(Image sourced from of Disney+ and Marvel Studios)
If you're anything like me, then episode 5 of Moon Knight would have left you all teary eyed or at least feeling a little glum. If it didn't hit you in the feels then I have one question for you. Are you even human?
Oscar Isaac's performance in this episode was nothing short of prenominal! Just give him all the awards already. This instalment, which is simply and aptly named "Asylum" delves deep into the past of Marc Spector and his alter ego Steven Grant. And when I say deep, I mean really deep.
Here is your spoiler warning if you haven't already seen the episode!
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If you've seen episode 4 "The Tomb", you will be familiar with a hippopotamus at the end. It is confirmed in "Asylum" that this hippopotamus is indeed as I had previously theorised, Taweret, the Egyptian Goddess of fertility/motherhood and rebirth. So what does this have to do with Marc or Steven? Her role within the series is to simply guide the two through the Duat (otherwise known as the underworld in Egyptian mythology) to the field of reeds in order for them to live in eternal piece in 'an' afterlife. I say an in this way as this is how Taweret herself describes the outcome, she even mentions another after life setting - the ancestral plane (which is actually a reference to the first Black Panther film in which it appears).
The rather jolly hippo voiced by Antonia Salib continues in her speech for Marc and Steven while scrambling through her notes with nervousness as she licks her lips, fidgets and wiggles her ears. It's at this point she confirms that Marc/Steven is infact "quite dead" after being shot by Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) at the end of episode 4. This also confirms another one of our previous theories that this is the case and they are in a state of limbo or purgatory.
As the story continues, we are taken on a journey through the Duat on a ship, coursing over sands as we are shown a set of scales placed in the hands of Anubis. Putting Marc and Steven's fate in it's hands. Looking at the promo poster for the episode it was clear to see the scales holding a feather on one side and what looked like pieces of quartz on the other (see image at the top of this article). We find out that those pieces of rock are actually the two hearts of Marc and Steven. But while watching this, I had one question immediately that came to mind. Why are there two separate hearts if they are the same person? It wasn't long before my question was answered.
It is later in episode 5 that we discover the cause for Marc's "fractured mind". Marc lived a seemingly happy life as a child with his mother, father and younger brother. As a child he also loved to watch a film about a fearless adventurer. But I will circle back to that soon. It is shown that Marc embarks on a role play adventure with his younger brother into a cave, local to his family home. The Spector boys stop at the entrance of the cave as it begins to rain. They had been told by their mother not to enter the cave when it's raining. And she had a good reason to relay this to her sons as any loving mother would. It is at this point where Steven discovers the tragedy that broke his alter persona. Sadly Marc's younger brother became trapped and didn't make it out alive. This led to years of hatred and abuse for Marc from his mother out of resentment for the loss of her youngest son. We see a scene where both Marc and Steven are standing side by side in his childhood bedroom in a moment that Steven doesn't have any recollection of. The reason for this? This is the moment where Steven was born. Remember the adventurer that Marc aspired to be? A poster on his wall reads "no need to fear when Steven Grant is near". Causing Marc to bring Steven to life to avoid dealing with his trauma entirely. This also explains why Taweret was able to remove two hearts from their bodies rather than one. This answering my earlier question perfectly.
I won't recap the episode in its entirety, but I do want to state that this is a heart breaking story that was executed very well and respectfully, it does relate very well to the comics and also contains multiple Easter eggs referencing to other areas of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to prior episodes. We may have been given some answers regarding to where the story may be heading, although fans including myself were left with the demise of a much loved character of the show.
Have you seen episode 5 of Moon Knight and if so, what did you think of it?
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