Moon Knight premiere offers mythology-infused mystery.
Oscar Isaac flexes his acting chops in the new Marvel Disney+ series.
The Short Take:
Full of eerie mystery, Marvel’s newest Disney+ series, Moon Knight, immediately drew me into a new character and world, about which I know nothing. Part Indiana Jones, part Memento, and all Oscar Isaac.
[I’m going to keep the spoiler-free section here relatively brief because this is a mystery-driven show. I’ll make it clear when I’m switching over to spoiler mode.]
The Long Take:
Full disclosure: I know nothing about Moon Knight as a character from the comics. I’ve heard that he’s Marvel’s answer to Batman in a lot of ways, which, given how much I love Batman, piques my interest. And I know that in some versions of the comics Moon Knight has Dissociative Identity Disorder. But that’s really it.
Considering I had zero investment in the character prior, and considering how intrigued I was by the end of this premiere — how eager I was for another episode — I’d say that they nailed it.
If you’re a more casual Marvel fan, there’s very little barrier to entry here; you don’t even need to have seen any of the other Marvel shows or movies to enjoy Moon Knight. Granted we’ve only gotten one episode, so that could easily change. But, at least for now, I’d say this seems like a very user-friendly show for anyone who likes action-adventure, mystery box television. I’m getting vibes similar to WandaVision or Loki, except, unlike those two shows, we have zero history with any of the characters we meet in Moon Knight’s premiere. Outside of the MCU, I’m reminded of ABC’s Lost. There’s a strong psychological thriller/light horror undercurrent throughout the episode as well.
I would encourage everyone to give Moon Knight a try because the basic premise of the show is a perfect way to introduce a totally new mythos, leveling the playing field for both hardcore and lighter fans. Steven Grant, a mousy yet utterly congenial museum gift shop clerk, seems to have trouble sleepwalking, and keeps getting confused when others around him act as though something has happened that he doesn’t remember. He blacks out for long periods of time and wakes up in bizarre situations for which he is completely unprepared. Steven serves as our stand-in as he tries to piece together what’s happening to him, just as we are. His confusion is our confusion, and his gradual realization is our gradual realization.
This is a classic and clever way to introduce an audience to brand new concepts, as the Egyptian-inspired supernatural phenomena are unlike anything we’ve seen in the MCU to date. More importantly, it’s an easy way to keep viewers on the hook. This first episode does an excellent job of giving us enough weird and confusing scenes that go unexplained while, at the same time, giving us just enough breadcrumbs to formulate our own understanding of what’s happening as the story unfolds. There was even a QR code hidden in one of the scenes so fans could get a free Moon Knight comic.
[SPOILER WARNING: Going forward, I’d like to reference specific events and scenes from the episode. If you haven’t seen it yet, return when you are ready.]
The opening scene, for example, very clearly wants to generate a “what on earth is going on” response. We see Ethan Hawke’s character, Dr. Arthur Harrow, ritualistically laying out his arms and some items on a table. He takes a glass, fills it with water, drinks the water, and then…breaks the glass (huh?) and….puts the broken glass in his SHOES (what?!). If anyone says that they saw where that was going, they must be lying. I love that by the end of the episode we still don’t have an explanation. It’s enough to establish that he’s a strange character that we should want to know more about, and that’s all it needs to be.
I have so many questions already, and I find that thrilling. How is it that Steven has no idea Marc exists but Marc seems to know Steven — enough to know he needs to replace Steven’s one-finned fish, Gus, so he won’t get suspicious? Who is the deity working with Marc? How does Marc turn into Moon Knight? What’s causing the electrical fluctuations? What’s the significance of the scarab? And, once again, why does Harrow walk around with broken glass in his shoes?!?
Meanwhile, I have no questions about Oscar Isaac. Upon seeing the trailer for the show, I had some concerns about the accent he adopted for the character we now know is Steven Grant. It sounded very exaggerated, like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. I’m happy to report that I didn’t mind the accent as much in the context of the whole episode. In retrospect, I think they chose the whinier quotes which, out of context, made them a little off-putting in the trailer. In context, he just sounds gentle and scared. If I’m actively pushing my general love for Oscar Isaac aside, there are still too many cute Britishisms. He never says, “pip, pip,” but it feels like we’re always right on the edge of that because he says “bloody hell,” “bollocks,” and “bugger” A LOT. But if you’re reading this and actually have a British accent, please give us your take. Is the accent too much or is it authentic to a certain type of Londoner?
Accent work aside, Isaac flexes his acting muscles here in a big way, and overdelivers a nuanced performance when he could have easily skated by without one. I’m imagining that’s going to heighten once we see more of Marc, the polar opposite of Steven, in future episodes. Steven is such a departure from other characters I’ve seen Isaac play; he’s awkward and funny, like a well-meaning character from the British version of The Office. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that he’d be on a British version of Parks and Rec: Museum Edition because he genuinely seems like a nice person. He’s flaky, naive, and socially awkward at times. But he’s also very intelligent. The scene in which he notices the scratches on the floor and proceeds to Sherlock Holmes his way to Marc’s cell phone and keys was essential for me to take him seriously as a protagonist.
