Summary
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has had its fair share of hits and misses.Moon Knightwas a bit of both, especially since the character hasn’t appeared anywhere else in the franchise. The Disney+ limited series was a refreshing addition to their slate when it debuted, but theMCUis missing out on the show’s potential, particularly regarding its late-season twist.
Oscar Isaac’s fantastic portrayal of Marc Spector’s dissociative identity disorder (DID)and his alternate personalities, mainly Steven Grant, was the key talking point ofMoon Knight. Shuffling between a brutal mercenary and a mild-mannered gift shop employee, the show was an exciting look into Egyptian mythology mixed with the exploration of mental health struggles. It also threw in some well-executed twists to keep its audience hooked. Yet, some of those twists went underused in the show’s attempt to wrap things up in six episodes, much to the show’s detriment.
Moon Knight’sLate-Season Twist Hits Hard
One ofMoon Knight’s most powerful moments comes at the end ofepisode four, “The Tomb.”When Marc is shot and “killed” by Arthur Harrow, he wakes up in a psychiatric hospital, floating in the Duat, the river of the Egyptian afterlife. Here, for the first time, Marc and Steven embrace each other as two distinct physical entities with a wholesome hug. InMoon Knight’sfifth episode, “Asylum,”the two begin unlocking buried memories, particularly those relating to Marc’s trauma from which his DID stemmed. This reveals how he had created Steven as a coping mechanism to escape his abusive, mentally ill mother.
Moon Knightdoes a great job of connecting Marc’s DID to his trauma of losing his younger brother, Randall, in a drowning accident. This also explains why Steven repeatedly leaves voice messages for his mother. His actions represent their ideal relationship in Marc’s mind, who, in reality, couldn’t even get himself to attend her shiva (a Jewish mourning practice).
The episode pulls off a solid origin story on par with the comics.Marc becomes Khonshu’s avatarafter his ex-commander, Bushman, murders a group of hostages, including the father of Marc’s wife, Layla. However, these profound emotional beats get brushed aside in theseason finale, “Gods and Monsters,”which is a more Marvel-convenient action-packed showdown.
Moon KnightShould Have Been A Movie
It’s not exactly the show’s fault for reviving bothMarc and Stevenafter their afterlife revelations. ButMoon Knight’s story would have thrived more as a standalone film, considering how well it deals with its protagonist’s mental health struggles. For a Marvel project, it’s pretty rare and dark for a show to explore how repressed grief and guilt can fracture a person’s identity. It’s clear that the arc needed more space to unfold naturally and reach a cathartic ending. Instead, the series chooses to end with Marc and Steven returning from the Duat, which leads into an all-out, kaiju-style final battle between the gods,Khonshu and Ammit.
It’s the ultimate pivotal moment of Marc’s character growth when he refuses to comply with Khonshu’s demand to kill Harrow. But it still doesn’t provide a satisfying resolution to Marc’s pain, or give Steven an organic send-off. Instead, the two personalities start to casually coexist in the same body, almost like late-stage Eddie Brock and Venom from recent films. And Marvel pushes it even further in the mid-credits scene, withJack Lockleyshowing up in style in a limo. The third alter-ego has been teased from the start, and his arrival explains Marc’s blackouts while his enemies get mysteriously (and brutally) beaten up.
The Mid-Credits Reveal Hints AtMoon Knight’sFuture
This final twist overpowers all the earlier revelations inMoon Knight, as it opens the door forthe titular hero to join the larger MCU narrative. However, a potential second season could have gone head-first into Marc’s fractured identity and unresolved trauma. This would be more satisfying than simply adding another hero to the franchise’s roster. The Marc Spector/Steven Grant storyline is rich enough to deserve its own full-length feature film. Oscar Isaac expressed his thoughts on the same in anOctober 2022 interview with Comicbook.com:
Truthfully, it’s about the story. Is there a story worth telling? Is it interesting? Will I feel embarrassed about it when it comes out? […] And with Moon Knight, that was very much about that. It’s creating a structure so that every morning when the alarm went off, I couldn’t wait to get to the set because I wanted to try something different. Whether that’s in a group thing or maybe a great idea comes around for a season two or if it’s a standalone film or whatever it could be. […] It’s the story first.
Looking back at howMoon Knight was the first MCU herowho wasn’t an established Avenger to headline his own Disney+ series, the character needed more time to unpack his past. But the show’s rush towards a high-octane finale robbed its potential of being a memorable, self-contained outing. Instead, it became a promotional launchpad for the Lunar Legionnaire’s future in the MCU, which also remains unaddressed. With looming uncertainty aroundMoon KnightSeason 2, one cannot help but rue missing the opportunity of watching a Marvel anti-hero deal with genuine mental health issues.
