Movierulz
One step away from the final gong, Moon Knight churns out an episode in many ways unexpected, although not by its nature. Mind you, from the first moment we glimpsed the asylum it was understood that the next chapter in the story of Marc and Steven would be extremely focused on their psyche, otherwise it would not have made much sense to exploit in the current narrative context the brilliant intuition of the comic by Lemire: if the writers have chosen to wedge themselves in this path it is because they had planned an episode – at least in part – introspective in which to vent the drama of their version of the character.
What we did not expect, however, is that this nature would take possession of the entire episode, avoiding even giving certainties about the final series and demonstrating for the umpteenth time how disinterested Moon Knight is to follow many topoi of superhero products or the so-called formula Marvel, for better or for worse.
An episode then emerges that to define atypical for the MCU would be a euphemism, which takes its time and a double level of “reality” to give total space to Marc / Steven, to an increasingly sumptuous Oscar Isaac and raw power dramatic of a broken mind. And it’s just wonderful when taken on its own and yet worrying about the final act.
Fact or fiction?
We immediately find Marc (Oscar Isaac) locked up in the Putnam Medical Center – here you can find our review of Moon Knight 1×04 – and struggling with Dr. Harrow (Ethan Hawke), intent on explaining to him once again the fragility and seriousness of his psychic condition. But Marc, refusing to believe that everything he experienced was a mere invention of his mind, continues to fidget and act violently against his supposed nemesis, with the only result being sedated by the nurses.
The instant the liquid penetrates her body, however, she awakens again at Steven’s side and in the presence of the Egyptian goddess Taweret, ready to guide them into the afterlife after revealing to the duo that they are dead and judging them on the scale of the justice – which, as we well know, will find it hard to judge them.
Then begins a long journey back into Marc’s painful and shattered existence, to reveal his secrets, try somehow to accept a terrible past and, in doing so, balance his heart. And let’s start from a necessary assumption: starting this journey, at least in our opinion, is a bit forced.
It is certainly fascinating since it is immersed in the beating heart of a rich and extraordinary religious culture like that of Egypt, but perhaps it would have been more coherent to insist in equal measure on Steven’s desire to finally know the truth. In short, the stakes seem somewhat nebulous and cannot always be justified on the altar of an atmosphere that demands a certain aura of mystery, however, the two needs must be balanced.
Marc’s relentless odyssey
Having overcome this and putting aside the now very classic comic relief that always pops up in an MCU production – in this episode not so annoying, indeed we dare to define Taweret as adorable and her sporadic presence – can begin a journey that is nothing short of amazing. Nothing is missing: a painful, dramatic imprint with that dark aura from which no hope or redemption seems to emerge, a crucial element in Moon Knight;
A long series of revelations proposed in intermittent and non-linear ways, interspersed with other sequences on the real plane of the asylum and Dr. Harrow makes the whole exquisitely lysergic; in general, it is offering a naked and brutally honest tragedy, stripped of any unnecessary outline element, that really elevates this episode.
It is a continuous and relentless odyssey that falls on the viewer and not being entranced by it is very complicated. So, as mentioned in the preview, taken in its own right is an unmissable chapter, which nevertheless leaves enormous doubts for the next week. There is still a lot to resolve, from freeing Khonshu to stopping Harrow.
From the intricate relationship with Layla (May Calamawy) to the question of the third identity, which the series has repeatedly hinted at very clearly. Will the ending be enough to satisfactorily close the circle or will the deleterious haste with which so many Marvel series have already greeted its audience will be repeated?
