Tag Archives: Moon Knight

Moon Knight Episode 2 Recap: The Wife, Mr. Knight, and the Villain’s Big Plan

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Moon Knight episode 2 — out now on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar — is a bit curious second chapter for the new Marvel Cinematic Universe series. Even though it lasts for 51 minutes including credits, it doesn’t feel like a lot happens on Moon Knight episode 2. That may be because it’s made up of less than half a dozen scenes in total. It largely sketches out the world of Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) — the life Steven Grant (Isaac) and the audience don’t know about. We learn Marc has a wife in Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy) and that they went on adventures together. Moon Knight episode 2 also hints that the Egyptian moon god Khonshu — we got a confirmation on his name here — saved Marc from a near-death experience.

Meanwhile, Steven’s life continues to unravel. He loses his London museum job in Moon Knight episode 2. He finds out he’s been punching people with his bare hands at night for years. (I get they are two personalities, but it’s one body. Shouldn’t he feel it in his arms and legs in the morning?) And he ends the new Moon Knight episode without control over his body — and whenever he does wake up, he’s going to discover he’s travelled a continent away, from Europe to Africa, with Moon Knight episode 2 ending in Egypt. Fitting that a series involving multiple Egyptian gods — not to mention, an Egyptian director and an Egyptian-Palestinian actress — would go there. I suppose the show’s setting is going to change for at least one, if not more, episodes.

For what it’s worth, Steven got his own take on the Moon Knight costume. Unlike Marc’s traditional cape-and-hood version, his version of Moon Knight wears an off-white three-piece suit, with a tight-fitting full-face mask that has a crescent-shaped symbol in the middle of the forehead. It’s known as Mr. Knight, the Moon Knight episode 2 credits reveal.

And oh, we also got clued into the villain’s big plan. In Moon Knight episode 2, cult leader Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) reveals he wants to resurrect the Egyptian goddess Ammit — which is why he’s been after Steven, because apparently the Scarab is useful is finding Ammit. With Moon Knight episode 2 ending in Egypt, I’m betting we will learn more about Ammit in Moon Knight episode 3.

Moon Knight Review: Oscar Isaac’s Marvel Series Is a Snooze Fest

Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow, with the staff imbued with Ammit’s power, in Moon Knight episode 2
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Moon Knight episode 2 — titled “Summon the Suit”, directed by Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, and written by Michael Kastelein — picks up right after where episode 1 left off. Or at least, where Moon Knight episode 1 ended for our scared little gift shop-ist Steven Grant. Steven wakes up in bed with nightmares of what happened with the creature. But he’s chained to his bed like always. After all, he has no memories once he transfers control of his body to Marc Spector, which is what Steven did in episode 1. Having discovered that Marc speaks to him at times through mirrors, Steven tries to talk to Marc in the bathroom mirror, but he gets no reply.

Steven heads into work on Moon Knight episode 2, where he encounters security guy JB (Alexander Cobb) as he’s about to go through last night’s security footage. But strangely, there’s nothing of that Egyptian jackal — as Steven calls that weird looking supernatural jackal from episode 1 — on the CCTVs. All we see is Steven running scared making a mess, and Marc staring at the camera as he exited the museum. Naturally, his employers, the National Art Gallery, are letting him go for the damage he caused, but not before they offer him psychological help.

On his way back to his flat in Moon Knight episode 2, Steven speaks to the living statue Crawley (Shaun Scott), and tells him about the things — a flip phone and a key — he found hidden in his flat. Now unemployed, Steven goes looking for a storage locker that the key belongs to, and finds it after five attempts. Inside, he finds a bed, some boxes, and a bag. Said bug has a gun, lots of money, and an American passport with the name Marc Spector. Alternate identity confirmed! And oh, there’s also that Scarab that Arthur kept asking Steven for in Moon Knight episode 1. As Steven clicks open the Scarab, a part of it hovers and points in a direction — Steven realises it’s not pointing north like a compass.

