I decided to give Moon Knight a try because some random YouTube mentioned it as an Egyptology show. I didn’t know that, really knew nothing about it and had no interest in it. Holy cow, was I wrong! I loved this quirky, beautifully-acted little gem. It doesn’t fit neatly into any expectation I held for an MCU project.
The reviews for MK are mixed, and I’m curious to see if my opinion changes during a rewatch. Alrighty, here we go. And remember, I load my breakdowns with all the spoilers.
LEFTOVER NINE
Hands adjust a cloth on a table. From overhead, we see the surface. Some kind of distinctive cane lays on one side, next to a pair of huaraches. On the cloth, arms rest, the right forearm tattooed with a balancing scale. The hands pour a tumbler of water, and then this person, face in shadow, drinks. The empty glass is turned downward, and the cloth is folded over it. With the cane head, the person smashes the glass. The shards are dumped into the shoes. Insert this person’s feet stepping into the huaraches, standing, and then smoothly walking.
Roll credits.
ONE
An extreme close-up of someone’s face in profile. It’s Oscar Isaac. He sits up, probably waking up, and looks around his garret apartment. He’s confused, maybe. Throwing back the puff, he reveals that his right leg is chained to the bed with an ankle brace. He checks that his connection to the bedpost is secure, and then frees himself. Now we see an insert of his feet. (Nice juxtaposition with the earlier scene!) The bed is surrounded by unmarked sand. He steps forward, leaving a clear footprint. He removes tape from the front door jamb.
While on the cell phone, he feeds his fish. He leaves a message for his “mum”, speaking with a British accent. We see him through the tank, the goldfish prominent in the foreground. (Considering the episode’s title, this random shot seems fairly relevant.)
Heading out his front door, he continues to leave his message, ending the call with “Laters, gators.” A red double decker bus drives through the intersection, and Oscar waves for it and runs. Packed in the transit, he seems timid. He’s pushed about and he kind of takes it.
He arrives at a museum with a display from Ancient Egypt. Talking with a schoolgirl, he explains mummification to her in overzealous detail. He’s interrupted by a woman carrying a stack of boxes, and he rushes to help. At this point we’re going to assume he’s an employee. She seems to run the gift shop, and she is curt with him. He puts on a nametag — Steven. He’s not a tour guide; he’s paid to sell snacks. An attractive woman, waiting to lead her next tour, approaches and speaks to him with friendship and familiarity. He’s nice in return. She asks if their date for steak tomorrow night is still on. Steven clearly doesn’t know what this is about, and she laughs, thinking he’s putting her on. The manager says something about Steven being a vegan, and what does he think he’ll eat. (Salad! Steven answers with an impromptu enthusiasm.)
Working with the manager, Steven mentions that one of the posters for the exhibit is incorrect. It has seven Egyptian gods, when really there should be nine. She couldn’t care less. As he leaves for the night, the man at the security station, like his manager, doesn’t actually know his name.
(When I first watched this episode, I assumed no one remembered his name because he’s so subservient in his demeanor. Now I see it’s a flag for a deeper meaning.)
Cut to later, as Steven eats a wrap and explains how his body likes to wander in the night. He wakes up in strange places, he says. Reverse angle shows us he’s talking to a street performer, the kind who pretends to be a statue. (I laughed.)
And he keeps talking to it, as if the unresponsive, gold-painted person is a friend. Strangers ask Steven to take their picture with the statue, and he cheerfully obliges while continuing his conversation.
Bedtime with Steven, and we see his routine. Sand around the bed, blue tape on the door, the ankle buckle. Lying down, he plays an audio program to help him stay awake. We get a montage of him reading texts on Egyptian mythology and tossing a Rubik’s cube. Time passes and the program repeats faster, until . . .
TWO
Jump cut to Steven, face down in grass. It’s daytime and he’s in a jacket. He wakes and doesn’t know where (an Alpine meadow?) or when he is. A disembodied voice says, “Go back to sleep, worm. You’re not supposed to be here.” Steven looks about and sees no one. “Surrender the body to Mark.” Naturally, Steven’s completely confused. Reaching into his coat pocket, he finds a golden scarab.
Aaagh! A tall, bandage-wrapped figure with a scythe appears behind him, but disappears when Steven turns. In a window above his head (was that castle always there?) two men look down. When he waves, the men start shooting at him. Steven runs, dodging, and the men give chase. Ahead is a town. He joins the people gathering in the plaza.
