We’re a third of the way through Moon Knight and I’m starting to think the shine is already wearing off the apple with this one. Taking into account that this is essentially an origin story mixed with an world-saving adventure (which I think might be a bit more than can be covered within a six episode miniseries – not the first time that’s happened within the MCU’s television world, see also Falcon and the Winter Soldier and, while it was pretty fun, Hawkeye), “Summon the Suit” was overstuffed with exposition and had almost no time for actual story.
We know a bit more about Khonshu – namely that he takes over “worthy” humans as his earthly avatar, charging them with completing missions, and although he promises they will be released after one last job, that rarely appears to be the case. His previous avatar was none other than Arthur Harrow, which explains a bit about his thirst for a different type of justice through the use of Ammit (although how his judgment of humanity plan is all that different from something like Thanos’ plan – aside from actually offering a judgment rather than just a random culling – needs a bit more definition, which I suspect we’ll get down the line). And Khonshu is apparently already annoyed with the Marc-Steven dynamic (as am I – more on that in a minute), which means he’s got his eye on Layla (the great May Calamawy, who I hope gets to do more than simply be the sidekick/love interest) as an avatar replacement.
The series seems to be setting up Khonshu as the bad guy (in addition to Arthur – basically, anyone with an Egyptian god possessing them is bad news) and the struggle between avatar and god is less a struggle for control over the vessel and more a struggle to prevent Khonshu from abandoning Marc to take on Layla. Until we know a bit more about the avatar selection process (Does Khonshu just take over whomever he wants or does the avatar need to be willing? Is there a clear deal that is struck between the pair? What benefits come with the position of avatar – because it looks kind of disappointing from the avatar’s POV?), I’m not thrilled at Marc’s fervent insistence that Layla not be tapped by Khonshu as his next avatar. If the person doesn’t get a choice, then I can understand it. But if there’s some choice involved – and it certainly seems like there is – it’s a pretty dick move for Marc to be all macho-protector asshole about the whole thing. After all, he’s already gone to great lengths to cut Layla completely out of his life – now he’s also attempting to take on the role as Moon Knight seemingly solely so that she doesn’t have to deal with the choice of taking the mantle herself.
And that gets to the heart of the problem I’m starting to have with the series: The multiple personality issue. It’s exhausting to watch the show present us with versions of the same fight (the one where Steven refuses to give up control, Marc demands it, things go poorly, Steven relents) multiple times per episode. The more we see Steven, the more annoying he becomes as a character. Now, Marc certainly isn’t a walk in the park either (see my previous paragraph), but he’s a more interesting and complex character than Steven, who’s sole personality traits are denial and inaction*. The problem with an origin story with this many moving parts (avatar lore, Egyptian gods, multiple personalities, black outs, attempt to stop another avatar with an Egyptian god from taking over the world) is that we get precious little time for true character development. When you are trying to develop two personalities attached to the same character, well, that makes it doubly hard. And so far, Moon Knight has managed to stress that Steven is weak (but of course has the ability to become strong – this is a superhero story, after all) and Marc is self-centered but capable (which means he doesn’t want to rely on anyone for help – even when he desperately needs to). But we need a hell of a lot more to really care whether or not Khonshu gets this guy killed – and then we also need some background on Layla to care about her potential role as a future avatar. That’s a tall order to provide with just four episodes left in the series.
*I’m more than willing to cut Steven some slack seeing as this revelation of his alternate personality and possession by an Egyptian god is only a few days old to him. But I can’t take much more of his hand wringing and whinging about everything around him. If I was being attacked by a jackal that only I could see and someone offered to provide me with the means to fight it off and keep others safe while I chilled in the background, I would take the offer immediately.
So, while the basic plot seems to be in place (stop Arthur, reckon with Khonshu and what he means to Steven/Marc before ultimately coming to control the beast – assuming Marvel wants to keep the character in their roster moving forward), the series still lacks the emotional layers it needs to justify the coming payoff. Do we have enough time to get a deep enough understanding of Marc’s past and Steven’s present to have the ultimate internal battle pay off the way the series wants it to? Or will this end up being a show that, despite a great central performance from Oscar Isaac – who I should stress is the not the issue I’m having with his character, the writing is–, can’t quite make all the parts work together to form a cohesive whole? Moon Knight looks cool, it has some great performances at its center, but it just isn’t hitting on all cylinders at this stage in the game, leaving me worried that it’s not going to be the wholly satisfying story we were hoping for.
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