of history from the guy. While his cause is somewhat sympathetic, it’s really hard to establish that connection without more history or detail from his past. In contrast, consider Killonger from Black Panther. Not only was father murdered by the king of Wakanda, but he also had to go through the absolute worst of life without any kind of support. This would lead him to believe Wakanda are squandering their resources by hiding away, leading him to take over the whole nation and declare war on the world. That kind of backstory is what makes villains like Killmonger relatable, popular, and extremely memorable antagonists in these stories. But Arthur Harrow barely had anything for the audience to go off of, except for a basic summary that still doesn’t provide enough details. Further, with his quiet voice, along with his many emphasized appearances (especially with his “Dr. Harrow” moments), it comes across more as annoying than intimidating. Marvel simply doesn’t make villains how they used to anymore, ‘nuff said.
Pro/Con #3: The Lore
If you’ve been reading my articles for a long time, you’d know that I more than welcome the chance to delve into the building blocks behind these fantasy worlds. Moon Knight definitely isn’t exempt from such fascination, because they not only explore on powerful deities and artifacts, but they also combine Egyptian mythology and culture as much as possible. For example, take the pantheon of gods they have. It’s just so fascinating to hear how Khonshu was once part of that pantheon, until his actions to interfere with the mortal world led the others to banish him. Further, the council of gods decided to observe the world via their avatars, and it’s so interesting to see how their gods speak through them and grant them all amazing powers. As another example, I’d like to bring up the latter half of the show. Specifically, when Steven and Marc brave the tomb of Alexander the Great, fight mummified priests, and trek through an afterlife. What’s most fascinating about this is, for the tomb, Steven pointed out how it was mapped in the symbol of the Eye of Horus. And by explaining what each part of that symbol means, they were able to pinpoint the location of Ammit’s prison. With the scary mummies, I doubt they need any explanation, but it’s still cool to see such an “Indiana Jones”-style environment come to life. Finally, for the afterlife, it’s not just something Marvel made up like with Black Panther’s ancestral plane. Instead, Steven goes into great detail about Tawaret’s role as a ferryman to the Field of Reeds, which is basically Egypt’s version of Heaven. However, Steven would also elaborate that the only way in would be if your scales were balanced, because of the Egyptians’ emphasis on the heart. If your heart wasn’t balanced, you’d get devoured by angry, damned souls. Basically, by tying in real-world facts into the wonderfully supernatural world of Marvel, it makes all this lore so much more interesting. Further, it adds more context and history to the story, which will draw audiences in twice as much as before!
However, even with such fascinating lore, they’re not always perfect. For me personally, these aren’t enough to ruin the show for me, but they still serve as tiny thorns in my side. As an example, take the scarab from the first two episodes. Ever since its reveal, the good and bad guys have been at each other’s throats trying to obtain it. But my only problem with this is mainly that it’s, yet again, a magical device that leads people to the thing they want. Like that hasn’t been done before. A million times, actually. Now, I understand that’s how these kinds of stories usually go, but sometimes the key can also do more than just lead in fantasy stories. Sometimes, they can activate weapons or unimaginable levels of power, or even become said weapons or power themselves. Instead, the scarab from Moon Knight just leads a bunch of people to the desert and then we never see it again. It’s not like I expect the scarab to do anything crazy, but it had such a surprisingly small role that it’s not even memorable. Even so, it’s not as bad as what they did with Alexander the Great’s tomb. Or rather, what they didn’t do with it. For instance, even with the interesting detail of the Eye of Horus, Alexander being Amity’s avatar, and the mummy priests, there’s not really anything else going for it. No booby traps, no life-threatening puzzles, not even a giant boulder. All there was for security were those mummies, and I’m honestly surprised they were relatively easy to defeat, as Layla just stabbed one in the eye with a flare then tossed him over a cliff. In addition, getting to Alexander’s body was also relatively easy. In spite of the Horus puzzle, it didn’t really take long for everyone to find the sarcophagus. I understand that the tomb was already impossible to find without the scarab, and behind the scenes, the creators probably had a lot to fit inside a roughly 45-minute timeframe. Regardless, you have a place that was so dangerous and world-threatening, something that the gods feared so much that they went through so much trouble to hide it. Knowing all that, wouldn’t you want better security? I mean, if this goddess can devour souls, and she’s just sitting in a sarcophagus with nothing but a few zombie priests guarding her, I wouldn’t like my chances. Not only does this seem like a (to put it lightly) dumb move on behalf of the gods, but it also seems like a serious lack of attention to detail which should’ve been addressed. Overall, the reveal of the tomb was very underwhelming with the lack of dangers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Moon Knight is a PHENOMENAL show! Easily in my Top 5! I do wish it had more connections to the multiverse, but it was still a wild rollercoaster ride all the same. Especially with the reveal of Jake Lockley, which Oscar Isaac once again portrayed amazingly! I absolutely cannot wait to see what they do with the character in future projects, especially with “Avengers: Doomsday” coming out next year!