Just then, Marc returns in the reflection of the storage locker in Moon Knight episode 2. Naturally, Steven wants to know who he is — and why he has access to items that are usually the territory of secret agents. Marc says: “I serve Khonshu, I’m his Avatar. We protect the vulnerable and we deliver Khonshu’s justice on those who deserve it.” Steven remarks that it’s the stupidest thing he has ever heard. “I eat one piece of steak and bang, I go bonkers,” Steven notes, in what is one of the best jokes from the new Marvel series. (I would also like to point out the stupidity of Isaac saying the word avatar like the movie Avatar. So much for Diab’s claims over authentic representation, when he can’t even get his American actors to say a Sanskrit-origin word like it’s meant to be said.)

Moon Knight Episode 1 Recap: Oscar Isaac’s Steven Meets Oscar Isaac’s Marc

Oscar Isaac’s Steven Grant confronts Isaac’s Marc Spector in Moon Knight episode 2
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Marc tells Steven that he will disappear if he just stays out of his lane and lets him finish the job he needs to for Khonshu. But Steven tells him that he’s never giving him control again. In fact, he’s never going to sleep again if that’s what it takes to keep Marc away. Steven says that he’s going to the authorities with everything he’s found on Marc, and hopes that the NHS — that’s the British public healthcare system — will pump him with enough pills that he can’t remember any of this. But just as Steven leaves the storage locker on Moon Knight episode 2, the lights start to flicker. He once again sees that weird-looking giant figure from episode 1, except this time it comes closer.

Steven begins to run in Moon Knight episode 2, exiting the storage locker premises and then the building, only to trip over himself and fall on the street next to an incoming scooter. Said scooter turns out to be driven by Layla — the woman on the phone in episode 1 — who tells Steven that she found him by tracking his phone. “I thought you wanted me to,” she remarks. Layla then reveals she’s his wife — technically, she’s Marc’s wife — and she’s been wondering why he just disappeared on her. She thought he would be fine because he had the suit (wait, she knows?!) but she was also worried he got kidnapped again (wait, when was he kidnapped before?). Steven just asks her to get him back to his flat, where he will explain everything.

Back at his flat, Layla is bemused to see that Steven is into things that she was known for. Steven’s favourite French poet is actually Layla’s favourite French poet. Steven is studying hieroglyphics and the Egyptian alphabet, which is something Layla already knows. Layla then turns the conversation on Moon Knight episode 2, noting that he (she means Marc) sent her divorce papers but never signed them. Steven says he would never divorce her — buddy, you were never married to her — and that he’s going to tell her everything unlike Marc who keeps lying. But just as he’s about to pull the Scarab out of the bag, Marc gets in his head and tells him he’s doing all of it to protect Layla. If you involve her, it’ll be your fault if they come after Layla, Marc remarks.

Everything You Need to Know About Marvel’s New Series, Moon Knight

May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight episode 2
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

That gets Steven to stop, but he’s said too much already. Layla’s interest is now piqued and she wants to know what he has in the bag. She snatches it away from him and finds the Scarab within. Layla is aghast, noting that they — Marc and she — fought side by side for the Scarab. Except Steven doesn’t remember their life together or their adventures. It seems Marc has been keeping things from Layla for a while. And he’s further pushing her away by divorcing her.

Before their talk can go any further, the police come knocking on Steven’s door in Moon Knight episode 2. As they go through his flat — sorry, don’t they need a warrant? — they inevitably find the Marc Spector passport. Layla had escaped through a window before the police entered. They already believe he has stolen something — are they here for the Scarab? Though how would they know about that? — and now he’s also on the hook for forging a passport. As the police take him in, they discover that Marc Spector is an international fugitive. He was part of a team of mercenaries that hit a dig site in Egypt, and executed archaeologists by shooting them in the back of the head. Something is up though, because instead of arriving at a police station, they pull up in a back alley.

Ah, they are dummy cops — and they’ve taken him to Arthur. As Steven gets out of the car, Arthur asks him: “Do you think Khonshu chose you because your mind would be easy to break or because it’s broken already?” Wait, is Arthur referring to that tall thingy with a bird skull for a head? It would seem so, which confirms my Moon Knight episode 1 suspicions. That really is Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god.