I mostly like Steven because he’s an Egyptian history nerd. The way he points out inaccuracies in the museum’s marketing materials and extolls the wonders of Ancient Egypt to a young child endeared him to me. I’m generally a fan of any world mythology, so his passion for the Egyptian pantheon is a big plus. I’m hoping he becomes a reluctant Indiana Jones figure. I wonder, though, how much the use of Egyptian myth will resemble Marvel turning to Norse mythology for stories about Thor? Here it seems like it could be more central to the plot. With passing references to midgard and ragnarok, Norse mythology in the MCU sometimes seems like a fun cosmetic layer but not much else.
(Note the QR code I mentioned earlier in the above image.)
I love a good Indiana Jones-inspired adventure, but I’m a little apprehensive about the positioning of the British Museum and whether or not the show will contextualize that institution in the history of British imperialism. Black Panther handled this well through Killmonger, who tries to steal back artifacts from museums and calls out the imperialist history behind some museum exhibits. Will there be any self-aware discourse like that in Moon Knight? Harrow’s costuming seems to appropriate more “Eastern” aesthetics in a deliberate way; the high collar and woven sandals imply that his character may serve as a satire of Western gurus appropriating Eastern traditions.
This is all speculation, of course. At this point, I’m not very confident in how representative this first episode is. Will we stay with Steven for a while? Or will he kind of fade into the background once we meet Marc? Will they work together, with Marc as the brawn and Steven as the mythology-conversant brains? Khonshu, the deity who seems to be powering Marc/Moon Knight, gives off some serious Tom Hardy Venom vibes as he harangues Steven and sounds annoyed the entire time. Maybe, then, this will turn into a three-way buddy comedy, with this eccentric “team” working to take down Harrow and Ammit.
I’m more inclined to expect comedy after this episode because while it certainly had a lot of the thriller and horror elements that the trailer foreshadowed (oof, that elevator sequence was so creepy!), it also had more of a sense of humor than I would have expected. Most notably, the music was pretty upbeat and goofy, reminding me of James Gunn’s jukebox needle drops in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Among the most memorable juxtapositions are the early scene where Steven wakes up and starts his day, set to Engelbert Humperdinck’s “A Man Without Love,” and the use of Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” during the cupcake van chase scene. There’s also a nice nod to sleeping and waking in the lyrics of both those songs.
This is not to say that Moon Knight trivializes Steven Grant’s mental health. Because Moon Knight has Dissociative Identity Disorder in the comics, critics are inevitably going to assess this show in terms of how it represents that. I’m not sure I would have concluded that Steven had this disorder if I hadn’t heard/read it before because the integration of the supernatural through Khonshu and the lack of explanation of what’s going on makes it so I would have probably chalked it up to something more mystical than psychiatric.
The show seems to treat Steven with care, though, and that’s what really matters at this point. Yes, there’s a playful tone that leans into the absurdity of the situation and Steven’s surprise, but we also get sadder and darker moments that show the toll this is all taking on Steven’s life. The restaurant scene accomplishes this the most. The progression from Steven innocently not knowing he missed his date to the gradual realization that he doesn’t even know what day it is heartbreaking to watch. That’s mostly because Isaac demonstrates considerable emotional range in this scene. The way he stares blankly and tries to order a steak when he very clear knows nothing about how to order a steak conveys that Steven has been completely unmoored by his condition.
Even in moments where Steven seems fairly content with his life, there’s an undertone of loneliness and isolation. He’s very comfortable having one-way conversations, as if he were talking to himself. He hangs out with the golden man/living statue performer and doesn’t seem bothered by the lack of a reply. We see him on the phone with his “mum” multiple times, but we never hear her voice on the other end. This is apparently noticeable enough that the Internet is questioning whether or not he actually has a mother or if he’s just talking to a fake number’s voicemail. I don’t need a big conspiracy here; I think this highlights the disconnect Steven has with the world around him because he unknowingly disassociates, leading a double (or triple?) life.
The visual composition of many, many shots in this first episode reinforces the disassociation. Director Mohamed Diab uses mirrors in smart and beautiful ways. Some shots more functionally feature Marc trying to communicate with Steven in ways that freak him out, but others are just mirrors or mirror images that more subtly bolster broader themes: questioning one’s sense of reality, doppelgängers, and the relationship between the mind, the body, and the self. I want to go back and rewatch the bathroom scene at the end of the episode because I think there’s so much going on in the camerawork that I probably missed. At one point Steven actually has two reflections — one of himself and one of Marc, talking to him.
I’m very hopeful about this show’s potential and look forward to seeing more next week. And hey, if all this falls apart, at least I’ll still have more Oscar Isaac to watch.