Moon Knight Episode 3 Review: Wrath of the Gods

04/13/2022 03:28 pm EDT

Moon Knight Episode 3 "The Friendly Type" marks the halfway point of Marvel' new "event series" and it certainly is an expansive episode, to say the least. (WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!) At the end of Moon Knight Episode 2 Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) wrestled control of his physical body away from Steven Grant, and followed Khonshu's direction to intercept villain Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) in Egypt, before he can locate the tomb of the goddess Ammit. However, that mission goes awry in more ways than one... 

Serious Personality Issues

Marc Spector's mission to find Harrow in Egypt is immediately complicated by the fact that the biggest impediment to his investigation is... himself. As "Marc" happens upon some of Harrow' goons on an Egyptian rooftop, "Steven" intervenes with some pacifist ideals that literally take Marc out of the fight. However, things get even weirder from there: Both "Steven" and "Marc" black out, only to find themselves holding a bloody knife standing over the corpses of the thugs. 

After some quick back and forth in the mirror, it's established that whomever did the bloody work to those thugs, it wasn't Marc OR Steven. 

Moon Knight Episode 3 is our clearest tease yet for another one of Marc Spector's personalities. At this point fans almost unanimously agree that it will be "Jake Lockley," the investigator/spy alias of Marc Spector. In the comics, Lockley is a street-smart gruff type who creates an entire spy network of street-level informants. The MCU Lockely seems like a Bond/Bourne hybrid who is as suave with the ladies (see: Episode 1) as he is brutal to his foes (see: Episode 3). 

Godchella 

One of the biggest set pieces of Moon Knight Episode 3 is the meeting of the Egyptian gods, via their respective human avatars, inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. In order to achieve this meeting, Khonshu makes the risky move of causing a sudden solar eclipse to get the gods' attention. It works, and during the resulting meeting Marc meets potential new allies (Yatzil, avatar of Hathor), but ultimately fails to plead the case that Harrow and Ammit represent a grave threat to the world. Harrow is left to his own devices, while Konshu is slapped on the wrist and threatened with imprisonment if he again messes with the laws of nature. 

Meet the Midnight Man 

Moon Knight Episode 3 introduces a new character to the MCU: Anton Mogart, who is played by late French actor Gaspard Ulliel. Layla brings Marc to Anton's estate in order to examine a sarcophagus in his collection that could contain the location of Ammit's tomb. Unfortunately, Steven and Marc's non-cooperation with one another trips things up – as does the timely arrival of Harrow. Anton ends up turning on Layla and Marc after being seduced by Harrow's display of Ammit's godly power. Luckily, Steven gives Marc the driver's seat and Moon Knight is able to fight off Anton and Harrow's thugs and help him and Layla escape. 

Chart Your Own Stars

The clue that Steven finds in the Medjay's tomb is a star map – just one that was charted two thousand years ago, when the stars were in a much different position. In order to recreate those conditions, Khonshu has Steven/Mr. Knight help him with move the night sky back into the position it was in so long ago. The trick allows Marc and Layla to locate Ammit's tomb location, but costs Marc his powers: the other gods make good on their threat, and imprison Khonshu in stone. 

Hero Down, Villain Up

As we cross the halfway point of Moon Knight, our hero is going through that classic moment of losing his/her special powers, while our villain stands looking triumphant. What awaits in Ammit's tomb; who the mysterious third personality is; and how Steven/Marc can defeat Harrow while powerless are all the big questions we have heading into Moon Knight Episode 4. 

Moon Knight is streaming on Disney+. 

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