Anyway, back to Moon Knight episode 2. Steven says that he’s not broken, he just needs some help. Arthur says that’s what he’s here for. Khonshu returns and instructs Steven to kill Arthur, which Arthur predicts. Huh, how did he know? Arthur continues with his pitch, informing Steven that the neighbourhood they stand in once had the highest crime rate in the city. Arthur helped and now, people don’t even lock their doors at night. The two then walk into a community kitchen, where Arthur notes that the food is free — he calls out the lentil soup by name, which is basically dal but fancier — as Steven sees folks enjoy what looks like a pleasant natural history documentary.

Moon Knight, Death on the Nile, and More on Hotstar in April

Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant, Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow in Moon Knight episode 2
Photo Credit: Csaba Aknay/Marvel Studios

Just as some nearby metal trays fall down, Arthur notes that Khonshu often throws temper tantrums and that’s why he was banished by other Egyptian gods. Also, his policy on vengeance didn’t sit well with others. Khonshu keeps speaking to Steven in between, telling him he only punishes those who have done harm. Arthur then reveals on Moon Knight episode 2 that he’s able to predict Khonshu’s words because he was his former Avatar — before Marc. He then notes that Khonshu’s judgment arrives after evil has been done. “Ammit knows this and she uproots them before any evil is done,” Arthur adds. We must resurrect Ammit, Arthur notes, and we need the Scarab to find her. So, the Moon Knight villain’s big plan is to resurrect an Egyptian god? Um, cool.

Naturally, Steven brings up the point we’ve all thought of by now. If Ammit judges pre-evil, isn’t the person innocent? How can a thought be evil? How can you kill a child 30 years before they will do something? This speaks to the oft-cited question around killing baby Hitler. Arthur spins a metaphor, claiming how one might amputate a limb to prevent an infection from spreading across a body. Steven neatly points out that a child is not a diseased limb, before turning around to speak to Arthur’s brainwashed followers, and wondering if they don’t draw the line at child murder. Arthur pivots on Moon Knight episode 2, changing the topic to his cane. It contains a sliver of Ammit’s power, which is how he’s able to judge people using the supernatural scales of his justice on his arm.

Even just hearing about the cane, everyone — including Steven and Arthur’s followers — takes a step away from Arthur. The cult leader demands that Steven hand over the Scarab, but he says he doesn’t have it. This time, he’s not even lying. Just then, Layla emerges out of nowhere and announces she has the Scarab, holding it up for all to see. Layla then walks towards Steven on Moon Knight episode 2, asking him to summon the suit so they can get out of there in one piece. But Steven keeps misunderstanding her — and Layla has no choice but to then just make a dash for it with Steven. A calm Arthur buries his cane into the ground, from which another…

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Moon Knight Episode 3 Recap: Giza, Ennead, and Turning Back the Night in Egypt

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Moon Knight episode 3 — out now on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar — might have overhauled the visual template of the Marvel series, but I don’t believe the new episode made me feel differently about Moon Knight on the whole. It was fairly boring moment to moment, and I’m still waiting to be truly engaged. That said, after two episodes in London, it was nice to have a scenery refresh as Moon Knight episode 3 brought us to Egypt. We knew this was coming given how Moon Knight episode 2 ended, and we shall get at least one more Moon Knight episode in Egypt given how this one ends. Expect more clichés like going to the Great Pyramid of Giza, because it’s impossible for Hollywood to go to Egypt and not go to Giza, isn’t it?

Jokes aside, the moments inside the Great Pyramid of Giza helped expand upon Moon Knight‘s mythology in tangible ways. It told us how the gods can speak through their Avatars, why they aren’t actively involved in mankind’s affairs today, and how easily they can be fooled by mere mortals. More on that last one later. Calling a council of the Ennead — that’s the group of nine deities who were worshipped in Heliopolis, one of ancient Egypt’s oldest cities — is one of two major gambles Khonshu (voiced by F. Murray Abraham) takes in Moon Knight episode 3. And ultimately, he pays a heavy price.

Additionally, Moon Knight episode 3 very briefly hinted that there might be a third personality in Oscar Isaac’s body beyond the American mercenary Marc Spector and British gift shop-ist Steven Grant. The third episode of Moon Knight might possibly include the only appearance for the late Gaspard Ulliel — he plays Cairo-based antiques dealer Anton Mogart on the Disney+ series — who died, before Moon Knight premiered, following a skiing accident. Mogart has a master thief alter ego in the comics as Midnight Man, but it’s unlikely we’ll see that now with Mogart’s death. Marvel Studios also has a habit of tweaking characters when it transfers them to screen — so there was no guarantee we would’ve got Midnight Man even if Ulliel was still around.

