With the final episode of Moon Knight finally here, I speculated last week how the show was going to wrap up. There were many dangling threads left at the end of episode five, and the finale would need to work to tie them all together. Coupled with the fact that episode six had the shortest running time of the series — clocking in at a tight 42 minutes — there was a lot of maneuvering to do to finish the series strongly.
This is why I’m so fascinated that not only did the episode tie off those remaining threads, but it also introduced some new concepts into the MCU in a very bold move.
Unlike my previous recaps, I’m not going to hit each plot point bit by bit as I have a lot more to say about this episode, but there will be spoilers ahead so I’d recommend watching the episode before proceeding.
Recapping “Gods and Monsters”
Episode Six, titled “Gods and Monsters,” begins with Layla (May Calamawy) trapped inside Ammit’s tomb with Harrow (Ethan Hawke) and his goons. Harrow gets hold of the ushabti from Marc Spector’s (Oscar Isaac) body. Having control of the ushabti enhances his power. As they travel to the Great Pyramid, Harrow uses his cane to evacuate the souls of some soldiers who try to stop them.
As this occurs, Layla plans to kill Harrow. This is where things get… weird. Using the body of a dead soldier, Taweret speaks to Layla and tells her to free Khonshu. Layla brushes it off until Taweret mentions Marc. So Layla follows the advice of the hippo goddess speaking through a dead person and follows Harrow to the Great Pyramid.
Once they arrive, Harrow releases Ammit, and the giant crocodile goddess accepts Harrow as her disciple. Layla sneaks away and finds Khonshu’s ushabti, breaks it, and releases Khonshu. He tries to get Layla to agree to be his avatar, but she refuses, only agreeing to work together without submitting to him.
Meanwhile, Marc is presented to the Field of Reeds after balancing his scales with the loss of Steven to the Duat. Taweret tells Marc he earned it, but Marc refuses to leave Steven behind. Taweret tries to warn him that once he leaves the fields, he can’t return. Marc goes back for Steven anyway.
Marc finds Steven in the Duat and apologizes to him for not being able to protect him like Steven protected Marc. The Duat begins to take Marc, and just before it claims him, Marc places the heart in Steven’s hand.
The door to Osisis’s gate opens. It powers the heart somehow, which frees them from the Duat. Marc and Steven escape the afterlife through the gate and return to their body, where Khonshu feels their presence and returns to them.
Marc, fully healed, makes his way to the Great Pyramid to stop Harrow. But he can’t do it alone.
Ammit and Harrow go out into Cairo to claim the souls of the sinners. Layla knows that she has to do something. She calls upon Taweret and agrees to be her temporary avatar and introduces a new superhero to the MCU.
A New Superhero Emerges
With Taweret’s powers, Layla becomes the Scarlet Scarab, a lesser-known hero in the Marvel Universe. The Scarlet Scarab is billed as the first Egyptian superhero, sort of Egypt’s answer to Captain America. Though the Scarlet Scarab is a man in the comics, the live-action update doesn’t feel out of place (though the nomenclature is a little off considering there’s no scarlet anywhere in Layla’s uniform).
The introduction of a new character is Marvel’s way of expanding their diversity. There aren’t a whole lot of Middle Eastern superheroes, both in Marvel or DC, so for them to dust off a character nearly no one remembers and make them front and center in a popular show is a big deal. They also bring attention to this in the show itself by having a woman Layla just saved ask, “Are you an Egyptian superhero?”
I also enjoyed that fans finally got to see Ammit in action. After hearing about her for five episodes, seeing her on-screen was a real treat. I’m glad that they chose to present her in her true form, as a giant alligator lady, and not have her use Harrow as an avatar to fight Moon Knight. The scenes of Ammit and Khonshu fighting over Cairo are reminiscent of Kaiju movies.
Speaking of Cairo, I liked that the show took place in a new setting. Too often, cities like New York, London, or Tokyo are where all of the big spectacle set pieces occur, so to see Cairo in the background of the final fight was a real treat.
A New Alt For Marc Spector
And in true Marvel fashion, “Gods and Monsters” has a mid-credits scene that gives fans what they’ve been longing for for six weeks. Comic fans know that Steven Grant isn’t the only altar of Marc Spector. There’s also Jake Lockley, a cab driver who is good at getting dirt on the happenings of the streets. For weeks, fans have speculated that Jake was behind some of the devious things in Marc’s past. The show even hinted at the existence of another altar but never went into it.
The mid-credits scene, however, gives fans Jake Lockley on full display, naming him and everything. Though this Jake shares very little with Comic Jake besides the newsboy cap he wears and that he’s driving a car, it was certainly a, “hell yeah!” moment for fans.
The Theme of Moon Knight
The episode also offered a few nice touches. At one point, Ammit says to Harrow, “Do not let the pain of the past control you.” This pretty much sums up Moon Knight’s main theme. Marc’s pain stems from the loss of his brother and the subsequent trauma he endured at the hands of his mother. His entire life has been about the pain and how it defined him. To hear Ammit posit this idea to Harrow is enlightening.
We also have to look at Marc’s guilt regarding Steven. In the last episode, Marc didn’t want Steven to know their connection. He tried to hide the moment that Steven came into existence from him. But here, Marc is wracked with guilt over the loss of Steven, and this stems, I think, from Khonshu.
Marc feels used by Khonshu and only exists now to do what Khonshu does. I feel that Marc has realized that how he’s treated Steven is no different than how Khnoshu treats Marc himself: as little more than a means to an end. While Khonshu uses Marc as a tool of vengeance, Marc has used Steven as a shield against pain. The duality between these two relationships has weighed on Marc ever since his and Steven’s lives began to bleed into each other.
Final Overall Thoughts
All in all, Moon Knight has been a great introduction to an otherwise obscure character. The series opened the MCU up to the more supernatural side of things, giving fans a look at more gods than just the Norse. It also went a long way to diversifying the MCU by introducing more heroes of color and including Middle Eastern culture. I had a few qualms with the show, mostly because I was expecting a more street-level hero and not one steeped in mythology (at least to start). But I enjoyed the final product and look forward to seeing how Marvel integrates Moon Knight into the MCU as a whole.
