What’s up, my know-it-alls. Episode 2 of Moon Knight has dropped and it’s unbelievable. The story continues, the adventure’s awesome, and I was excited before the recap was even over.
The one thing I realized right away is that this show is definitely striving for more, and it’s doing an amazing job wrapping exposition into the narrative. You learn who these people are while they’re running from something, and this episode does that for an hour straight.
The Tape, the Name Tag and the Gold Man
Steven wakes up in his apartment, jumps up, and he’s still attached to the bed. It’s very much the scene we’ve seen in the trailers. He rushes over to the mirrors, and he’s looking, and he’s like, what’s going on, what’s happening, talk to me. After a bit he realizes he’s just got to go to work.
So he walks back to the museum, and as soon as he gets in, his security guard friend is cordoning off some areas and says they need to go look at the security tape. On the tape Steven’s hiding, he’s moving, he’s doing some stuff, but you never see what’s chasing him. It looks like he just ran into the bathroom and vandalized it. Then they roll to the end and you see him walk out, and it’s Marc. The face Marc has on when he walks out of that bathroom is pretty hardcore. He’s all brooding. It’s great. And he looks right up at the camera, because that’s what you do.
Then he’s sitting with somebody from the museum, I think the head of security and someone from human resources, and they realize he’s disturbed. They hand him a brochure for one of those mental health places, and he’s all, well, it looks nice, doesn’t it. It’s so sad, because then they ask if he has any of their property, he says no, and they’re like, yeah, we’re going to need that name tag from you. So he takes the name tag off and puts it on the table.
It isn’t long before he’s talking to the gold man, the living statue, who’s in the same exact pose as always. Steven just talks at him, and eventually he says he’s got this idea, he has to go find out what’s going on, and he hugs the guy. You see the guy’s eyes move, like, what’s going on here. I know that in the comic books the gold man is supposed to be someone who helps Marc Spector, almost like an informant. I don’t know if they’re going to do the exact same thing in the show. I’d be interested to see that myself.
Space Number 43
The best option Steven’s got is to find out where the stuff he has leads. He has the key and he has the phone, and the phone is still on. The key has a little logo on it from a storage place, and when he gets there, the guy at the door is like, yeah, I recognize you, I recognize faces. He takes him to his unit, unlocks it and walks away.
We get a shot of space number 43, and there’s a little QR code on it. I couldn’t help myself. I got on my phone, and it’s a cool little Marvel link: it takes you to the Moon Knight comic book at Marvel Unlimited, so you can read the comic. I’m really digging little Easter eggs like that.
Inside it’s exactly what a storage unit should be. Some shelves, some equipment, a cot in the corner. He comes to a bag, opens it, and sure enough there’s a gun. Then there’s money. Then he finds a passport, and this is the first time we get Marc’s full name: Marc Spector. Steven Grant is the personality we follow, so I’ve been calling him the prime personality, but this episode lets us clearly understand that Marc is probably the dominant one.
He also finds the scarab. It opens up and floats above his hand, and it almost reminds me of one of those anti-gravity things you keep on your desk. Then he hears Marc’s voice, and we start seeing the reflections talk. They’re clearly moving differently from Steven, and that’s how the two of them go back and forth. Marc wants control. Steven’s determined not to be a murderer, so he says he’s taking all of this to the police.
On the way out he starts seeing Khonshu in the dark. It’s just like the hallway in his building, where the lights are flashing and in every flash this thing is a little closer. Very awesome, very ominous. It isn’t full-on horror, but it’s that mind thriller, maybe supernatural thriller, what’s-going-on feeling. He runs, turns a corner, and Khonshu’s waiting right there.
Layla
Steven bails, runs outside and gets hit by a girl on a scooter. This is Layla, and she tracked him using that phone. He’s riding behind her and she’s going, I can’t believe you’ve done this, what’s going on, did you summon the suit, and he’s clutching her shoulders and then he’s got his hands around her waist. He’s like, can you just take me home, please. And she’s like, what’s this voice about? She doesn’t believe any of it. Apparently it’s been a long time since she’s talked to him.
At the apartment she sees the fish, and Marc’s in the reflection telling Steven to get her out of there, because if she gets involved she’s going to be in danger. Steven doesn’t want to hear it. Layla’s looking around and finds a poetry book, one of Steven’s favorites, and come to find out it’s by one of Layla’s favorite poets.
It’s quickly coming together. I believe what we’re going to end up finding out is that Marc was the prime personality and had to establish a new one, or a new life. Later on, Ethan Hawke’s Harrow asks him a pretty important question: did Khonshu choose you because your mind would be easy to break, or because it was already broken? It’s a chicken-and-the-egg question, and I’m very interested to find out the answer. I hope they address it.
Then she pulls out papers, and they’re divorce papers. He’s like, what, I don’t want to divorce you, and she tells him to just go ahead and sign. He opens the bag to show her what’s going on and she sees the scarab. Apparently Marc stole it. She makes allusions to the two of them having adventures, and she references the suit several times, so it’s almost the idea that the suit is the supernatural part, more than whatever has possessed him.
Harrow’s Neighborhood
People start knocking, and it’s police officers there to question him. He answers the door, turns around, and Layla’s gone. A female officer goes to the window and looks around, and we see Layla outside on the ledge, hiding. Then the other officer finds the Marc Spector passport. Whoopsies.
In the car they’re pulling up all this information, and Marc Spector was a bad man. He’s a fugitive, wanted for questioning over an archaeology site, a massacre or murders or something. It’s pretty rough. They pull into a small alley in a little township area and Steven says, I thought we were going to the police. The one guy says, why would we do that, adjusts the rear view, and you see the scales tattoo. You didn’t see that coming, bro? We did. Yeah, I get pretty pulled into these things.