Moon Knight Review: Oscar Isaac’s Marvel Series Is a Snooze Fest

May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly, Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Mogart in Moon Knight episode 3
Photo Credit: Csaba Aknay/Marvel Studios

Moon Knight episode 3 — titled “The Friendly Type”, directed by Mohamed Diab, and written by Beau DeMayo, and Peter Cameron and Sabir Pirzada — opens with Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy) preparing to go back home to Egypt after 10 years. She’s anxious to return home, she tells the woman making her fake passport. “Is it all the stolen antiques? Worried you might have burned too many bridges?” Layla notes that she doesn’t steal — after all, the antiques have already been stolen, she’s only returning them to their rightful owners. Though admittedly, she does keep a few to pay the bills. The passport maker Lagaro (Barbara Rosenblat) tells us that Layla learnt it all from her father who took her to dig sites, whom she misses just like Layla. Judging by how their conversation is going, I definitely feel like Lagaro is Layla’s mother.

Meanwhile in Egypt in Moon Knight episode 3, the villain Arthur Harrow has arrived and has found the location of Ammit’s tomb thanks to that magical Scarab. Arthur declares as much in Arabic to the digging contingent following him. I suppose he speaks Arabic and Mandarin both, though I would hope his Arabic is better than his Mandarin, given what Shang-Chi star Simu Liu and the Internet have told us following the release of Moon Knight episode 2. Just as Arthur is done speaking in Arabic, his fake-police lackeys tell him that Marc Spector is in Cairo.

Moon Knight episode 3 cuts to Marc running across rooftops, before confronting three men with knives. He’s looking for information on Arthur’s dig site, but it doesn’t look like they have any interest in helping him. As Marc dodges the knives and tries to stay alive, his attention is broken at crucial times with Steven speaking to him through all potential reflective areas. Each time that happens in Moon Knight episode 3, Marc loses minutes of his life. The knife fight and the chase through Cairo ends on a hill overlooking the city, where the three end up dead. Marc thinks the bloodiness is Steven’s doing — but he denies it. Wait, is Moon Knight hinting at another personality now? One that neither Marc nor Steven knows about?

Moon Knight Episode 2 Recap: The Wife, Mr. Knight, and the Villain’s Big Plan

Khonshu in Moon Knight episode 3
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Not left with any headway in locating Arthur, Marc wonders aloud to Khonshu if there’s another way to stop Ammit from being resurrected. Why can’t we seek the help of other gods? They ought to have a stake in this, “Asking for an audience with gods means incurring their wrath,” Khonshu says. As Marc wonders what’s the worst that could happen, Khonshu tells him that they could imprison him in stone. “I wouldn’t mind that,” Marc tells Khonshu cheekily. Khonshu seemingly agrees to Marc’s bizarre request, sending the other gods a signal they can’t ignore: a complete solar eclipse. He is the moon god after all. Elsewhere in Moon Knight episode 3, Arthur’s people get spooked seeing the eclipse, but he simply tells them to keep digging no matter what.

As the world is engulfed in darkness during the day, Khonshu explains the basics to Marc. All the nine gods’ avatars will be called upon — remember Steven’s mention of the Ennead in Moon Knight episode 1, where he pointed out that Ennead meant nine gods? — with a portal presenting itself wherever you are, so that the meeting of the Ennead can be fulfilled. While Marc steps into his portal on Moon Knight episode 3, Khonshu notes that he was banished last time he spoke to the other gods. As Marc wonders why Khonshu is walking in the opposite direction of the portal, the moon god shoots back: “Oh I’ll be there.”

The meeting of the Ennead takes place inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, something the knowledgeable Steven instantly points out via another reflection. There, the other Avatars start filtering in. Among them is Yatzil (Diana Bermudez), Avatar of Hathor, who tries to make small talk about Hathor and Khonshu’s last interaction but Marc isn’t really in that mind space. (Once again, everyone says Avatar like they are American. Can’t anyone say it like it’s meant to be pronounced?) As the meeting convenes on Moon Knight episode 3, Yatzil tells Marc that he will feel a strange sensation, before walking away to her spot and seemingly becoming possessed. “In attendance, Horus, Isis, Tefnut, Osiris, and Hathor, to hear the account of Khonshu,” Yatzil says. What happened to the other three, I wonder?

