'Moon Knight' Review: Oscar Isaac and May Calamawy Headline a Fitting Finale

Spoiler Alert: Minor Spoilers for Moon Knight episode 6

Moon Knight, directed by Mohamed Diab, has wrapped up its first season with the finale which released on 4 May (yes, there is a post-credits scene). Over six episodes, Moon Knight follows Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant, a museum clerk with a penchant for Egyptian history, who finds out that he is one of two (at least to his knowledge) alters. Steven’s other alter Marc Spector is Moon Knight, a mercenary who becomes an avatar for Khonshu, the God of the Moon.

Moon Knight is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but it has distanced itself from the lore so to say other than a few references, and that is a good thing. The character of Moon Knight is complicated and nuanced and it needed its standalone plot to achieve its full potential.

The six-episode series is a visual treat especially since Mohamed Diab puts forward such a raw and magnificent portrayal of Egypt. Kudos to Gregory Middleton and his team for the camerawork, Sean Faden and Whitney Gearin for the visual effects, and Stefania Cella for the mind-blowing production design.

Oscar Isaac as Marc is a delight to watch on screen. Playing a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Isaac’s portrayal of the character goes a long way towards destigmatising the condition.

When Isaac plays Marc or Steven, he embodies each character with slight changes in mannerism (and that accent) without it seeming gimmicky or positioning people with DID as 'dangerous' as cinema is notoriously known to do (See: Split).

Marvel has admittedly taken a creative liberty in its portrayal of DID to better suit the magical and dangerous realm the show is set in but this is hands down one of the more sensitive portrayals, especially in the way DID is explored through Marc’s childhood trauma (one of the darkest arcs Marvel has touched upon till date).

Even the way Marc’s childhood is shown in ‘Asylum’— his guilt at losing his brother, his fear of living with an abusive mother, and finally, his condition- is heart-wrenching but not exploitative.

At times the show feels rushed, especially in the finale episode, because there is absolutely too much ground to cover but the cast carry this burden exquisitely well, especially Ethan Hawke as Ammit's follower Arthur Harrow (the primary antagonist) and May Calamawy as Layla El'Faouly.

There is great attention to detail— while Tawaret guides Marc and Steven in their journey to the afterlife, the scales still bear the likeness of Anubis (who is actually known to check the balance of the scales in mythology).

The goddess of fertility and rejuvenation Tawaret (voiced by Antonia Salib) is my personal favourite, and the duo of Tawaret and Layla overshadowed most of the finale’s flaws. Layla’s transformation and the following fight sequences are highlights of perhaps the entire series.

The show’s greatest achievement is also its folly— the homage and references to Egyptian history and divine lore are so well done that it might require a Google deep-dive or two to understand if it's not something you’re familiar with.

At the same time, there has been a slight MCU-fication of Moon Knight where some of the subjects it’s dealing with take a backseat when it comes to honing the Marvel house style of action mixed with comedy, a little like the fate Chloe Zhao’s vision faced in Eternals. It would have been nicer to see Marc’s Jewish roots better explored outside of two mentions of a shiva.

Overall, Moon Knight has birthed a hero who has the potential to achieve icon status if the makers continue to explore him well (and god, please let there be a season 2). The depictions of Ammit and Khonshu are awe-inspiring and their fight sequence will elicit at least a few gasps (so will Layla but no major spoilers here).

Some episodes faltered, some soared, but the show all in all is incredible— the MCU is setting new standards for itself especially with its series.

While the finale, personally, was rather underwhelming, the post-credits scene which confirmed a theory they have been hinting at since the beginning is enough to keep the audience hooked and asking for more.

Rating: 4/5

Also Read

Decoding Moon Knight Ep 4: Who's the Hippo-Faced Goddess? What Happened to Marc?