THREE
The crowd parts for a man in a tunic. There’s the cane. Ethan Hawke is the mysterious figure from the opening. He touches the crowd with a beneficent smile. Giving a welcoming speech, he then asks, “Who would like to go first?” From Steven’s POV at the back of the crowd, we get a glimpse of a volunteer and the ritual. We see the man’s outstretched hands and Ethan’s cane hanging from the fingers, rocking like a pendulum. Push in closer to see the tattoo on Ethan’s arm magically rock, too. The scale balances, turning green, and Ethan hugs the man who’s been judged as good.
FOUR
Steven, with an incredulous face, looks around at the crowd. He also sees the two shooters step into the square. He moves deeper in, closer to the front, as Ethan asks who would like to go next. An older woman volunteers. (Ah, Ethan names himself. Arthur.) Again the ritual and the rocking scales, but this time they unbalance and turn red. Arthur is regretful, but “Ahmet has decided.” She falls down dead.
As she’s carried away, the shooter reports in, telling Arthur that someone killed two of their men. Arthur calls out something in Egyptian, and the crowd takes a knee, leaving only one person standing. Recognizing him, Arthur calls Steven a mercenary. As Steven explains he’s just a “gift shop-ist”, Arthur holds out his hand and demands the scarab be returned. When Steven extends it, the voice says, “You will give him nothing.” Involuntarily, his hand closes.
(Steven is so endearing as he tries to make himself give over the scarab.)
Finally the thugs carry Steven, and one of them gets the scarab. Jump cut, and Steven is free, blood on his face and knuckles. He blinks in confusion. Thugs on the ground surround him as the voice scornfully says, “The idiot’s back.” When he raises his hands to apologize, he notices he holds the bloody scarab. He runs, thugs hemming him in, until he drives off in a sweets truck.
Navigating the mountain road, Steven’s in a panic. He takes the S curves as fast as the cupcake van will allow, multiple cars in pursuit. When a thug jumps into the truck, Steven defends himself by throwing pastry. Another thug, though, aims at him through the window. Blink, and time has passed. Still driving, Steven wakes up to find a gun in his hand. A dead man falls from the back of the van. “Wake up, Mark,” the voice says. Surrounded, Steven blinks, his eyes roll up, and time jumps. He’s now driving in reverse, still chased. “Leave us be, parasite,” the voice chides.
(Haha! The large plastic cupcake from the top of the truck falls off and rolls down the road.)
And then, as Steven is cornered on the road, he jump-cuts to waking up in his own bed. All of his protections are in place, including his chained ankle. He laughs like a crazed person.
SWITCH
While he watches TV and eats breakfast, he speaks to his goldfish, prominent in the forescreen. Slowly, though, he doubletakes. Something about the fish is wrong, apparently. Cut to the pet store. Steven holds out the fish in a container full of water. Yesterday this fish had one fin, now it has two. The shopkeep doesn’t care. “Like I said yesterday . . . “ she begins. As he argues — he wasn’t here yesterday — he notices the clock. It’s 5 p.m., even though he thinks he just woke up. He must dash for his steak date.
FIVE
At home, Steven puts on a blazer and tie. At the restaurant, he sits alone. He’s been stood up, and he calls to ask why. The woman is scathing. She ate steak by herself two days ago. (Oh, it’s so heartbreaking! Steven is confused and devastated, on the edge of tears.)
Walking home, Steven leaves a message for his mum about his nice date, ending with “Laters, gators.” In his apartment, he gives into the depression, eating from the box of chocolates he’d brought. He talks to the fish and drops some sprinkles into the tank, then bobbles the box and spills the rest. Kneeling on the floor, he notices a scrape in the wood planking. A rug hides the grooves table legs have made. Ah, a hole in the wall up high. The table is used as a stool. Steven climbs up and reaches into the eaves. A key with a distinctive chain and a flip phone hide inside. Someone named Layla has been calling repeatedly according to the log. One call from Duchamp is mixed in.
As Steven holds the phone, Layla rings. He answers, using mumbled responses. She’s been calling for months and thought he was dead. Eventually he admits that he just found this phone. Layla responds impatiently, “What’s wrong with you, Mark?” This freaks him out, and Layla hangs up.
And now a voice calls his name, “Steven.” No one’s there. He thinks he sees someone in the bathroom mirror, and it seems like it’s another version of him. The apartment starts shaking, and Steven runs out. The elevator is creepy and not working right. And then — aaagh! — the scythe guy appears in the hall shadows and comes for him at a supernatural speed.
Nope, it’s an older woman who comes through the lift door. She’s very uncomfortable to see Steven cowering in the elevator corner, lol. She leaves in a hurry, and when Steven turns back, the scythe guy, long skeleton beak right in his face, shocks him.
Jump cut to Steven on a daytime bus, screaming as he — wakes up? takes control? becomes himself? He hallucinates the scythe guy outside the window and gets off. Looking back at the passengers, Steven sees Arthur on the bus, watching him.
