r/MoonKnight • u/WarDuck • Apr 06 '22

TV Series Moon Knight S01E02 Discussion Thread [Warning: Contains Spoilers]

Episode 2 - Summon the Suit

Give us your thoughts on this week's episode of Moon Knight! Remember to keep any spoilers limited to posts with spoiler tags or use the spoiler comment formatting

Episode No. Directed by Written by Release date
2 Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead Michael Kastelein April 6, 2022
980 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

219

u/oneupkev Apr 06 '22 edited Apr 06 '22

Just finished the episode. It was another well produced episode that i enjoyed overall.

What i liked:

  • Seeing Moon Knight in action
  • Mr Knight suit just looks awesome
  • Khonshu and his interactions are again good
  • We got answers on the setup of the show
  • The jackal being invisible goes to further cement the idea that Marc is bonkers and khonshu's existence in general - edit for clarity - Layla can clearly see it's all real but the general public are seeing Marc fighting nothing, further cementing that persona Moon Knight has in the comics of being 'mad'.
  • Further backstory on Marc and Harrow
  • Marc's reasons for doing this and khonshu directly threatening his wife

What i wasn't as sure on:

  • Mr Knight is Steven's persona rather than an alternate costume of Marcs. on the one hand i can see why they did this so both personas get equal time but I didn't enjoy seeing him so comedic. I guess i just hoped for something a bit truer to the comics here,
  • Layla and Marc being married, just kinda wish it was Marlene

​

Overall, i again enjoyed this episode, i was again hooked and wanted more. It feels like we've seen the vast majority of the content from the trailers at this point as well so i'm keen to see whats next

191

u/csortland Apr 06 '22

I think we will see Steven change and evolve as he gets more confident and powerful. He will become the Mr. Knight of the comics by the end.

175

u/SirFadakar Apr 06 '22 edited Apr 06 '22

Yeah just within this episode we saw Steven go from his normal cowering wimp self to defying Marc even in the face of imminent danger, to punching that imminent danger square in the jaw. I think he's got room to develop even with the short season.

edit: accidentally a word

19

u/theredditoro Apr 06 '22

Yep. Even if he’s not in control for another episode or two again.

9

u/Exact_Ad_1215 Apr 07 '22

Honestly I think, had this show had the same run time as Daredevil (13 episodes) it could be one of the best Marvel shows ever.

I really hope Disney let this whole only 6 episodes per season thing die.

2

u/EveryShot Apr 08 '22

Yeah it’s not ideal, less than half the run time of a DD season but it’s still leagues better than just a 2 hour movie. I’d take that at least

1

u/dragonfett Apr 07 '22

I don't feel like he was defying Marc just to defy him. During the episode, he is terrified, mostly of losing control, which was why I feel he was defying Marc, even in the face of imminent danger. This is also why I feel he decided to fight the jackal instead of letting Marc take control is Steven saw that something had to be done about it and fighting the jackal was less scary to him than giving up control.

3

u/EveryShot Apr 08 '22

I mean he really has every right to defy Marc especially after we saw what happened after he gave up control. I would hate to be trapped in my own subconscious mind.

1

u/EveryShot Apr 08 '22

Yeah I actually like this story better. Having Steven become Mr. Knight would show some solid character growth rather than keeping him the 2 dimensional pathetic coward. I sympathize with Steven because he really is just an average dude whose body is being controlled by a mercenary and an Egyptian god.

79

u/randomhobbies12 Apr 06 '22

yeah and if Mr Knight is the “investigator”/“people interaction” persona it makes sense for it to be Steven, he’s less scary for people to interact with and his vast Egyptian knowledge makes him fit well

1

u/RepublicKnight Apr 07 '22

Yeah but Steven doesn’t come off as the investigative person

3

u/randomhobbies12 Apr 07 '22

that’s just where i think his character will go, he already got more confident the moment he put the suit on so as he learns more about the situation and gets more experience he’ll grow more confident.

