Moon Knight deals with the introduction of the titular character and his dilemma of being an avatar of an Egyptian god of the moon whilst having dissociative identity disorder. It is a series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney Plus and it is the very first project of the franchise released in 2022. Is it worth watching?
Warning! This article contains spoilers for Moon Knight! Read at your own risk!
Is Marvel’s Moon Knight Worth Watching?
From the very first episode, Moon Knight will definitely pique your interest as to what the hell is really going on. Its mysterious tone coupled with the action scenes will surely make you think whether Steven is just getting delusional or dreaming but as the show went on, while there is still a hint that it might be all in Marc’s or Steven’s head, but I leaned more into the side that everything really happened.
First point to note is the portrayal of Oscar Isaac of both Steven and Marc, plus Jake in the end. His performance is one-of-a-kind, exemplary, above and beyond. It’s already hard to work on one character with such a complex history but with two, even three, with different personalities, accents, and ways of thinking – Oscar Isaac delivered so well, you can really feel what he wants to portray in every scene.
Yes, playing both Steven and Marc are great for Oscar Isaac but it is in Episode 5 that he really shook me to the core. That level of acting just reaches into you and he would, as if, pull every heartstring that I can feel my chest tightening as he broke down in the middle of the street after not going to his mother’s shiva.
Related: Moon Knight Episode 6: Ending Explained for the Finale
The pain of not being able to forgive someone you love so dearly that in death, you feel as if you could have forgiven them; the guilt of being so angry at someone, you had to create an alter who has a perfect picture of her or how she could have been; and the feeling of loss that you could have given more but you chose not to – all these were seamlessly delivered by Oscar Isaac as Marc.
Other than Marc’s performance is how Steven, at that moment, finally understood why Marc needed him. Steven is so pure, he is the goodness in Marc, the light of his life, the dream person he could have been had his past had been perfect. Steven knew that he was exactly what Marc needed at that moment and it was executed so well, it’d have you bawling your eyes out.
Second point to note is how the Egyptian lore is expounded. The show heavily focused on Khonshu and Ammit, the two deities that are closely connected to Moon Knight but they could have been given more time on screen, together. A back story would be nice, also, the involvement of other gods would be great, as well.
There were too little of the gods with only a few ones shown on the Ennead council. Given that Moon Knight is heavily lodged on the Egyptian deities, they could have been given more time on screen but such is understandable, six episodes are not enough to show all of them.
Third point is Layla El-Faouly. She deserves a show of her own especially now that she is the Scarlet Scarab. It is not enough that she only had a few minutes being the temporary avatar of Taweret and being, presumably, the first Egyptian superheroine as the child have addressed her. Also, she may make herself a permanent avatar, who knows, that could be something that the franchise could deal with in the future.
Lastly, we all need more of Jake Lockley. Marc and Steven were given so much screen time but not Jake. When he comes in, it’s just a snap and boom, everyone is dead around him. There could have been a scene for the action but since the show has a TV-14 rating and Jake seems to be really violent, it’s forgivable.
I think everyone who saw the show will agree with me that given that we have all seen how Steven was created, we need something equivalent for Jake Lockley. All we can do now is just to speculate, I theorize Jake was created by Marc to cope up with the killings during his time as a mercenary but Jake can also be created for something else, who knows? We need to know how Jake Lockley came into the picture!
Overall, the narrative of Moon Knight works for a material that is violent and to tone it down to fit the television rating is not an easy thing to do but Marvel delivered it so well, it diverted everyone's attention into the struggles of Marc and Steven, to the point of breaking everyone's heart.
Such careful consideration and portrayal of a sensitive topic is no easy feat. Moon Knight, for sure, had to undergo tons of consultations from mental health professionals to get the portrayal right and it all paid off. They really captured what it is like, plus, of course, the acting of Oscar Isaac is just on point, he definitely deserves an award for his performance.
The people behind the show should be applauded for how the series turned out because everything went so well -- the costumes are perfect, the set designs are stunning, and the narrative hits all the possible feelings a person could ever have. The editing may be quite sloppy given a few slips but it's fine, the show still delivered.
So, is Moon Knight worth watching? Absolutely! The series is a superb one, an accurate depiction of the difficulties of having a mental illness, and a great use of ancient Egyptian lore. However, to note, the anticipation for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have overshadowed the finale of Moon Knight. It could have been given more attention because Moon Knight deserves the full spotlight.
Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney Plus.