Moon Knight is an American television miniseries created by Jeremy Slater for the streaming service Disney+. Based on the Marvel comics character of the same name, it is the sixth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the franchise's films. Slater serves as head writer, with Mohamed Diab leading the directing team.
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 "I can't tell the difference between my waking life and dreams."
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Moon Knight premiered on March 30, 2022, and ran six episodes until May 4. It is part of Phase Four of the MCU.
Plot
Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift shop employee, becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.
Why It Embraces the Chaos
- It introduced Moon Knight to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a white vigilante with glowing eyes and an outfit that invokes a mummy who stalks out punishment to the point where a monstrous hound thing scrambles away in fear. This is even more pronounced when Steven's eyes suddenly take on a white hue, and the outfit manifests around him as if possessed. It appears that he would cross over to the MCU films and perhaps would eventually get his own feature film, after this miniseries.
- As per the norm with Moon Knight. Steven/Marc is a very, very unwell man. He also dresses up like a mummy wearing a cape and beats up a jackal-headed monster (who may or may not be Anubis) as it owes him money.
- Additionally, Oscar Issac steals the show, as he dramatically portrays Steven Grant/Marc Spector and the paranoia that goes down as the former goes into a mental breakdown by gaining his significant character development.
- Moon Knight has always explored the horror aspects of the Marvel Universe, both physical and psychological, and the show isn't afraid to terrify the audience.
- Khonshu. He's very imposing and frightening to look at. Not to mention that he constantly goads Marc and Steven to commit murder or other heinous actions to enact his "justice". While he seems to care for Marc like a son at times, he's almost not shy of threatening to kill Marc if he screws up.
- Steven being an alter in a system without knowing it is straight up terrifying when he wakes up from a violent blackout that leaves him covered in blood and confused.
- Creepy and thrilling soundtrack by Hesham Nazih; it helps is that the music would help break Egyptian stereotypes by revealing some of the country's lesser-known contemporary art to international audiences, describing it as a "beautiful score that is Egyptian, but it's international at its core, it's universal".
- The trailer is set to a remix of "Day 'n' Nite" by Kid Cudi. The new, creepily ambient music combined with the original song's surreal and somber lyrics capture the feel of Moon Knight perfectly.
- "Every Grain of Sand" by Bob Dylan plays as we're first introduced to Arthur Harrow, with the lyrics playing on his role as a devout cult leader who cares very much about his cause.
- Engelbert Humperdinck's "A Man Without Love" is heard as we're introduced to Steven Grant, which emphasizes the show's London setting while simultaneously invoking the feelings of loneliness Steven feels in his day-to-day life.
- The credits theme for the second episode, "El Melouk" by Ahmed Saad, is a bombastic Egyptian mahraganat song that suits the show's new setting going forward.
- The main theme for the series, composed by Hesham Nazih, perfectly captures the dread and terror that is Moon Knight himself, all while sounding epically powerful as any superhero theme would. The usage of ominous chanting from the choir also fits the whole Egyptian mythology motif the show has to offer.
- It's rather more understated, but the very beginning does a fantastic job of selling the show's Psychological Horror Mind Screw nature. Steven explains that he's having trouble separating his dreams from reality, and to that end, we see him shackled to his bed, staring intently at the ceiling, listening to a self-help tape on how to stay awake... and then he wakes up. Did he fall asleep without realizing it, or was that entire opening clip All Just a Dream? The series drives home that Steven can't tell where his dreams end and real life begins, and it seems the audience can't either.
- Speaking of itself, something is horrifying about the Time Passes Montage as the voices overlap and he's shown laughing maniacally before he wakes up and bolts out of bed and the leash connected to his ankle snaps him back to reality, as if he's really starting to lose it and is just one moment away from snapping.
- The use of "Day 'n' Nite" (which is already an amazing song) by Kid Cudi adds the sound of a ticking clock, particularly when it repeats "Now hold the phone" up to the reveal of Steven finding the phone sends an uneasy, and hard tone throughout the series.
- The first episode ends with Steven, cornered in a bathroom with an Egyptian monster banging on the door, allowing Marc to take over his body. The beast rips into the bathroom and tackles him, followed by a Battle Discretion Shot as we hear punches, the roars of the monster, and Marc's grunting. Then, a sink is hurled out of the bathroom and into the wall, followed shortly by the beast trying and failing to flee before being dragged back inside and beaten to death by Moon Knight himself, revealed in all his glory.
- The third unnamed alter is considerably more brutal and efficient than Steven or Marc, combined with the fact that he usually seems to appear to protect the body when they're in great danger. In the mid-credits scene of the finale, it turns out this is indeed Jake Lockley, Marc's third alter from the comics, as many viewers expected.
- Arthur Harrow is shown to be a legitimate, well-intended Extremist who cares very much about his followers (mostly) and has Undying Loyalty to Ammit herself. His Affably Evil persona contrasts perfectly with his genocidal objectives, and Ethan Hawke really delivers on portraying him.
- Today, it's your turn to lose." Hearing Oscar Isaac speaking his native tongue, especially as a Pre-Mortem One-Liner, is something else, especially after everything Harrow and Ammit has done.
- Many viewers have fallen in love with Oscar Isaac's British accent as Steven, particularly with his line "I can't tell the difference between my waking life and dreams", which also makes the accent great.
- It spices up the superhero formula with a cocktail of comedy-horror and a twist of old-school adventure and works amazingly as a horror superhero for that reason.
- Occasionally, it has more connections to the MCU than the shows it releases on Netflix despite not having cameos in them.
- Jeremy Slater has shown fantastic skills as a creator since he worked on horror shows and films, which improved his skills significantly.
- Great acting, especially Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, and May Calamawy.
- Oscar Isaac's performance as Moon Knight is amazing, depicting the character very well in the series.
Bad Qualities
- Ask anyone who expected to voice Khonshu, and F Murray Abraham was probably not on top of the list. Not that he does a bad job (in fact, he does a good job), but given his status and the role itself, it’s a startling, if effective, choice.
- The action scenes sometimes get cut and we only see a transition after the action is over, most likely by Disney meddling with it.
- The origin story can be a bit similar to Venom.
- Moon Knight's adversary in the comics, Bushman, is not in the show. When asked about this, Jeremy Slater stated that the villain's origin is too similar to Killmonger from the MCU.[1]
- While not bad, the major criticisms of the first season's finale have been regarded as rushed.
- Isaac's British accent isn't entirely convincing, but still funny.
Reception
Moon Knight has received positive reviews, with particular praise for Isaac's and Hawke's performances and the darker tone compared to previous MCU shows. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 87% approval rating with an average rating of 7.2/10, based on 140 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Its entertainment value may wax and wane a bit, but Moon Knight ultimately settles into a mostly enjoyable -- and refreshingly weird -- spot in the MCU firmament." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
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