'Moon Knight' Episode 3: "The Friendly Type" Recap and Review
The Knight Train finally leaves the station and is barreling through Egypt building while momentum and dropping bodies along the way
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
Thus far, Moon Knight has been a series of teases and allusions that have kept the story on a very short leash. Episode 1 was a tease at what lies just beyond the Marvel veil and Episode 2 released the floodgates of context for the adventures Marc and the mind brigade but now with those out of the way the story has been let off the leash. Momentum is built at a steady pace with this episode and we get actual confrontation between protagonist and antagonist. Even though that confrontation still felt like a tease of for something bigger and bloodier, the progression of the violence so far points to a violent light at the end of the tunnel.
The beginning of the episode follows Layla (May Calamawy) as she discusses her father with an old friend who is busy creating a fake passport for her. The two talk about Layla’s father the Archeologist and his unexpected death 10 years ago just before leaving for an impromptu trip to Egypt. Already in Cairo, Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) is led to the Tomb of Ammit and begins excavation as Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) sprints across rooftops for a lead to the Tomb’s whereabouts . He’s too late and is forced to fight off a few knife wielding members of Arthur’s congregation. Just as he gets the upper hand, Marc is interrupted by Steven and then finds himself in a cab on the way to the airport. Quickly he finds the attackers and continues the pursuit. But another interruption leads to Marc waking up surrounded in blood and dead bodies. Marc blames Steven but he denies involvement. Having lost all his leads, Marc persuades Khonshu to call a meeting with the gods. Khonshu creates an eclipse to get the gods attention and Marc is summoned almost immediately. A portal leads Marc into the Great Pyramid of Giza where the avatars of the other guards begin to congregate. One avatar introduces herself as Yatzil (Díana Bermudez), Avatar of Hathor, and the two briefly talk about their god’s friendship. The meeting of the gods proceeds like a trial and Khonshu pleads his case. The gods summon Arthur and he gladly denies attempting to summon Ammit. By attacking Marc’s mental health, Arthur is able to deceive the gods and is let free. The meeting ends but Yatzil stays behind. She gives Marc a new lead to Ammit's tomb through the Sarcophagus of a person tasked with keeping the location of Ammits tomb, but he may need to go through the black market to find it. Back in the city, Marc searches for leads when he is confronted by Layla who knows where to find the Sarcophagus. on the way there they discuss their history and his fractured mind. Marc again dodges the question of what brought Steven about and Layla remains frustrated. They arrive at the estate of Anton Mogart (Gaspard Ulliel), Marc and Layla con their way into viewing the Sarcophagus and Marc does his best to inspect it without the much needed help of Steven. Marc asks for help from Steven who agrees reluctantly. But Mogart sees through the charade and holds them under gunpoint. Suddenly, Arthur strolls in and sows doubt in Mogart and Layla. Arthur demonstrates the power of Ammit and destroys the Sarcophagus. Marc delays no further and becomes the Moon Knight. Layla collects the pieces needed to find the Tomb and the two escape mostly intact. They escape to the desert where Marc finally allows Steven to take control. Steven pieces together the star map but there’s an issue, the map is 2,000 years old and the stars have shifted. The only way to find the Tomb is to see the stars as they were then, Khonshu offers to change the sky knowing that the other gods will imprison him for it. He sends the sky into chaos and just before the Gods imprison him, they find the location.
The worst kept secret in Moon Knight is that Marc Spector has something to do with Layla’s father’s death. Whether direct or indirect, Marc’s time as a mercenary led him to Layla’s father and what transpired led to Steven’s emergence from Marc’s mind. And speaking of Marc’s limey alternate personality, it is hard to ignore the googly eyes that Layla and Steven make at each other. It could be that Steven reminds her of her father while having Marc’s, her husband’s, face and is somehow connecting her to her early life with Marc. Considering that Marc continues to try and distance himself from Layla that could lead to some literal internal conflict between the two personalities. More intriguing is the hint that Steven and Marc may not be the only two personalities sharing that body. This is the second episode in a row where they allude to another more violent person sneaking control of the body during the more violent moments. First with Marc denying violent acts he made as a Mercenary when Steven was in control and now with Marc blaming Steven for murdering his leads for the Tomb. This personality could be a version Jake Lockley who was the third and more gritty version of Marc’s personalities. But judging by the changes already made to Steven, Jake might not be a cab driver this time around but his violent nature seems to carry over. Let the speculation begin as to what Jake’s version of the Moon Knight suit will look like, the smart money is on Shadow Knight. A major cameo in this episode is the appearance of Anton Mogart played by the late Gaspard Ulliel. Mogart in the comics is also known as Midnight Man, who was a reoccurring adversary to Moon Knight. We tragically may never see Midnight Man in the series due to Ulliel passing away in January after a fatal skiing accident.
With the main players introduced and the background all laid out this episode was able to explore the relationships within the characters and sprinkle in subtext to build intrigue for the future. Harrow and Khonsu, Layla and Marc, Marc and Steven, Layla and Steven; the characters are all so well connected that their relationships with each other are most intriguing part of that series. That isn’t to be considered lightly either considering that this show is about a Superhero with multiple personalities whom is possessed by an Egyptian God. Episode 3 is a marked improvement in the series and manages to give a glimpse at the destination worth sticking around for.