Becoming The Muse

Moon Knight is a superhero miniseries based on Marvel Comics of the same name: Moon Knight. The show was created by Jeremy Slater premiered on the 30^th March 2022 and ran for six episodes to conclude on the 4^th of May.

The premise of the story follows one Steven Grant played by Oscar Isaac who is a mild-mannered individual and mostly unremarkable except for his unconvincing cockney accent, who seems to be afflicted by a rather curious sleep disorder.

Watching the premiere episode was reminiscent of the 90s psychological thriller Fight Club starring Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden who was a nocturnal alter ego to the narrator going around starting an underground Fight Club whose first rule was you do not talk about the Fight Club and the second rule was you do not talk about Fight Club…..

If you wake up at a different time in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? 
-Fight Club 

When I watched Moon Knight, I was neither familiar with the comics nor the premise of the series so watching it was a very curious affair trying to unravel the plot and that journey contributed to the appeal of the show… While I will try not to add spoilers, if you were considering watching Moon Knight I would say just watch it.. Then pop back and finish reading this review ^_^

The Good

If you are still reading I am going to assume that you are not too averse to spoilers or that you have already watched at least the first episode of Moon Knight ^_^

It opens with a very curious opening scene that will have you thinking okaaay what am I getting myself into and then very non-linearly proceeds to boggle your mind as you piece together what’s happening from each revelation which earns the series classification as a psychological horror. For a Marvel production, Moon Knight is somewhat dark and not the regular riotous swirling of colour and action.

The show features a character grappling with dissociative identity disorder and they did not simply use that as a trope but instead were as respectful of the mental health theme as could be allowed in a fictional, supernatural world.

Oscar deserves an Oscar for his performance in Moon Knight

And of course the Egyptian Mythology, I loved how they integrated it into the plot giving off a sort of Minority Reportesque vibe, I hope to get more of African Mythology making its way into the big screen in an unadulterated form and be recognizable for what it is.

The Bad

While it has only 6 episodes the pacing is a bit erratic, it opens as an edge of the seat thriller then almost grinds to a standstill before speeding up to a whirlwind ending that tries to cram in a lot of detail yet still leave you like; wait, I did not see that coming (unless of course, you are familiar with the character story arc from the comics)

As with anything that’s as psychological complex as Moon Knight it leaves a trail of unanswered questions and no satisfactory closure…like sooo how does this play out now?

The Ugly

While part of its intrigue is in its slow-burn revelation of the plot it can also get frustrating because some major plot points are glossed over that you could blink and miss it.

Cinematic depiction of dissociative identity disorder can romanticise the condition rendering some skeptic of such conditions thus making it difficult for people who suffer from mental health problems to seek proper help and counselling. Although each episode carried a message encouraging viewers to visit the website of the National Alliance on Mental Illness to learn more about DID, the show itself seemed to reflect the view that professional help could be manipulative.

Final Thoughts

Now that its finished I am not sure what I will do with my Wednesdays ^_^

Moon Knight brings a refreshingly weird vibe which doesn’t feel like your typical Marvel. If it weren’t for the Marvel Opening credit sequence you might even miss that its Marvel and it uncharacteristically does not feature any Easter Egg references to the Marvel Universe. I guess they are waiting to see the reception of Moon Knight before introducing it to the Marvel canon.

Moon Knight is listed as a limited series which means don’t hold your breath for season 2 but if you are lucky maybe the Moon Knight will make it to a blockbuster feature in the MCU.

Have you seen it? Would you watch it.

~B

I want to watch Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness