“The Friendly Type”

Moon Knight steps up the adventure as Marc takes control to find Ammit’s tomb before Harrow.

This show promises a lot of variety with the exploration of Dissociative Identity Disorder and a magical mystery prompting a globe trotting adventure. Up until this point Moon Knight has built itself around various mysteries. Questions around Stephen’s lost time, the exploits of his other self Marc Spector, Khonshu’s motivation, Harrow’s motivation, Layla’s role in all of this and many others were raised in the first two episodes with the previous one ending in a way that suggests a radical change of pace with the move to Egypt.

As the episode begins, Marc is in control with Stephen expressing concern from his vantage point within any reflective surface that Marc happens to go near. The daytime brawl is an excellent set piece with impressive stunt work showcasing Marc’s skill in fending off attackers. Notably Marc is as disoriented as the viewer with no idea who he’s fighting or what’s going on. It’s unexpected as up all signs have pointed to Marc being the dominant persona carrying out a very specific plan unknown to Stephen -and by extension the audience- but his clear confusion calls that into question and points to Marc being equally clueless. His confused and terrified reaction to holding a bloody knife while Steven declares that he wasn’t responsible hints at a third persona unknown to both of them while reinforcing Marc’s moral boundaries established through him stopping short of killing the humans he fights. This is likely to be a foundational quality of the Marc persona. He may be a brutal mercenary but there are lines he is unwilling to cross.

The early part of the episode does an excellent job showcasing Marc’s disorientation. There’s a definite evolution from the first episode thanks to the addition of Marc’s perspective. Greater awareness of the situation is now available but not complete awareness. There’s some light comedy associated with the character transitions such as a group of combatants being confused about Marc coming after them after Stephen recently let them go but on the whole it’s treated as a serious problem that hinders both of them.

There is a dynamic that exists between Marc and Stephen that is born out of conflict. Both want control of the body and don’t want to surrender it. There are situations where there’s no other choice than to relinquish control and those are used to heighten tension at key points. Oscar Isaac is excellent in this dual role with clearly defined physicality to both characters as well as the believable initial moment where each character has to get their bearings after being put in control. The visual shift between the two Moon Knight costumes is a great indicator as well.

In some ways Stephen acts as the moral compass; he pulls Marc back from going too far when he has a knife to someone’s throat and passes comment periodically. It isn’t something that the episode leans into too heavily so it’s unlikely to define their interactions but there’s definitely an element of morality to their interactions. The two characters have a place and are fed into the ongoing narrative naturally. Prior to this Stephen was the focus but this episode is more about providing some grounding for Marc as a character.

Part of developing Marc as a character is achieved through exploring his relationship with Layla. The previous episode revealed that they are married and Marc disappeared but started divorce proceedings. This episode fleshes Layla out in big ways thought mostly through her connection to Marc. There are some nuggets of information as to her personal history, particularly around her father who died under mysterious circumstances. Baggage that she is carrying around is mentioned and it is made clear that there are lots of unanswered questions in her life. Getting answers to those drives her. Another element unique to her is that she is the preferred choice to be Khonshu’s avatar. It isn’t yet clear how Marc/Stephen found themselves in that role but the idea is out there that they weren’t the preferred choice. Based on how she conducts herself in this episode Layla would be a very capable avatar as she is driven, skilled and fully focused on a particular goal. She isn’t prone to distraction in the same way that Stephen or Marc would be and keeps both of them on task.

Her relationship with Marc is an interesting one. They take some time to discuss it and provide some context as to their connection. It is acknowledged that Marc’s inability to communicate and be open with her tore them apart. The most glaring example is the fact that he left her without even taking the time to tell her. Layla tries her best to keep him at an emotional distance because she needs his contribution in order to achieve her goals but she finds it difficult to do so. There are definite strong feelings there that make the professional approach to their partnership more difficult even though that’s what she needs in order to function in achieving her task. Marc acknowledging his failings is an interesting detail and provides something for him to work with.

Added to this is the external factor of Marc apparently knowing more about her father’s murder than he lets on. He dismisses this as an attempt to distract and divide them which Layla accepts for now but Oscar Isaac’s performance indicates that he isn’t being honest when he says that. It’s a clear tease for something to be picked up later that will most likely change the nature of their relationship. The mystery wouldn’t be establish if it didn’t have an important connection to the plot at hand but Marc’s dishonesty allows for a personal character driven connection to it which makes it far more interesting.

Layla and Stephen’s relationship is equally interesting; they appear to be kindred spirits in a lot of ways and have much more of a natural connection than Layla has to Marc. His knowledge and intelligence is something she naturally gravitates towards and her desire to have him be in control over Marc indicates her comfort level with Stephen even after their limited interactions. There is a practical reason for it as his knowledge of ancient Egypt is more useful in solving the mystery at hand but more interesting is how comfortable she is around him.

Stephen proves himself to have a purpose in the overall narrative thanks to his intelligence and knowledge of ancient Egypt. He is consulted on the various mysteries and taps into his previously established knowledge in order to come up with a solution that allows them to progress. This neatly positions Marc as the action persona and Stephen as the intellectual persona with plenty of individual angst attached to each of them. It remains to be seen how the hinted at third persona will factor in but for the purposes of what the show is covering at this point the defined split works well.

This episode is heavier on plot than the previous two and provides far more mythology around the Gods. It is established that Khonshu isn’t on good terms with his fellow Gods and is seen as a reckless outcast because he actively interferes with the development of Humanity rather than passively through his avatar as the others do. There is a strict non-interference directive existing among the Gods that Khonshu defies which has him at odds with them. There is no depth the debate around this as it boils down to Khonshu believing they need to be a more active and the others believing the opposite. Curiously the non-interference directive is similar to the rules followed by the Eternals but the episode fails to capitalise on the opportunity to explore this idea beyond the surface level stances. There is time to cover it in more detail particularly with Khonshu being imprisoned by the Gods but the gathering was noticeably surface level.

Attempted coverage of the non-interference idea is done through Harrow being put on trial though that quickly transitions to being a personal attack on Khonshu having Stephen/Marc as his avatar. Harrow uses DID to discredit Marc by pointing out that he is unreliable because he has at least two warring personas battling for dominance. He uses that to argue for Khonshu being handicapped and discredit his claims that Harrow is a problem that needs to be dealt with. This further cements Harrow’s status as a villain through his willingness to exploit a disorder for his own personal gain. Ultimately Harrow is found innocent because he hasn’t committed a crime yet which actually supports his argument around pronouncing judgement on those who may do wrong in the future. Part of what makes him so engaging is that his point of view can be understood and if the Gods subscribed to it then they would be able to prevent Ammit from being freed. Perhaps this story will be an exercise in humility for the Gods once they realise what their inaction brought on.

Harrow’s relationship to Khonshu receives more attention following the suggestion of Khonshu having less than noble intentions in the previous episode. It’s taken a step further here with the suggestion of Khonshu being an abuser. Harrow deeply resents him because of what happened between them when he was the avatar. The breakdown of their connection isn’t detailed nor is why he considers Khonshu to be an abuser but it’s clear that the treatment is what sent him down the path he currently follows. He is motivated by what Khonshu did to him and that resentment fuels him. Harrow ending up with the artefact containing Khonshu sets up a confrontation between them that will likely explore that connection and what caused it to break down while possibly providing clarity on whether Khonshu can actually be trusted.

---

Verdict

A good episode that develops Marc as a character, provides insight into Layla and her relationship with him while expanding the overall mythology in interesting ways. As the episode begins, Marc is in control with Stephen expressing concern from his vantage point within any reflective surface Marc happens to go near. The daytime brawl is an excellent set piece with impressive stunt work. Notably Marc is as disoriented as the viewer with no idea who he’s fighting or what’s going on. This confusion along with Stephen denying being responsible for murders and other actions suggests the presence of a third persona. Marc’s non-lethal combat style suggests foundational moral boundaries indicating lines Marc is unwilling to cross. There is a dynamic between Marc and Stephen that is born out of conflict. Both want control of the body and don’t want to surrender it. There are situations where there’s no other choice but to relinquish control and this is used to heighten tension at key points. Oscar Isaac is excellent in the dual role with clearly defined physicality to both characters. The visual shift between the two Moon Knight costumes is a great indicator as well. In some ways Stephen acts as the moral compass who pulls Marc back from going too far. It isn’t something the episode leans into heavily but it’s definitely there as an element to their interactions.

Part of developing Marc as a character is achieved through exploring his relationship with Layla. This episode fleshes out Layla in big ways mostly through her connection to Marc. There are some nuggets of information as to her personal history, particularly around her father who died in mysterious circumstances. Baggage she is carrying around is mentioned and it is made clear there are a lot of unanswered questions in her life. Another element unique to her is that she is the preferred choice to be Khonshu’s avatar; something that is justified through how she conducts herself. Her relationship with Marc is an interesting one. It’s acknowledged that Marc’s inability to communicate tore them apart. Layla tries to keep him at an emotional distance because she needs his contribution in order to achieve her goals but she finds it difficult to do so. Marc acknowledging his failings is an interesting detail that provides something for him to work on. Added to that is the external factor of Marc knowing more about Layla’s father’s murder than he is letting on. He dismisses it as an attempt to distract and divide him but Oscar Isaac’s performance indicates that he is being less than honest. It’s a clear tease for something to be picked up later that will change the nature of their relationship. Layla and Stephen’s relationship is equally interesting. They appear to be kindred spirits in a lot of ways. His knowledge and intelligence is something she naturally gravitates towards. Stephen proves useful due to the knowledge he has being instrumental in solving particular mysteries. This positions him as the intellectual persona with Marc being the action persona. It’s a neat declaration of roles that allows the plot to move forward. This episode is heavier on plot and provides far more mythology around the Gods. It is established that Khonshu isn’t on good terms with his fellow Gods and is seen as reckless. There is mention of a non-interference rule that Khonshu routinely breaks but the episode fails to actually cover the debate despite Harrow’s trial being an ideal opportunity to do so. Instead Harrow cements himself as a villain by attacking Marc/Stephen’s DID in order to discredit Khonshu. Him being found innocent supports the idea of people being judged for things they haven’t yet done. Harrow’s relationship to Khonshu is expanded with the suggestion of prior abuse causing the breakdown in their connection. Whatever happened between them motivates his current actions and him having the artefact that holds Khonshu provides the opportunity to explore their connection while providing clarity on whether Khonshu can actually be trusted.

We’d love to know your thoughts on this and anything else you might want to talk about. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter or just leave a comment in the comment section below. You’ll need an account for Disqus but it’s easy to set up. Don’t forget to share your rating in the “User Review” box

If you want to chat to me directly then I’m on Twitter as well.