Moon Knight Episode 1 Recap: Oscar Isaac’s Steven Meets Oscar Isaac’s Marc

Oscar Isaac as Khonshu, Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow in Moon Knight episode 3
Photo Credit: Gabor Kotschy/Marvel Studios

Now speaking through his Avatar — this was the strange sensation Yatzil spoke of — Khonshu demands judgment on Arthur who is also summoned to the chamber in Moon Knight episode 3. The moon god says Arthur is trying to release Ammit from her tomb, who in his defence claims he’s simply a tourist. “If visiting the sands was a crime, the line of sinners would be longer than the Nile.” I’m sorry, what is this useless excuse? Are the gods blind? Can’t they see the diggers he’s brought?

Anyway, Arthur then turns the tables on Khonshu, noting that the moon good has searched for Ammit’s tomb since he ensnared Arthur to his service. Arthur calls Khonshu jealous and paranoid, who retorts by dubbing him a deceiver. Both of those are possibly true. “Do not trust the word of a shamed god,” Arthur adds, “Khonshu is unhinged and his servant unwell. This man does not know his name, he speaks to himself, and I’ve no idea how many personalities he possesses.” As the god committee looks on in Moon Knight episode 3, Arthur continues: “This is a deeply troubled man. Khonshu is taking advantage of him the way he abused me, the way he aspires to abuse this court.”

The gods wish to speak with Marc, so with a wave of his hand, Osiris’s Avatar Selim (Khalid Abdalla) brings out the human. He admits he is unwell, before repeating Khonshu’s accusation that Arthur is dangerous. But the gods have been swayed by Arthur’s words, it seems. They conclude the matter and walk away, as does Arthur. Marc is left defeated on Moon Knight episode 3. It’s funny that Khonshu called for an audience given he knows how unstable Marc/Steven are.

As Marc leaves the Great Pyramid of Giza, Yatzil speaks to him again on Moon Knight episode 3. This time, it’s no small talk — she has important stuff to say. Yatzil tells him that Ammit was buried in secret, the location hidden even from gods. But a medjay named Senfu knows the location of the tomb. This was done in case the gods decided to change their minds and show mercy on Ammit. If Marc wants to locate Ammit’s tomb, he should find Senfu’s sarcophagus that was sold on the black market.

Everything You Need to Know About Marvel’s New Series, Moon Knight

May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly, Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector in Moon Knight episode 3
Photo Credit: Gabor Kotschy/Marvel Studios

Marc clearly doesn’t know what to do, because his best idea is to approach a juice seller in a Cairo square and enquire about Senfu’s sarcophagus. Like are you kidding me? ???? This is so absurd and stupid. Anyway, it’s just a ploy to bring Layla into the story on Moon Knight episode 3, as she finds Marc and tells him she can help. Though she’s not really there for him, Layla says later on a boat as they head for Mogart’s. She’s here to save the thousands who will die if Arthur succeeds.

Their fractious dynamic undergoes a change as their boat mates start ululating and dancing to music. Apparently, it’s the kind of music that was played at their wedding. Layla tells Marc that he should’ve told her about Steven. “We could’ve handled it together,” she notes in Moon Knight episode 3. Marc says he had it under control until very recently. And it’s not like being open and talking is something he does very well, with Layla finishing his sentence.

At Mogart’s, Layla reunites with a bodyguard named Bek (Loic Mabanza) who tells her that Mogart’s looking forward to seeing her before namechecking Madripoor. If you’ll recall, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — one of the Marvel series last year — took us there. Anton Mogart (Ulliel) is happy to see Layla, who introduces Marc as her husband Rufino. As they walk, Mogart says this is more than a collection to him. “Preserving history is a responsibility I take very seriously.” Layla and Marc ask Mogart if they can have a look at Senfu’s sarcophagus — he obliges. But as Marc studies it alone and tries to deduce clues with Steven’s help, Mogart sends his men in and asks Marc to get on his knees in Moon Knight episode 3. Um, what just happened?

