Moon Knight’s season premiere on Disney Plus on Wednesday is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe show of 2022. This one introduces Steven Grant, a London museum gift shop salesperson with a vast (and underappreciated) knowledge of Egyptian gods and culture, performed by a delightful Oscar Isaac.
That is, however, only one aspect of the character. He wakes up tethered to his bed, with a variety of surveillance devices in place to see if he’s gone on a weird nighttime sleepwalking spree.
Recap of Episode 1 of Moon Knight
Mohamed Diab directed, and Jeremy Slater wrote the first episode of “Moon Knight.”
It stars
- Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow,
- Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Moon Knight,
- Layla El-Faouly as Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy).
In the Phase 4 storylines, determining if a narrative is placed after Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) snap and Hulk’s (Mark Ruffalo) reversal, popularly known as The Blip, has become a big deal. Although it isn’t stated directly, it appears that “Moon Knight (2022)” is set in a post-Blip future.
Fans have noticed posters for the Global Repatriation Council (GRC), an organisation that works to rehabilitate persons who have been affected by the Blip. In addition, unlike other MCU films and episodes, this is a global adventure that begins in London.
Recommended: How Arthur Harrow’s Scales Tattoo Works in ‘Moon Knight’?
The Hunt for Ammit’s Scarab by Arthur Harrow
“Moon Knight” has one of the most gruesome opening scenes Marvel fans have seen in a long time. By placing his hands on a piece of cloth, Hawke’s Harrow appears to be performing some sort of ceremony.
His hand bears a tattoo of a weighing scale with crocodile-head-shaped beams. Then he places a glass on the cloth, pours some liquid into it, drinks it, covers it with the cloth, smashes it with his cane (which also has two crocodile heads on it), stuffs the shards into his shoes, wears them, and walks away.
Later on, it is discovered that the crocodile emblem is linked to Ammit, the God that Harrow worships.
Now, in Marvel comics, there’s a character named Ammitu or Ammut, who is based on an ancient Egyptian monster or goddess.
She’s known as the Eater of the Dead in the comics, consuming those judged by Anubis by weighing a mortal soul against the feather of Ma’at, the goddess of order. There’s more to her, but I don’t want to give anything away. So let’s just leave it at that.
In later episodes of the show, we learn that Harrow has a cult-like following in a town where Grant is stationed. Harrow can be seen preaching religious propaganda about how to make the Earth more like Heaven.
When he weighs the souls of his followers, however, propaganda turns to horror, and an elderly lady dies for the sins she has committed in the past or will commit in the future. It’s likely that Harrow is working as a conduit for Ammit, gathering souls in order for her to gain power.
Or perhaps there is no Ammit at all, and he is collecting souls in order to remain eternally young. In any case, he’s desperate, and he’s going for Grant to get his hands on the scarab he has.
The Fight for Control: Steven Grant, Marc Spector, and the Fight for Control
We first encounter Steven Grant at his apartment, with his leg chained to a wooden pole, sand around his bed (to keep track of his movements), and a one-finned fish named Gus.
Despite his extensive knowledge of Egyptian history, he works in the National Art Gallery’s gift shop, spewing weird facts about Egyptian death rituals & Goddess Taweret when he gets the chance.
Donna (Lucy Thackeray), his immediate superior, bullies him for always being late and pretending to be the tour guide when he isn’t. His best buddy is a live statue, which he complains to about not remembering how he booked a date, implying his shaky memory.
Grant is seen reading about Ennead, the meeting of the Egyptian Gods who hail Celestial Heliopolis, in an attempt to stay awake (because he is conscious that he loses control of his body when he sleeps).
A (k)night to remember. 🌙 Watch the series premiere of Marvel Studios’ #MoonKnight, now streaming on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/uSMublfKJi
— Moon Knight (@moonknight) March 30, 2022
It’s a pocket dimension that communicates with Earth via an interdimensional portal buried in Egypt. But, before we learn more about that, Grant finds himself in a field in a distant nation, pursued by mercenaries with guns.
Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) appears there for the first time, pleading with Grant to hand over his body to Marc so that he can take care of the scarab that Harrow is after.
We get to see Grant blackout in real-time while avoiding Harrow’s minions, as well as the amount of damage Marc Spector can cause.
Grant wakes up in his apartment, tied to his bed, with no footsteps in the sand, and the tape on his door still intact, ending his bloody experience. Grant is relieved since he believes it is all a dream. However, he finally discovers that a few days have gone, Gus has two fins (perhaps replaced by Spector), and he has missed his date.
Furthermore, he makes touch with Layla, and it is implied that he has led a life as Spector, who has been attempting to persuade Grant that he does not go out at night by covering his tracks.
Who Takes Over Steven Grant’s Body in “Moon Knight” Episode 1?
After another trip in space and time in the last minutes of “Moon Knight,” Grant understands that all that happened in and around the Swiss (guess) village with Harrow wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
He did, in fact, slay a gang of thugs, narrowly avoiding a swarm of falling logs, and is now pursued by Harrow. As a result, he tries to tell the security guard not to let any shady characters in.
However, he comes face to face with Harrow, who has undercover operatives of his cult strewn about the museum, and asks Grant to hand over Ammit’s scarab (while giving him a brief lesson in mythology regarding Ammit’s abilities).
After discovering that Grant possesses chaos (as in the Chaos Magic that Scarlet Witch wields, most likely), Harrow lets him go for the time being.
Grant hears a dog-like sound on his way out of the museum and follows it. As Grant walks forward, his reflection (Spector) stays back to notice what the dog-like sound is coming from, and we have another more clue that whoever isn’t in charge of the body can function reasonably freely via reflecting surfaces.
Harrow has enslaved Grant with a creature that looks like Anubis. Before Grant is able to get into a bathroom and lock himself in, things become a little hairy. Spector confronts Grant through the reflections as Anubis tries to claw his way into the bathroom, giving him the pep talk he needs to lose control of the body and let Spector do his thing.
After much persuading, Grant relinquishes control of the body, allowing Spector to reveal the titular Moon Knight in all his magnificence. We see a portion of it, and Diab leads us to believe that Anubis captured him in the middle of his change.
However, when the camera turns to a shot from the hallway, we see a sink fly out, followed by Anubis, who is then dragged back in and punched to kingdom come by Moon Knight. Then he steps into the camera, establishing the fact that Spector is the only one capable of summoning the Moon Knight costume, whilst Grant isn’t.
So, where did the suit originate? What role does the suit have in Khonshu’s life? What exactly is Marc Spector’s goal? What is the scarab’s function? What happens if Harrow obtains it? We’ll have to wait for “Moon Knight” Episode 2 to find out the answers to all of those questions.
Next Wednesday, April 6th, when episode 2 of Moon Knight premieres on Disney Plus, join us for more Easter eggs and observations.
Experience the six episode event. Marvel Studios’ #MoonKnight, an Original series streaming March 30, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/r339kCH3js
— Moon Knight (@moonknight) March 14, 2022
Moon Night Episode Guide
Moon Knight will premiere on Disney Plus on March 30, after Loki, What If…?, and Hawkeye, which all premiered the same week.
Every week, a new episode of the series will be broadcast, with the series finale releasing only two days before Doctor Strange 2 hits theatres worldwide on May 4.
The following is the order in which the episodes will be released:
- Episode 1 will air on March 30, 2022.
- Episode 2 will air on April 6, 2022.
- Episode 3 will air on April 13, 2022.
- Episode 4 will air on April 20, 2022.
- Episode 5 will air on April 27, 2022.
- Episode 6 will air on May 4, 2022.
The first episode of “Moon Knight” is available to watch on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar.
