Moon Knight - Episode 1 - Review

Marvel Studios have been making entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over 10 years now, and last year saw them release the first of their limited run tv series, all of which focused on characters we already knew. Moon Knight is the first show that stars characters that we don’t know, at least from the context of the MCU, so does that give Marvel Studios more room to grow, or leave them floundering?

****Slight Spoiler Warning Ahead****

Just to ensure that people are aware, there will be some minor spoilers ahead, very small ones, in order to help frame the story, but nothing beyond that.

The show starts out with us getting our first look at Steven Grant, a man who appears to have issues, given that he has chained himself to his bed, has sand poured all around it and even has tape on the door. He later explains that he has a sleeping disorder and without those precautions, he finds himself wandering around and then waking up in unknown places. Steven has a bit of a routine that he goes through, before he heads off to work, in a museum, where he loves the exhibits and his boss doesn’t like that about him. The boss, the security guard and others all call him by the wrong name, sometimes not even realising, but there is one bright spark in the place, one of the tour guides confirms that they are going out on a date. Steven then spends his night talking to a street performer, who is one of those living statues, which Steven is clearly using as a sort of makeshift therapy. We then get a glimpse into the nightly routine of Steven, unable to sleep, he is doing everything he can to keep busy, but when he does fall asleep, he wakes moments later, however he is now in the middle of nowhere.

What happens here is that we get to meet the villain of the piece, learn a little more about Steven and his reaction to events that he clearly can’t remember and more importantly, leads into one of the best action sequences in MCU history. I won’t describe any of the action, that you will need to see for yourself, but I will explain why its so good and that comes down to Steven losing control. Moon Knight fans, or anyone who has seen the trailer for the show, will understand that Steven is not the only one living in his body, as he suffers from DID, Disassociate Identity Disorder or in lay terms split personality. What this means is that we are constantly seeing the reactions from Steven, as he comes to, not knowing what has happened between when he lost control and now and it is important to note, that he is not aware of him having DID, he just thinks he sleepwalks.

Oscar Isaac does an amazing job here, there is confusion on Stevens face when he gains back control and seeing the various states that he comes to in, each reaction is spectacular. I will point out that I have seen the first four episodes, so I have seen how Isaac portrays the known aspects of this body and it is really amazing to watch the first episode again, catching subtle shifts in the performance. Even Ethan Hawke manages to catch the scenes he is in, portraying a man that has an agenda, but is seemingly unconcerned about some aspects on how it is achieved. There is a calmness to Arthur Harrow, the name revealed in the credits, that is unnerving for a show set within the MCU, usually villains here are loud and brash, show casing their larger-than-life plans, Harrow is the exact opposite. While we do get a glimpse of Konshu every now and then, the Egyptian deity doesn’t really make an impression in the first episode, but the dulcet tones of F. Murray Abraham are wonderful to hear.

The first episode of Moon Knight does end on an exciting note, but what makes this episode great to watch is the simple fact that we are also discovering an all-new side of the MCU, alongside Steven Grant. The action in the episode is amazing, helped along by some fast edits, but it is the utter lack of acceptance by Isaac’s Grant that makes it feel real, this is a man who has no idea what is going on and lacks any sort of skill, that would be needed to survive it. While there isn’t a lot of screen time for Hawke’s Harrow, when he does appear on screen, he sets a more ominous tone for the MCU. With a villain that is potentially more dangerous than any we have seen before, a lead character who is not always ready for action and with enough Egyptian mythology behind the show to fill the Great Pyramid of Giza, Moon Knight is a welcome addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Score

9.0

Review access provided by Disney

The Pros

+The action feels more dangerous because Steven Grant doesn’t have the skills to contribute to things

+Both Isaac and Hawke deliver incredible performances, with the latter giving the MCU a villain who seems more dangerous than ever

The Cons

-There are more questions raised, than answers given, which isn’t welcome yet again

-Some of the transitions between Steven’s moments of awareness are jarring and might be disconcerting to some