He rushes into the museum and tells the security man to keep an eye out. Busy watching otter videos, the guy doesn’t care. Steven dodges the manager and follows a man he recognizes from the bus into the exhibit. At a corner, Arthur steps out.
Arthur says he assumed the name Steven Grant was an alias, and yet here he is. Steven asks a museum guard for help, and the man shows the tattoo on his forearm. “Praise Ahmet.” As Steven backs around the exhibit columns, Arthur instructs him about Ahmet. “She grew weary of waiting for sinners to commit their crime before punishing them.” Slowly, methodically, Arthur pursues Steven. All exits are blocked by people, museum visitors and workers, showing their arm tattoos. Steven asks, “Are you going to kill me?” Lights flicker. With great calm, Arthur speaks of the relentless voice in the head.
SIX
He uncovers his ink and takes Steven’s hands. The cane head rests on his outstretched arms and begins to rock. Insert Arthur’s scale tattoo as it rocks.
SEVEN
The scales won’t settle. Puzzled, Arthur says, “There’s chaos in you.” A door opens and Steven dashes away. “Let him go,” Arthur instructs his followers.
EIGHT
Later, after the museum is closed, Steven takes inventory in the gift shop. (Aw, he looks so upset.) Lights in the main display dim, lending an eerie suspense as Steven heads toward the exit. A howling noise draws him back in, though, and deeper into the dark. He whistles and calls, as if he’s rescuing a dog. We see the outline of something more wolf-like. The suspense builds, and Steven spots a scary shadow. As he hides, the intercom squawks and Arthur’s voice, with a hint of amusement, says, “Steven Grant of the gift shop, give me the scarab and you won’t be torn apart.” Steven tosses his backpack, and the wolf pounces on it. Then it chases him, destroying parts of the museum, until Steven can duck into the bathroom.
In the mirror he sees himself saying, “Give me control.” We definitely now have two clear personas, talking to each other through the reflection. Steven, terrified of the wolf and the other version of himself, finally looks clearly at Mark. (As do we. It’s Oscar Isaac, but he’s laser-focused, driven, and competent. He speaks with an American accent.) “Let me save us.” Steven nods, and his eyes roll up.
NINE
We see the wolf attack him, and then the camera perspective shifts to the hallway. Mayhem occurs out of sight. Now we come around the corner, and the ruined bathroom has a man in a white cloak beating on the downed wolf. The figure turns and walks into a close-up. A white hood and bandage-mask cover his face, and his eyes glow like beams. (This, obviously, is our Moon Knight.) Roll credits.
CRITICAL NOTES
This first episode has so many mirrored moments! The goldfish, the phone call with Mum, the rocking scale tattoo . . . and none of them are the Three/Six, lol. Their positions in the structure never line up at beginning and end points.
Alright, let’s work backwards and figure this out. The arrival of the Moon Knight is clearly setting the stage for the next episode and the series. Boom, Nine.
The Eight is Steven confronting Mark for the first time. Their existence, their duality, has been the mystery of this episode. Certainly their conversation is a climax. But what about Arthur? How does he fit into the structure? I suspect that whatever he does in this episode is not as relevant here as it is for his arc over the season. Let’s not get distracted by him; we’ll peg the Eight after he leaves.
Counting one beat up, the Seven becomes Arthur’s decision to let Steven go. It sounds benign, but it’s a feint. Arthur’s confrontation continues with the wolf in the Eight. And that makes the Six — again counting one beat up — the rocking tattoo and the inconclusive Ahmet test, which is a beautiful and wonderful visual moment with much resonance . . . which doesn’t mirror at the Three. The first Arthur ritual is so far into the story. A Three can’t take place that late.
Unless . . . the One goes on a very long time. And that’s how I’ve decided it. The world of Steven has a lot of set-up. In order for us to invest in his character (which we do! My God, Oscar Isaac has created someone so sympathetic and engaging!) and the mystery of his existence, we need a lot of information, a lot of world-building. Much of the first episode goes by before we even understand that another personality is in play. The voice, the body transport and time jumps, the scythe dude — all of that is the Two Trouble that is only confirmed for us a third of the way in. Arthur’s ritual is, indeed, our Three/Six.
It’s a lot of structural stretching that may have led critics to give this show a hard time. I think a story this complex needs a slow, developed rollout on its themes. That may not be to everyone’s taste. I find Steven utterly watchable. The underdog, the naive introvert, the odd hero — these are charming archetypes to me. If that’s not your cup of tea, though, the extra long One will feel like a slog. The more I look over it, though, the more satisfaction I find in the beats. I think this is the right way to view the plot.