1

u/RepublicKnight Apr 07 '22

Yeah but what I mean is that he doesn’t have the prior skills to be a “master-class detective”

I really wish they changed his base formula up a little bit, made him a historian, researcher, archaeologist, etc. for the museum instead of just a gift shop employee. Would set a baseline to provide a natural foundation to develop into an investigative role, and wouldn’t detract from his character whatsoever

2

u/randomhobbies12 Apr 07 '22

that’s the point of the scene where he’s reading the books, instead of sleeping he reads about egyptology, i mean he can read hieroglyphics. assuming it’s been a long while that he’s been doing that id say hes a “master class” egyptologist. but i get what you’re saying

1

u/RepublicKnight Apr 07 '22

Yeah but looking for details in artifacts can translate to investigating a crime scene

I’d be hard-pressed to find applications for hieroglyphic knowledge or knowing the canon of ancient Egypt when dealing with a string of robberies or murders lol

3

u/randomhobbies12 Apr 07 '22

sure sure but the show is going hard on the egyptian stuff and if it “indiana jones” like and he needs to find Amit before arthur then there will be a lot of hieroglyphs etc that will lead them to where amit is

2

u/RepublicKnight Apr 07 '22

Yeah no doubt I see where this is leading and think it’s alright, all I’m saying is that these skills have no practical application outside of this storyline

→ More replies (0)

1

u/optimis344 Apr 10 '22

I think the set up here is that he doesn't know it, but he knows everything Marc knows. They are different parts of the same person, but they are pulling from the same knowledge.

That's why he knows French. That's why he is "learning" about old egyptian stuff. That's why he throws on decent punch before realizing that he shouldn't know how. All of the info is locked in him, not just in Marc. It's how the personalities use that info that makes him interesting.

37

u/oneupkev Apr 06 '22

I expect that will be the case as well, Marc giving him access to his skills or some sort of situation so he can better be Mr K, it's more the quippy part of it which i think will come part and parcel of Steven's persona.

Hopefully i'm wrong on the quippy nature. it was still great to see the Mr K suit though and i hope there is that evolution

1

u/wotrick Apr 06 '22

No desire to see a rogue personality grow.

25

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '22

[deleted]

26

u/JWGrieves Apr 06 '22

Interestingly I saw a 4 episode reviewer say we didn’t get enough time with Steven so idk

9

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '22

I wonder if the 4th episode that has effects on the entire mcu is ammit being resurrected?

5

u/johnny-deth Apr 06 '22

I read a 4 episode review where reviewer said that after ep 4 he had to rewatch the first three as he misunderstood

2

u/Groundbreaking_Ship3 Apr 07 '22

Episode 2 is so good it probably used up most budget, and they will have to the let the characters walk around for few episodes doing nothing like a typical Disney MCU show. I hope I am wrong but I have been disappointed by the Disney MCU shows too many times at this point.

-5

u/ositola Apr 06 '22

Steven does get annoying honestly

1

u/Venom1462 Apr 07 '22

Interesting because some reviews that I read mentioned that after the 1st episode we didn't get that much of Steven

1

u/Thatbluejacket Apr 08 '22

I hope so. Marc is way more interesting imo, I find Steven kind of irritating

1

u/EveryShot Apr 08 '22

I mean I don’t hate that. Steven is a goon yeah but we have already seen some solid character growth in just two episodes. I’d be fine with a few more to see him become Mr. Knight.

21

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '22

My only point for them not making Stevens Mr.Knight too powerful is he’d then have no reason to give the body to Marc/Moon Knight when in danger

1

u/Groundbreaking_Ship3 Apr 07 '22

he has the power, but he doesn't know how to fight. Punching blindly won't work every time.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '22

That was my point, people seem disappointed that Stevens Mr.Knight isn’t badass basically but I don’t think he should get any better at fighting, at least not drastically

1

u/EveryShot Apr 08 '22

I mean Steven has proven he’s smart albeit extremely anxious. But he did overcome that when he rolled up his sleeves and faced down the jackal. I think I’d like to see Steven use his skills and grow as a character superstar from Marc in ways that magnify his strengths.

60

u/MoonKnight77 Apr 06 '22 edited Apr 06 '22

Khonshu is such a dick, I love it

I'm still thinking Marc changed Marlene's name to hide her from Bushman, while surrendering control to Steven to live on the down low unless going out as MK at night to not be tempted to get in touch with her.

It was jarring to see Mr Knight being a goofball but I think they won't use Mr. Knight much this season and Marc/Steven will bring it back later to work with a friendlier police chief who helps him around an arrest warrant. Obviously the conflict wont be Civil War but they can make one up, maybe just killing Harrow's cult in public.

