Moon Knight debuts its second episode with even more horror, action and chaos as Steven Grant discovers his place in a mythical mystery.
After last week’s episodes, I was concerned that the show’s most gripping aspect would be shortly lost as the show progressed. Last week’s episodes focused on a normal man whose life was ruined by an apparent sleeping disorder, the episode truly grounded you in the pain and heartbreak that he was going through and it was hard to watch. With the show inevitably progressing to a complete lack of mystery around his multiple personalities, I did wonder how the series would continue without the premiere’s most compelling asset.
Fortunately, the show seems to have found an exciting spin on the idea that keeps us focused on the genuine frightening aspects of Steven’s predicament while tied into the fun of Marc and Steven’s banter. The antagonistic relationship between the two as they struggle over one body is both funny and tense, it strikes a great balance of almost claustrophobic horror and humor. Balancing serious tone with jokes has been something that the MCU has struggled with in the past, but in Moon Knight, it feels more like “if you don’t laugh you cry”, therefore not subtracting from the episode’s seriousness.
Oscar Isaac continues to shine as an absolutely brilliant piece of casting, his fantastic range manages to brilliantly differentiate Steven and Marc beyond a simple difference of accent. The two men have completely different body language, facial expressions and general mannerisms that make them instantly recognizable before they say anything. While this is clearly intended as its own contained story, I can’t help but feel excited for what future Isaac might have in the MCU.
The inclusion of Layla, as played by May Calamawy, gives an insight into Marc that serves as a great tool to further explore Steven’s pure confusion in his current state. As he struggles to explain to Layla that he isn’t Marc, it’s quickly apparent that he isn’t even sure who he is anymore. Ethan Hawke’s villain seems to fit a fairly standard archetype of an antagonist, disillusioned with the world and trying to make it a better place through morally questionable means. His calm and friendly demeanor in a seemingly perfect little neighborhood makes him very compelling to watch despite his obviously evil methods. The strange tranquility of his followers makes things feel all the more unsettling.
Unlike last week’s episode, this week we are given some action sequences which are fairly entertaining. A brief chase sequence gives some breathtaking shots, while the whole show has been framed wonderfully this sequence in particular really lends itself to the visuals. The majority of the action sequences are somewhat lacklustre though, not bad but nothing breathtaking. I fear after Shang-Chi my view on Marvel action is a lot more critical, but it’s also hard to make fighting a CGI monster that is largely not on screen all that interesting.
CGI is probably more present in this episode, with a much clearer view of the Egyptian Jackal seen in the final moments of last week’s episode. It does feel like this series is not quite up to scratch with its effects. Marvel is normally pretty consistent; while this show certainly doesn’t have the worst effects of recent projects, the creature VFX feel more like something from a video game.
The show continues to stay in its own self-contained world, with a continually disconnected story from the rest of the MCU. An asset to the series that doesn’t lead to obligatory references that we’ve seen in recent properties like Eternals that largely feel like little more than winks to the audience. Instead, Moon Knight continues to focus on a whole new aspect of the Marvel world as it expands into Egyptian mythology and the intrigue of its various gods. We have certainly come a long way from Thor’s aliens that were perceived as gods.
Moon Knight continues to be one of Marvel’s most compelling series so far, showing how the Disney+ method is just as viable for new characters as it is for old. The chaos of Steven and Marc’s relationship continues to be embraced through the series and has turned Moon Knight into one of the MCU’s most interesting properties.