There are kids playing soccer in the street (sorry, football), and Marc’s in the reflection going, dude, give me control or we’re screwed. Steven gets dropped out of the car, and Harrow leans down and he’s really understanding. Hey, are you okay, come on, man, stand up, let’s get you going. He asks if Steven is seeing Khonshu right now, and sure enough Khonshu’s there causing trouble, making the wind blow. Harrow says that’s all he can do without your body. He can blow the wind around. Ignore him, you’re good.
That pulled me right in, because you get the gist that Harrow knows Khonshu. He already knows Ammit, fine, that’s who he’s following, that’s the scales and the cane and the Anubis dog-looking thing. But he walks Steven through and tells him everybody here is here voluntarily, this used to be a crime-ridden area, and now people can leave their doors unlocked. There’s a guy cooking food for everybody. And you see Khonshu just sitting there as they walk by, ticked off, telling Steven to kill him, hit him in the throat. Then it’s “I am vengeance, I am justice,” and Harrow goes, is he doing the vengeance thing? Steven asks if he can hear him, and Harrow says no, not anymore.
Harrow was the avatar of Khonshu first. Something happened, and I assume Khonshu just moved on and picked someone else. You start to understand how Khonshu works, too. Ammit was banished. Khonshu is just shunned. The other gods don’t like him, but he isn’t locked away. The scarab is supposed to point the direction to Ammit’s tomb, and a sliver of her power is in that fancy cane of his.
A Suit, Not the Suit
Steven tells him he doesn’t have the scarab, with Marc in the reflections going, don’t you dare give up Layla. Next thing you know Layla shows up holding it, Khonshu’s blowing the wind, and they run. She’s yelling at him to summon the suit, summon the suit right now, and he’s like, I can’t, I’m sorry. Harrow slams his cane on the floor, there’s this cool purple energy and light everywhere, the ground opens up, and the claw of one of those Anubis things pops out. Very dope.
Marc’s begging for control. Steven says, I’m never giving you control again. Layla can’t see the creature either, but she can see what it does. Steven gets thrown out the window, and as he lands, he summons a suit. It’s the Mr. Knight suit, the mask and the tie, hence the thumbnail, and it’s Steven in control. Marc’s like, ugh, what are we wearing? Steven’s like, I don’t know, I summoned a suit, is this not what I’m supposed to summon? But his eyes glow. We’ve got glowing eyes. I love it.
He reaches behind him and pulls out these tonfa-looking things made out of metal and has no idea what he’s supposed to do with them. Oh my gosh, it’s great. He gets knocked around by Ammit’s dog thing, grabs on to a car to get up and squeezes right through it, so he clearly has superhuman strength in this form. He rips the bumper off.
Layla just sees him fighting nothing, getting picked up and thrown, and you’d think he’s having a seizure. So she throws liquid near him, it lands on the creature, and now she has something to see. She tries to stab it with a piece of a bottle. Steven slams an old car rim into it. He’s rolled up his sleeves by now, and when he lands a hit he’s like, look what I did. It’s his first time using superhero powers, what do you expect.
Then the thing knocks him into the street, and when he gets up Marc says, not bad, that was a real good hit. You going to give me control now so I can save us? And Steven says yes, please, but only for a little while.
Last episode the change was all blinking. This time we see the whole transformation, uninterrupted. As soon as Marc takes over, the Mr. Knight suit disappears and it’s the standard Moon Knight suit with the hood, and he pulls his moon knives. That’s probably not what they’re called. I’ve never read the Moon Knight comics. He draws the thing away over the rooftops, it jumps at him, and he grabs it in the air and slams it down onto a spike. You can’t see it, but it starts to dissolve.
Why Marc Wanted the Divorce
Marc lost the scarab in the fight. A homeless guy picks it up off the ground, and it ends up in Harrow’s hands.
For the very first time, Steven is the reflection and Marc’s in control. Steven wants his body back, and Marc says something’s changed. There used to be a wall between them, and he doesn’t know what’s going on.
The reason Marc has kept Layla out of all this is that Khonshu has his eyes (I guess that’d be his eye sockets) on Layla as his replacement. Marc’s been holding on as long as he can to keep her safe. That’s why he wanted the divorce. He was pushing her out of his life to protect her, and now Steven has screwed all that up. Steven, why are you screwing things up, Steven. Oh, Steven. I’m not drunk, I’m just intoxicated by you.
Khonshu shows up and says, I thought you said he wouldn’t be a problem, and he doesn’t like Marc trying to change the terms of their deal. Marc says he’ll finish this, and when it’s done, that’s it, he’s free. Khonshu tells him he may not like who he has in mind to replace him. And I’m like, oh, you suck. Marc says stay away from her, asks where he’s supposed to go next, and Khonshu says, isn’t it obvious? We cut to Marc drinking in Egypt.
The Verdict
Moon Knight Episode 2, “Summon the Suit,” is a 9 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
It’s directed by Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson and written by Michael Kastelein. I loved everything about this episode, and I’m super impressed at the moment. I enjoy where this is going, I love what they’re building up to, and the show’s paced really nicely.
A 10 out of 10 is very difficult with me. You’ve got to be perfect. This show’s bordering on that for me right now, and I can very well see a 10 out of 10 episode before the series is out. For now, Episode 2 is a 9. I enjoyed the heck out of it, and it’s infinitely rewatchable.
I’m hoping to start coming up with some new things, some Know-It-All notes or something along those lines, to make these a little more entertaining. If there’s anything I could be doing to make these reviews more engaging, I’d love to know. And remember, everybody loves a know-it-all.
Got an idea for making these reviews better, or a theory on Harrow’s question? Drop it in the comments on the video above.