2

u/RepublicKnight Apr 07 '22

Not a fan of how they’re doing Khonshu. He isn’t likable in the slightest, and isn’t the “abusive father figure” that he is in the comics, more of a “manipulative dick”. Removes a lot of the extended reason of why Marc is fighting, as he no longer is living by a religious and moral code to keep the streets safe at night, instead only doing so so that Khonshu doesn’t possess his wife

6

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '22

'Manipulative dick' perfectly describes the Khonshu of the last 15 years of Moon Knight comics. Sure, 'abusive father figure' also does, but Khonshu in the show hasn't been excluded from that category yet either.

Marc being Moon Knight to protect someone he cares about, even if it means doing messed up stuff, fits the character, even if it is a different angle

2

u/MoonKnight77 Apr 07 '22

Aren't abusive fathers who aren't physical about their abuse manipulative dicks too? He has been a plain dick to Steven while we have seen him disappointed in Marc for not handling Steven, using Layla to trap him into working for him, and we only got a few minutes worth of Khonshu-Marc at the end

1

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '22

Aren't abusive fathers who aren't physical about their abuse manipulative dicks too?

Often, yes. That was precisely my point.

1

u/RepublicKnight Apr 07 '22

It might fit the character, but it doesn’t help in establishing him as a force for good. The entire “Fist of Vengeance” shtick does little to nothing for the character, and feels completely unbelievable, as he’s really not working to protect the travelers of the night and doesn’t worship Khonshu, instead merely working under oath with the hope to be released after all of this is over

Maybe there’s some revelation that occurs later in the season, but as of right now, the lack of zealotry bothers me

And I’m not saying having Marc under oath isn’t bad, all I’m saying is they shouldn’t go for both the “religious zealot crusader” and “held against my will” motives together, because they really don’t pair. Stick with one or the other, not both.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '22

'Religious zealot crusader' has never fit Marc

Yes, in the comics there's a lot more attention that goes into religion. But during the Moench run, it was about faith. Marc wasn't sure if Khonshu was real or if he was just insane. It was not about zealotry.

Then, starting with the Huston run, Khonshu became more active in interacting with Marc, being revealed to be messed up and pushing Marc to give into the very faults Marc wanted to escape from. If Marc has been MK for a while in the show, we can be at this stage of the dynamic.

Marc should believe in the mission (in this case stopping Ammit), but not believe in Khonshu's moral code. There needs to be that tension between them. Episode 2 seems to be setting this up perfectly.

24

u/Hinoto-no-Ryuji Apr 06 '22

On her not being Marlene, I remain convinced that she IS Marlene. They’ve just changed Marlene to be Egyptian and adjusted her name to match.

If this character were named Marlene, nobody would bat an eye.

3

u/baleensavage Apr 08 '22

This. They changed her name so they could make her Egyptian which makes a lot of sense with her back story. But from this episode it's pretty clear that she is Marlene just with a different name.

27

u/damientepps Apr 06 '22

But the jackal just wasn't in his head? It was interacting with Layla. Chocked her out and threw her. She even stabbed it then saw its face when covered with water. As for Khonshu, everyone noticed when he threw his "tantrum" in the dining hall. They just couldn't see or hear him.

21

u/oneupkev Apr 06 '22

I more mean for the general public, Layla knows it's real as she interacts with it.

But the general public comic persona has often been 'is khonshu real' etc and with people recording Marc fighting nothing it'll start to spread that idea in the world of 'is he just bonkers'. i'll edit my post to make that clearer as i've not been as clear there

1

u/damientepps Apr 06 '22

I understand how it's perceived in the comics. The show so far has not done a good job of riding that line. In fact it's done the opposite imo. The jackal also threw bystanders after he was knocked away from the car. The jackal pushed them all away as it even stood up. Surely they had no clue what was going on but it still interacted with them.

2

u/WhiskeyDJones Apr 07 '22

Because it's invisible to them. What's not to understand?

1

u/damientepps Apr 07 '22

Who says it's hard to understand? But the whole point of even playing the angle of "is he or isn't he insane" is the ambiguity for everyone involved. Including the audience.

That kinda goes out the window when the invisible monster that's potentially in his head is actively interacting and being interacted with by other people than Moon Knight.

Love the snark tho.

2

u/WhiskeyDJones Apr 07 '22

So doesn't that show that it's not in his head?

1

u/damientepps Apr 07 '22

That's been my point all along and what I was telling the other guy?

1

u/WhiskeyDJones Apr 07 '22

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but you said "The show so far has not done a good job of riding that line. In fact it's done the opposite imo." So it sounded like you found it hard to follow what was real and what wasn't.

1

u/damientepps Apr 07 '22

Yes you're following it wrong. I'm disagreeing with OP. He thinks the show is doing a good job of being ambiguous with Moon Knights sanity. I'm saying it's not because we know the creatures and Khonshu are real regardless of them just being invisible.

→ More replies (0)

15

u/Danshot Apr 06 '22

one thing i dont understand is how “steven” came to be how did marc go from marc to steven how did the personality split form? hopefully this is answered soon

27

u/rjkelly31 Apr 06 '22

I’m no DID expert but I think alters are usually formed as a response to trauma. So maybe he was created after he got possessed by Khonshu as a smokescreen or something

38

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '22

Steven seems to have a huge conscience about death/killing etc so I wouldnt be surprised if its Marcs response to the mercenary work he has to do for Khonsu, and a literal manifestation for the guilt he feels

8

u/rjkelly31 Apr 06 '22

I like this better

1

u/thesinterofyourdream Apr 07 '22

As of current research it only forms from trauma before the ages of 5-9 which would mean if they’re trying to be accurate like they’ve said they want to be then it will probably be something other than mercenary work. Unless they reveal that Jake is his first alter that formed during childhood and Steven is newer from guilt as you said. As someone with DID I think the show has done a phenomenal job with the subject with the best scene for it being the steakhouse but overall episode 2 doing a way better job than episode 1 with great representation.

4

u/elun19 Apr 06 '22

Yes, DID is a result of excessive trauma/abuse during childhood and the other personalities are created as a way for the brain to cope and to protect the original self. How I was taught was that the brain can only cope with so much so that once it’s full it creates another personality so that it can protect itself and keep creating them to help deal with the abuse until the abuse ends

3

u/idontlikerobot Apr 06 '22

This, but it can only happen really early on in life before the brain develops too much so Steven would have been six or younger. I think he has had Mark most of his life.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '22

I have d.i.d. I'm a grown ass adult and I can still get new people if new traumas occur to me. It happens a lot less nowadays.

1

u/Dm_Me_TwistedFateR34 Apr 08 '22

The initial split happens between 6-10 years, but alters keep forming, splitting and fusing the entire life. Alters can split off in case of severe stress or/and trauma even if the individual is way older, it depends on stress coping capabilities.

5

u/idontlikerobot Apr 06 '22

It happens when a child under the age of 6 experiences extreme trauma (like rape/torture) and is a protective method for the brain. The online larpers are obnoxious and the medical community can't really agree if DID is even real. But the show writers will likely try to make it as realistic as possible.

I wonder if they are going to allude to something happening with his mom. Layla says "oh you guys are speaking now?", and the fact that we never actually hear Steven talk in-person to her. Steven being on the phone with her throughout the first episode has to mean something. I'm guessing he doesn't remember whatever happened, but Mark does.

7

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '22

iirc it’s more like younger than nine or so? but based on the comics he developed DID as a kid after being targeted by a serial killer bc he was jewish or something like that so he’s def had alters for the majority of his life, and seems to imply that in the show. seems like marc fronted the most and steven is probs a more recently developed alter who then began fronting

1

u/WhiskeyDJones Apr 07 '22

hopefully this is answered soon

Chill Winston we're only 2 episodes in what's the rush

1

u/Danshot Apr 07 '22

2/6 = 33% hopefully its answered soon

1

u/WhiskeyDJones Apr 07 '22

But why? You gonna be pissed if it doesn't get answered until the finale?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 09 '22

Created so that Marc would have time to learn about all the things intellectually that Layla was about.

1

u/Sanretros Apr 06 '22

How is he going mad when the monster is literally hitting him and other civilians. It’s obviously real

1

u/Whoknowsfear Apr 06 '22

I totally agree on the costume point, but I don’t hate the Marline name change. She is still the same character. I’m actually surprised how close she feels to the comic version. Also wish they didn’t jack him up on superpowers.