(Spoiler Warning!!)
So I thought I would do the same thing I did with the last newsletter since I’m out of state visiting family. I’m going to try and keep this one short. I’m assuming most of you would like that compared to the long recap and thoughts. Haha.
We left with Marc and Steven at a psych ward, confused about what was happening. One of the last shots of episode four was Goddess Taweret! Could she be the one who sends Marc and Steven back to reality? Or are they really dead? Well, let’s dive in!
The episode started trippy, and we’ll see that throughout this installment of Moon Knight! I was quite confused by Marc’s appearance and his accent. I’m sure it was a mental breakdown. I’ve seen people say it was Jake Lockley. I’m okay with him being teased, but it wouldn’t be right to introduce him in a short scene. Each identity needs an episode for us to understand them. At least, I believe that would be the right direction for them. Dr. Harrow talked about a little boy Marc spoke about once, and it triggered him. I’m still not sure about Dr. Harrow’s office. It has to be real, right? All the other places are in Marc’s head, but the office is something else. Either that, or it is where Marc can let his feelings out without realizing it.
Marc and Steven were in the realm of the Duat. Goddess Taweret was meant to guide them through the afterlife. She mentioned the Ancestral Plane from Wakanda, which is pretty awesome. It means different cultures have different afterlives. It is small but an incredible distinction. If their hearts balanced, they would spend eternity in the Field of Reeds. Remember episode one when the little girl asked Steven how it felt getting rejected from the Field of Reeds? Great foreshadowing! But confusing because it would mean everything already happened, right? Lucky guess, maybe? As Harrow said, there is chaos in Marc. The hearts would not balance, so Marc and Steven had to work things out. A trip down memory lane. Not a pleasant one. The more they faced their past, the scales would balance.
Yeah, I’m not going to lie. I teared up throughout this episode. A little boy was in the room full of Marc’s killing spree. What’s interesting about memory lane was Steven reliving them. Marc wasn’t. The death of his little brother. The abuse and torment Marc went through, especially with his mother. Steven didn’t view his mother the same way Marc did. He saw her as a wonderful mom who loved him dearly. Layla knew about the tension between Marc and his mother. It was a difficult time because Marc was a child. He didn’t know that would happen to his brother. His mother, Wendy, was grieving differently. She went off the rails. It may not be right, but she lost her son. His father, Elias, was put in a challenging situation to help his wife and save his other son. The next stop was his rebirth. The moment when Bushman killed innocent people, including Layla’s father. Marc was seconds from killing himself until Khonshu manipulated him. Marc didn’t mind it, though. It kept them alive. On that night, he promised to maintain the safety of the night travelers as Khonshu’s Moon Knight. Beautiful. The underworld was going mad because of Harrow’s doing. Marc and Steven had to fix their scales quickly. Goddess Taweret agreed to help them send word to Layla and free Khonshu.
In the meantime, Marc and Steven had to go into their childhood bedroom, even if Marc didn’t want to. His dissociative identity disorder started in that bedroom. The trauma his mother made him go through formed it. Why Steven Grant? Well, the movie Marc watched as a kid had the famous Steven Grant. “When danger is near, Steven Grant has no fear.” Steven was meant to cover up the horrible childhood Marc had. Steven was shocked because he thought he was the original. I mean, we started with him. Marc let him know about the death of his mother, which means he was calling no one at the beginning of the series. The pain. Now, Steven was with Dr. Harrow. It was acceptance. He finally accepted his mother's death.
Oscar Isaac killed it, man. Every episode with the high praise. One of the memories they saw was Marc at his mother’s Shiva. Acknowledgment of his Jewish heritage. He couldn’t face her, though. It was the moment when Marc and Steven started to overlap one another. Steven reassured Marc that his little brother’s death wasn’t his fault. He was only a child. Time was ticking. They reached the Gates of Osiris with their unbalanced scale. They fought with unbalanced souls hoping they could change the outcome. Steven once again helped Marc in the best way he could, but it meant something worse for him. He fell overboard and became frozen in the sand. His last fight for Marc meant the scales balanced. Marc and Steven no longer had conflicts with each other. They both knew what each of them meant to each other. Marc was standing in the Field of Reeds without Steven. Just like the little girl stated it would be. It’s poetic.
Final Thoughts
The penultimate episode of Moon Knight was very trippy and dark. All the praise to Oscar Isaac and Oscar Isaac. The chemistry they had with one another was insane. Who would have thought? Not me. But for real, Isaac continues to kill it. An amazing actor; Hawke is up there as well. Shoutout to the Fernanda Andrade as Wendy Spector. She did her thing. I really felt her emotions and hatefulness. The transitions were top-notched. The score was astounding. There were a lot of callbacks from previous episodes making things a full circle. It was brilliant; I love it. This has to be my favorite episode from the series. You know how much of a sucker I am for an emotionally driven storyline. I had complaints about the action, but I am completely okay without it. This reminded me of episode eight of WandaVision. The best installment of that series as well. I can’t say it will be my favorite series just yet. One of the major issues an MCU Disney+ series has is its pacing. The finales usually feel rushed. Six-episode events don’t cut it for me most of the time. I hope Moon Knight doesn’t have that problem. But they have a lot to cover in the finale. Marc coming back to reality, freeing Khonshu, meeting Ammit, defeating Harrow, anything dealing with the Gods, and a proper ending for this story. The only way it wouldn’t feel rushed is a second season or a solo film for Moon Knight. I have high hopes but with some doubt. Prove me wrong, Marvel! Lastly, will we see Jake or other alter? I don’t think so. It would be something else they have to fit into a finale. I’m cool with more teases. I rather them end it with Marc and Steven. They were the main focus of the series, so we can leave it like that. I was hyped for another identity, but I don’t need it. If we get one, awesome! They would have to do it cleverly and organically, though. That’s it for this episode. I’ll see you for the finale!
Hello there! I’m happy you took the time out of your day to read my post. Remember, if you have any questions or want to have a discussion, leave a comment! The next newsletter will be on Moon Knight’s finale. There might be a Comic Reading for the Week if time permits; I read a lot this weekend, which is refreshing. Stay tuned! Happy days and take care!