By KAITLYN HENSON
Staff Writer
For the past several weeks, people have been obsessing over Marvel’s newest show “Moon Knight”, starring Oscar Issac as the title character of the famous comic book character. The show recently concluded as of now at 6 episodes, and fans are circling around discussing plot narratives and the direction the story went in. Overall, Marvel’s “Moon Knight” is unlike anything they’ve ever made before, and it’s fascinated (or confused) everyone who’s seen it.
First appearing in the comic “Werewolf By Night” in 1975, the character was brought to life on screen in the first debuted episode of “Moon Knight” on March 30, 2022. It follows the story of Steven Grant, a gift shop worker who experiences struggles with sleep every night. He eventually discovers that there’s an altar in the same body – Marc Spector – a mercenary who has a connection with the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Together with Marc’s wife Layla, they set out to stop Arthur Hallow who’s obsessed with bringing back the outcast goddess, Ammit, to destroy the choice of pursuing evil before it’s enacted.
“Moon Knight ” is fascinating to watch and understand for its unordinary premise, with a character experiencing dissociative identity disorder (DID) and trying to figure out how to get through life with the two alters. Marc Spector is the original, who after experiencing the death of his brother at a young age and being blamed for the brother’s death by his own mother, starts to dissociate and form the alter of Steven Grant. Steven Grant carries all the innocence that Marc had lost a long time ago, and has since tried to protect Steven from the dangers he winded himself in. And Steven, being aware that he finds himself a place every time he sleeps, struggles with staying awake to stop his body from going somewhere without his knowledge.
Though the show’s portrayal of DID isn’t entirely accurate, it really does explore the mental state and the confusion these two characters go through throughout this journey of working with the Egyptian gods. He knows that he is unwell and that he has a lot of issues, but the two slowly start to work together and understand where the other one is coming from despite Marc desperately wanting to protect Steven and Steven wanting to understand what’s going on in his life and what he can do to help. Marc clearly has an issue with lying and trusting others with his secrets – which he keeps from his wife Layla – but Steven shows him that he has to be honest with the people that care for him if he wants them to stay. Likewise, Marc shows Steven how to protect himself from those who try to go after him and to realize who he truly is and why he’s important and must be cared for. It’s amazing how Oscar Issac is able to play both of these characters simultaneously and so well, that you can easily distinguish between the two so great.
The way the episodes are structured is incredibly fascinating as well. The first few episodes are written in a way that’s confusing and strange, but it makes sense for the context because we are seeing the point of view of Steven not being aware that there’s another alter in his body. It cuts from here and there, it’s not explained right away why he needs to tie himself to a bed or why he hears a looming voice behind him at times. It’s put together in a way that intrigues the audience, and it leaves the audience continuing to ask questions and trying to figure out what’s going on, even after the last episode.
Overall, there’s so much in just these 6 episodes alone and it deserves all the praise and attention it’s getting. I’m hoping that there will be a season 2 eventually or at the very least an upcoming movie with a Moon Knight cameo, but nevertheless, I want to see more of these characters and I want to see and understand more of their story. There’s so much going on here and it’s such an interesting mystery that the characters are figuring out, I want to see more of it and I highly recommend this show for anyone to watch! There’s so much Egyptian mythology, mystery, romance, action, magic, and it’s all in a whirlwind of fantastic storytelling and intense Marvel cinema.