As Geek’d Out continues to cover Moon Knight on Disney+ throughout its six-episode run, we’ll be summarizing individual episodes along with some observations that could clue us into where the series is going, before we look at the series as a whole after the final episode premieres. So let’s jump right in with Marc and Steven on their midnight romp through the rooftops of London!

“Summon the suit.”

Steven wakes up after what could very well be just a bad dream–a bad dream where someone takes over his body and pounds the living s*** out of a supernatural Egyptian jackal. When he gets back to work, though, security footage shows a version of the previous episode–a version that looks very much like Steven trashing the museum privy. Steven is let go, but not before HR refers him to a mental health institute.

As Steven tries to make sense of his life, more confusion abounds. We meet the mysterious Layla, who claims to be Marc’s wife (with divorce papers in tow). Marc reveals himself as an ex-mercenary who is seeking penance for past sins by serving as the avatar of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Furthermore, Arthur Harrow presents his vision of a perfect world to Steven, revealing that he, too, was an avatar of Khonshu once, before he learned of Ammit’s goal to rid the world of its evil disease before evil people can manifest their wrongdoing. Steven isn’t convinced, and he is chased by another supernatural Jackal. In a near death-fall, Steven summons the iconic Mr. Knight suit, gets a good punch in, then lets Marc take over the body to complete the beatdown.

Observations

This was a great episode that further deepens the character work and vision that director Mohamed Diab has for the show. We get better looks at Khonshu (finally getting a name for the bullying voice in Steven’s head) and the Moon Knight suit(s), a face for the name Layla, and a deeper look into the twisted cult of Ammit. Additionally, one scene gives us a look into Marc Spector’s past as a mercenary on the run after he supposedly murdered an archeologist in Egypt. This is a comics-accurate backstory, so it made me wonder if we’ll get, at the least, a cameo of Moon Knight’s classic foe Bushman.

Also, at the top of the episode, after Steven wakes up, he looks at himself in a mirror asking Marc if he’s there. I know we’ve seen this mirror before, but it struck me in this episode that the mirror has a three-fold pattern. Then, when Steven is desperately trying to summon the suit, we are gifted with the first appearance of Mr. Knight. Steven and Marc are both puzzled as to where this suit came from (Marc goes so far as to say it looks like “psycho Colonel Sanders”). With the three-fold mirror and the mystery origin of the Mr. Knight suit, I do wonder if Jake Lockley–Marc’s third persona from the comics–is lurking somewhere in the shadows. I think it’s a smart move on Diab and writer Jeremy Slater’s part to slowly reveal all the aspects of Marc Spector rather than frontload it all and overwhelm newcomers to the Moon Knight character. And, side note, all the people complaining about the Mr. Knight fight scene being on the comic-relief side (as opposed to the badass side we usually see in Mr. Knight) need to sound less like purists who would rather find something to complain about than have fun.

There are some other small bits of the episode–Crawley still being a part of Steven’s life and appearing to hold back a worried expression on his statuesque face, the fact that only Steven/Marc could see the jackal–that make me wonder if this series will go in the direction of the sensational Moon Knight run by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood.

Some other questions: What was with that freeze-frame? Why did it seem like Marc easily gave the scarab to Harrow after all he did to keep it safe? Did Marc Spector utter the first f-bomb in the MCU?

Come back next week as we continue to unearth this spectacular series! I’m looking forward to getting a Marc-centered episode. Also, does anyone else find the Arthur Harrow musical score eternally ingrained in their head after watching these episodes?

'Summon the Suit'

9.2

Steven is not alone, and that might be the problem

10.0/10

Layla, you got me on my knees

10.0/10

Learning more about what a dick Khonshu is

10.0/10

Mr. Knight reveal was perfection

10.0/10

Awkard freeze-frame

6.0/10

Credits

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, F. Murray Abraham, May Calamawy
Directors: Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Writer: Jeremy Slater
Characters: Doug Moench, Don Perlin
Producers: Kevin Feige, Grant Curtis, Victoria Alonso, Mohamed Diab, Oscar Isaac