Moon Knight, Death on the Nile, and More on Hotstar in April

Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow in Moon Knight episode 3
Photo Credit: Csaba Aknay/Marvel Studios

Just then, out of nowhere, Arthur and his men show up. Being told of an interested third party, Mogart steps out to have a word with Arthur who offers him the Scarab. “Why settle for a clue when you can have the treasure?” Arthur then gets in a few words to Layla, claiming that Marc had something to do with the murder of Layla’s father. This is further sowing seeds of doubt between them, what with their relationship already in a rocky place. Arthur then turns his attention back to Mogart on Moon Knight episode 3, and in a bid to give proof to his tall claims, casts a spell with his supernatural cane that destroys Senfu’s sarcophagus.

Meanwhile, Khonshu keeps telling Marc to summon the suit and give everyone what they deserve. I can’t tell why Marc is hesitating — I would understand so if it was Steven in control of the body — other than the fact that Arthur is around. It’s only when Arthur walks away, that he finally does it. Definitely feels like a case of plot armour, allowing Moon Knight to have more episodes beyond episode 3. As Moon Knight takes on Mogart’s men, Layla is confronted by Bek. But in the middle of the fight, Steven takes control from Marc. He foolishly asks everyone to calm down, and gets impaled twice for his efforts. He quickly hands the body back to Marc, who gets impaled a few more…

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Moon Knight Episode 4 Recap: Taking a Cue From Legion?

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Moon Knight episode 4 — out now on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar — was yet another humdrum episode of a TV show that’s made a habit of them, but by the end of it, I was left more intrigued than I have been so far with the Oscar Isaac-led Marvel Cinematic Universe series. Of course, I’m also cautiously optimistic owing to multiple factors. For one, just two episodes are left in Moon Knight‘s run. Dealing with a major distraction while also figuring out its endgame will be a lot to do in two episodes, moreso for a series that has routinely given us episodes in which barely anything happens for 50 minutes. Moon Knight hasn’t instilled any confidence in its abilities yet, but it could still suddenly produce something wholly brilliant and pathbreaking.

It’s not as though what Moon Knight might be doing is that unique to begin with. Moon Knight episode 4 ends by suggesting that Marc Spector (Isaac) has been essentially dreaming everything so far. He’s just a patient at a psychiatric hospital, where he got the idea of the Steven Grant personality from an ‘80s movie playing on TV, and everyone else we’ve come to know is just a fellow patient or a member of the staff. To me, this sounds like Marvel Studios riffing on Legion’s series premiere — Noah Hawley’s visually inventive FX superhero series that started out in a mind-boggling fashion — except with the script flipped in a way. Or is it? We’ll only know once we see next week’s Moon Knight episode 5.

I really hope Moon Knight creator Jeremy Slater knows what he’s doing, because otherwise Moon Knight is going to end up at the bottom of the MCU Disney+ pile where it already belongs.

Moon Knight episode 4 — titled “The Tomb”, directed by Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, and written by Michael Kastelein — opens where we left off, inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. Osiris’s Avatar Selim (Khalid Abdalla) places the stone Khonshu, trapped in what’s known as a ushabti, near an earthen lamp. As Selim walks away and the camera pulls back, we see how many other gods have seemingly been imprisoned in stone over the years.

Moon Knight Review: Oscar Isaac’s Marvel Series Is a Snooze Fest

May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight episode 4
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Following the title card, Moon Knight episode 4 jumps back to Steven and Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy) in the desert where the previous episode ended. While Steven is still unconscious, someone starts firing at them. I’m guessing it’s Arthur’s men? Layla leaves the passed-out Steven, heads to their pick-up truck, and hides inside. It actually works — the attackers find Steven’s body and think he’s dead. Just then, Layla re-emerges with a red flare to attract attention, and then ducks behind the truck again, but when the henchmen follow it, they discover she’s not there. Layla uses the distraction to throw another flare to blow up the ammunition that’s on the vehicle.

