'Moon Knight' Episode 2: "Summon The Suit" Recap and Review
The Second Episode does some heavy lifting as it fleshes out Steven’s unique and divine situation
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) is a complicated fellow who shares a body with a complicated man who shares a mind with a complicated God. Needless to say, the situation he finds himself in seems a tad… complex. Marvel has dealt with super-science, time-travel, extra-terrestrials, and the supernatural; it’s actually quite amazing that Egyptian Deities never came up. But with a new source of super heroics comes a whole new world that needs to be fleshed out and it seems that the bulk of that responsibility was thrust into episode 2. It’s to be expected though, with only six episodes in what’s being seen as a limited series the chase should be cut to sooner rather than later, but as a result the episode feels a somewhat heavy in the boots. There are some late game heroics by Steven and his imaginary friends plus a promised change in scenery that perk you up in the end but for the most part “Summon the Suit” is this series’ context episode.
The episode begins in familiar fashion, with Steven shrieking himself awake, but this morning is not like the others. When he arrives at work he finds the destruction left over from the previous night. He convinces the security guard J.B. (Alexander Cobb) to show him the footage but sees no evidence of the Demon Jackal that Moon Knight fought. The museum understandably fires Steven so he retreats back to his friend the living statue to tell him about his problems. Steven decides to find the storage unit that is opened with the key he found with the phone. Steven is led down a dark corridor to his storage unit and finds a cot and some items that indicated that someone was living there. Steven finds a bag and in it a gun , money, and passport belonging to Marc Spector with his picture. He also finds the golden scarab that he deduces that it is in fact a compass. This is when Marc speaks to Steven from the reflection. Steven demands answers and Marc reluctantly gives them. They are the avatar for the Egyptian God of the Moon, Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham). Steven refuses to give control of the body to Marc and tries to leave but the monstrous Khonshu chases him out of the facility and to the feet of Layla (May Calamawy). She insists that Steven is Marc and accosts her husband for not contacting her. Steven takes her to his flat as proof that he is actually Steven against Marc’s wishes. Layla still doesn’t believe him and asks him to sign divorce papers that he sent her. She finds the scarab, that her and Marc found together, in a life that Steven does not remember. A knock at the door interrupts them. Outside are two people claiming to be Police. Layla manages to escape with the scarab before they barge in but once they find Marc’s Passport they take Steven away in handcuffs. Instead of taking him to a police station they end up at an old factory surrounded by people with Arthur’s tattoo. Arthur (Ethan Hawke) is not far, he releases Steven after hearing Steven talk to Marc. Arthur calms Steven and shows him around the area. The two talk about the community and its people, with Khonshu stalking them, and they sit for a bowl of soup. Arthur reveals that he was the previous avatar for Khonshu and now serves Ammit. Arthur demands the compass from Steven but Layla has it. Steven starts questioning the nobility of Ammit to buy some time and tries to leave but Layla arrives with the Scarab. She tells him to summon the suit and gives him the Scarab, the two flee the area as Arthur summons another Demon Jackal. Refusing to give Marc control, Steven is forced to summon the suit when faced with against the Jackal. But instead of summoning the previous Moon Knight suit, he summons the suit of Mr. Knight. The Jackal and Mr. Knight tussle as Layla watches. It’s too much for Mr. Knight so Steven gives in and lets Marc have control and he becomes Moon Knight. Moon Knight lures the Jackal to the rooftops and manages to impale the Jackal on a statue. Now in control, Marc realizes that he dropped the Scarab and it is now in Arthur’s hands. Marc has to calm Steven down but they end up arguing. Marc promises both Steven and Khonshu to fix things so that Layla remains safe from Khonshu’s influence. Now in pursuit of the Scarab, Marc finds himself gazing upon the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
There is already so much to unpack with context episodes but this one doesn’t have the luxury of having most of its background fleshed out by previous movies. So as it is, Khonshu is an Egyptian God that chooses an avatar to imbued with power and enact justice. Arthur was an avatar of Khonshu but now serves another god, Ammit, who wants to kill people before they commit evil. The current Avatar is a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder, D.I.D., named Marc Spector who is a former Mercenary and his alternative identity is Steven Grant, who previously worked at a Museum. Layla is Marc’s wife whom Khonshu wants as his Avatar should Marc fail in his goals. Right away The series deviates from the comics with Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow. The comic Arthur is a doctor and scientist who is driven by the need to cure his partial facial paralysis. The show’s Arthur is cult leader and former avatar of Khonshu. The history between Arthur and Khonshu and his Yogi-like presence is much more interesting than the Lex Luthor knockoff he once was. Layla is brand new to the Moon Knight world but could be a potential successor to the mantle should Isaac not return after the series concludes. This episode also introduces the Mr. Knight suit which is explained as being the form the suit takes when Steven is in control. This is another improved deviation from the comics with Mr. Knight just being an alternate form of Marc. All these changes are for the better as they clarify and deepen the relationship with Marc and Steven and simplify the narrative, as much as it can be.
The problem with this episode is that it largely consists of Steven going place to place and having things explained to him. The rest of the episode the Knights fighting an invisible Jackal. The term fight is used loosely here as he gets beat up for most of it. What the episode needed was a bigger, bloodier fight at the end; something to reward the audience for sticking through to the end. It almost seems like Marvel is reluctant to embrace the violent side of the character and instead allude to it. So far, the series is underwhelming. There are some interesting aspects of the story but it is not as outlandish as other series. What was expected is what could have set it apart and so far the violence is fairly tame. There are four episodes left in the series so there is plenty of time to show how violent Moon Knight can be instead of telling, whether or not that is the actual plan is still a mystery.