Layla and Steven get shut in episode 4.
Surprise Studios
Moon Knight felt very just like Indiana Jones or The Mummy with a touch of Alien on Wednesday, as episode 4 of the Surprise Cinematic Universe sequence hit Disney Plus and despatched its heroes operating round an Egyptian tomb. With moon god Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) imprisoned by means of his fellow gods, his human avatar Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) is compelled to struggle cult chief Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) with out his Moon Knight skills.
Marc continues to be extraordinarily badass, and is not running by myself. He is running along with his change character, Egyptian mythology professional Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac with a London accessory), and his estranged spouse Layla El-Faouly (Might Calamawy) to forestall Harrow from unleashing trapped dying goddess Ammit upon the arena.
Let’s birthday celebration like we are looking at The Mummy in 1999 and discover some SPOILERS for episode 4. This display takes position after the occasions of Avengers: Endgame.
Marc and Steven meet
After Marc battles Harrow’s goons, the villain shoots him and claims the ushabti (historical Egyptian figurine) Ammit is imprisoned in. Marc sinks into darkness and we input tremendous tacky Raiders of the Misplaced Ark parody “Tomb Buster” starring one Dr. Steven Grant. This was once a film Marc watched as a child, and probably served as the foundation for his captivating change character.
We discover Marc in a psychological establishment populated by means of characters from the display (together with Steven’s imply museum boss and Harrow’s police goons), who have taken on roles as sufferers and workforce. This location could also be riddled with Easter eggs from the display, like cupcakes, a cuddly scarab, a Moon Knight motion determine and a portray of a picturesque Eu the city.
Steven engages in some bad exploration.
Surprise Studios
Harrow acts as Marc’s therapist (taking a look a bit extra buttoned down in his mustache and sweater vest) however Marc in the long run flees from his honeyed phrases. He unearths a distressed Steven trapped in a sarcophagus and the 2 come head to head (double Oscar Isaac, we should all have fun!). They include like brothers, and each take note being shot by means of Harrow.
That is probably all taking place in Marc’s thoughts, with more than a few Easter eggs appearing as fragments of his recollections.
Who is that hippo?
The overall moments see Marc and Steven operating into an anthropomorphic hippo in historical Egyptian ceremonial garb.
“Hello!” she says sweetily, incomes simultaneous screams from Marc and Steven.
That is probably Taweret (Antonia Salib), the historical Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility who acts as a protector of moms and kids. Not like one of the vital different gods we have met on this display, she is not immediately impressed by means of a comics persona — a unprecedented MCU authentic.
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Her lack of an obvious comic counterpart makes it harder to speculate about her role, but she could have come to help unite Marc’s fractured mind and help him free Khonshu. Once the moon god is no longer stuck in a figurine, Marc will be able to access the suit’s healing abilities and fix up those bullet wounds.
Enlightening Layla
Layla has a whole lot of heavy information dumped on her in this episode. Steven reveals that Marc pushed her away to save her from becoming Khonshu’s next avatar, and his honesty earns him a kiss from Layla (then Marc makes him punch himself in the face).
Layla gets closer to the heartbreaking truth.
Marvel Studios
This episode also confirms that Layla is the MCU version of Marlene Alraune, Marc’s wife and sometime partner to Moon Knight’s vigilante activities in the comics. Harrow clues Layla into the fact that Marc was part of the mercenary group that killed her father and his team of archeologists.
“My partner got greedy and he… he executed everyone at the dig site,” Marc says, noting that he was fatally shot after trying to stop the killings. He doesn’t say so, but he was almost certainly saved by Khonshu in exchange for becoming the moon god’s avatar — mirroring his origin in the comics.
Observations and Easter eggs
- It’s possible the guilt over hiding the truth from Layla exacerbates Marc’s mental illness. which hasn’t been in the show yet. In the comics, he suffers from dissociative identity disorder due to a childhood trauma.
- When Dr. Steven Grant is named, we hear a music cue that could have been lifted directly from John Williams’ Indiana Jones score.
- The terrifying monstrous guardian was presumably in the tomb to stop people from finding Ammit’s ushabti. Great work.
- The mental institution sequence feels like Legion, an excellent Marvel show that ran from 2017 to 2019. It isn’t part of the MCU, but is available on Hulu and could be a nice companion to Moon Knight due to its exploration of mental illness.
- After Marc rescues Steven from the sarcophagus, they run by another and it’s shaking violently. It’s likely this contains another of Marc’s personalities — perhaps it’s Jake Lockley, who almost certainly stabbed a bunch of Harrow’s goons in episode 3.
Join us for more Easter eggs and observations next Wednesday, April 27, when episode 5 of Moon Knight hits Disney Plus.
CNET’s Richard Knightwell contributed to this report.