Hearing the commotion, Steven wakes up bewildered in Moon Knight episode 4. On the road towards Ammit’s tomb in the morning, Marc — via the truck’s side mirrors — tells Steven to give the body back. But Steven notes that they had a deal: when Marc was finished with the Khonshu business, he would disappear. Well, Khonshu is gone now, so in a way, he’s done. Layla, sitting next to Steven, points out that she should have been told about that deal, since Marc was part of her life too. However, she admits, more to herself, that Marc would have “wanted to lone wolf the whole thing” anyway. She’s really growing on Steven, if you haven’t been following the clues.

As Steven and Layla reach Ammit’s tomb in Moon Knight episode 4, they discover an extensive amount of work has already been done by Arthur’s men. They will need to find another way to reach the tomb before them. As they look for supplies, Marc tells Steven he needs to be scared. Now that there’s no more Khonshu, it also means no armour, no protection, and no healing. It’s why he needs to give control to Marc, who’s better equipped as a fighter, but Steven points out it’s the same body, so he thinks he can figure it out with muscle memory. That’s a dumb argument, but okay. Plus, he has Layla, Steven adds. Yeah, that definitely counts for more.

Moon Knight Episode 3 Recap: Giza, Ennead, and Turning Back the Night in Egypt

Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant, May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight episode 4
Photo Credit: Gabor Kotschy/Marvel Studios

While Layla rigs Steven for the drop inside the tomb, she tells him that he smells like Marc, and out of nowhere she goes in for a kiss as Moon Knight episode 4 continues. Wow, Marvel dropped two tiny clues, and then just went for this? I’m sorry, it does not feel justified to me. And before the kiss can happen, Steven blurts out that Marc is trying to protect her from Khonshu. Oh lord, someone save this guy from himself. As a perplexed Layla looks on, Steven explains Marc is doing it because Khonshu wants her as his next Avatar. Which is fine, except that Khonshu is imprisoned in stone right now, so that’s a bit of a moot point. Layla, now annoyed at both Marc and Steven, says she needs honesty not protection.

Down in the tomb in the next scene of Moon Knight episode 4, Steven and Layla discover there are six paths. Thanks to his knowledge of ancient Egypt, Steven realises the whole structure is based on a symbol: the eye of Horus. Six paths for six senses; Steven explains. Together, they decipher that the Avatar would be Ammit’s voice — so they head towards the route that leads to the tongue. On their way, they find bullets and what look like chunks of meat, which is ominous to say the least.

As Steven climbs half a floor to look for a different exit, they hear someone approaching and do their best to hide. A creature comes in with a human body, places it on a table with the blood and meaty bits, and starts poking into it. However, the creature soon discovers Steven and Layla, forcing them to run in different directions in Moon Knight episode 4. Steven drops something from above and thinks he has squashed the creature, but its voice can be heard soon after, implying that it’s alive or that there are more of them.

Moon Knight episode 4 then follows Layla who arrives at a hollow place that has a big drop into nothing. As she sticks her back to the wall and tries to sidle her way through, she’s grabbed by a creature and pulled into darkness. Surprisingly, Layla seems somewhat unscathed, quickly using a flare to impale the creature in the eye, and throwing it into the giant pit. She almost falls herself, but recovers just in time. As Layla climbs back up, she spots Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) across from her in the distance.

Moon Knight Episode 2 Recap: The Wife, Mr. Knight, and the Villain’s Big Plan

Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant in Moon Knight episode 4
Photo Credit: Csaba Aknay/Marvel Studios

Cut to Steven whose alternative exit has landed him in an inner chamber. There, he spots Macedonian symbols next to a sarcophagus, which are apparently unfamiliar to someone as knowledgeable as Steven. Talking to himself and the audience in Moon Knight episode 4, Steven notes that “he” insisted on being called Egyptian. There was only one pharaoh who was Macedonian, Steven points out, which means he has found the long-lost chamber of Alexander the Great. Ah super, the Egypt cliché train continues. First Giza, now Alexander. What’s next, a chase down the river Nile?

Anyway, Moon Knight episode 4 then takes us back to Layla and Arthur who are chatting about her archaeologist father now. He would be thrilled to know that Egyptian gods walk among us, Arthur says, before pivoting to Marc again. “Your husband is in more pain than anyone could bear, but he still hasn’t told you the truth.” An annoyed Layla shoots back: “You’re obviously dying to, so why don’t you go ahead, the floor is yours.”

Before that can happen though, Moon Knight episode 4 switches to Steven who is now panicking with his great discovery. “Everything inside me is screaming not to open this thing,” he says, with Marc replying via a reflection: “You want Harrow to get to Ammit first?” That convinces Stephen, and he opens the sarcophagus. And since Alexander was the voice of Ammit — going by their earlier deduction — he tears up his throat and face to get to the ushabti.

Back to Layla and Arthur again. “Your father was murdered by mercenaries,” Arthur tells her in Moon Knight episode 4, and Layla responds with the obvious: “You’re saying Marc was one of them?” Arthur claims Marc remembers everyone from that day, but one especially, a man wearing a fuchsia scarf with scarab details. The details are enough to bring Layla to tears, and she rhetorically demands to know whether Arthur is done, before walking away. Arthur shouts at her to wake up — just as his minions arrive to tell him they’ve found another way to Ammit’s tomb.

Moon Knight Episode 1 Recap: Oscar Isaac’s Steven Meets Oscar Isaac’s Marc

Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant, May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight episode 4
Photo Credit: Csaba Aknay/Marvel Studios

Layla arrives in the same room as Steven, who is rejoicing, having found the ushabti. But Layla is in a different mindspace now, in Moon Knight episode 4, still reeling from her conversation with Arthur. She wants to talk to Marc, and wonders if he can hear her. Before Steven can get in a word or two, Layla shouts: “I need to talk to you, Marc,” which brings him out over Steven. Oh wow, that’s a neat trick. Layla wants to know if Marc killed her father. “Of course not,” Marc forcefully says. But Layla realises that he was there when it happened. Marc explains that his partner got greedy and executed everyone at the dig site, including him, but he didn’t die even though he should have. It’s implied that Khonshu saved him. “That’s the reason that we met; you just had a guilty conscience,” Layla hits back, flabbergasted.

But before their conversation can go any further, they are interrupted by the imminent arrival of Arthur’s men. Marc tells Layla to scoot while he holds them off — with Alexander’s axe. Sorry, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud; he’s literally brought a knife to a gunfight. As Arthur walks in behind his gun-toting men in Moon Knight episode 4, he realises it’s just Marc. Khonshu is gone. “You’re a free man, and with that freedom comes choice,” Arthur tells Marc, as he stretches his hand out for the ushabti. “Right now, you have a very important decision to make.” But of course, Marc does the foolhardy thing and takes on two of Arthur’s approaching men. In response, Arthur shoots him through the heart. As the second bullet goes through, Marc falls backwards, into the tiny pond behind him.

Moon Knight goes into a different space then. Marc’s body sinks into the water even though there isn’t that kind of depth, before disappearing into the darkness below. And what emerges from that is an adventure movie with a 4:3 aspect ratio featuring a middle-aged guy and a teenager called Rosser, who come across a dead body. Rosser wonders if this means the treasure is gone, but in the distance, the man spots a statue of Coyolxauhqui, calling it the lunar god of the Aztecs. (Khonshu is the Egyptian lunar god, by the way.) Rosser says he doesn’t know anything, “but you’re Dr. Steven Grant”. Wait, what? Excuse me? Is Steven’s personality based on a movie?

Everything You Need to Know About Marvel’s New Series, Moon Knight

Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector in Moon Knight episode 4
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

It seems so, as the camera zooms out on a very different Moon Knight episode 4, revealing it’s a movie being watched by patients in a psychiatric hospital. “Donna” (Lucy Thackeray), Steven’s boss from the museum, is also here. There’s the guy who played Anton Mogart’s bodyguard Bek (Loic Mabanza), alongside a woman who’s drawing something that looks a bit like Khonshu. Even one of Arthur’s right-hand men (David Ganly) who pretended to be a cop in episode 2, is here, attending to our protagonist who’s a patient. Layla is also a nurse here. And Moon Knight is just an action figure in his hand. He calls himself Steven as he stares at his reflection — he still has ankle bracelets and now they keep him tied to his wheelchair — but he’s called Marc by the attendant.

Sorry, has Steven/Marc been making everything up? Did we just go Legion season 1 here? Soon after, in Moon…

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