Moon Knight Episode 4

Spoiler alert: If you haven't watched Episode 4 of Marvel's 'Moon Knight,' you might want to turn back now.

There are also plenty of familiar faces in this facility: Layla is a fellow patient, while Arthur is the counselor overseeing their progress, and he sucks just as much in this reality as in the last one. Big fans of the comics who do know his history are going to be happy.” Marc is a patient in this new reality, where he’s a huge fan of Steven Grant, an Indiana Jones-type action hero. The episode begins with Layla and a now-powerless Steven arriving at Arthur’s dig site, where a series of discoveries rattles the couple beyond the point of comprehension. Arthur shoots Marc multiple times in the chest, sending our hero tumbling down a dark abyss. Their journey brings them through all manner of historical nooks and crannies, including the long-lost tomb of Alexander the Great, who was apparently Amit’s most recent avatar.

Director Mohamed Diab gave us a little tease, but we need answers! Moon Knight Episode 4: Who Was That Hippo Goddess? Image. Amelia Emberwing ...

Does the director simply mean that we’ll be seeing her step beyond the common perception that ends at “maternity symbol”? Or perhaps we’ll see a whole new iteration of the goddess that only loosely ties to what ancient history tells us about the character. Like all mothers, the goddess is well known for her fierce strength and perseverance when push comes to shove. So, how can a goddess mostly known for her fertility and childbirth tip the proverbial scales of Moon Knight? A lot of ways, it turns out! Perhaps noteworthy to future episodes of the series is the legend of Osiris, Set, and Horus. When Set killed Osiris and sought to kill his son, Horus, after his rise to power, Taweret held Set down so Horus could slay him. Growing in popularity in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2055–1650 BCE), Taweret’s visage started to appear on talismans, household food and drink vessels, and more in this time frame. Tackling a storyline like this is particularly tricky, especially given how seriously the Moon Knight cast and crew has taken the delicate subject of Marc Spector’s mental health.

Hmm, we thought we had it all figured out! We thought Moon Knight had settled into its groove as a globe-trotting adventure series in the vein of Indiana Jones ...

She was briefly mentioned in “The Goldfish Problem,” but we know little about her purpose in this story because she’s absent not only from the Lemire and Smallwood comics, but also from the entire Marvel Universe (given some of Marvel’s iffy portrayals of pregnancy, that might be a good thing). As such, he’s able to help Marc break from the influence of Khonshu and embrace his own powers. Perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into the fact that Layla and others are in the mental hospital as well. As discussed in the most recent Marvel Standom episode, Marc has two alternate personalities in the comics: Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley, a New York cabbie who patrols the streets looking for trouble. But in Lemire and Smallwood’s run, Marc discovers that his different way of approaching the world was itself a gift, a type of special ability. An unhoused person and sort of street philosopher, Crawley generally interacts with Jake Lockley. On visits to Gina’s Diner, Crawley provides info to Lockley, and sometimes needs rescuing by Moon Knight. As he learned to work with his mental state, Marc discovered he could deal with issues in ways that others could not. However, if the show adheres to the Lemire and Smallwood run, then something quite different is happening. Jake tends to be a bit more rough and tumble than the other two identities. The show has also suggested that Khonshu’s influence may be responsible for the divisions in Marc’s psyche – after all, they are recent enough that his wife Layla didn’t know about them. Thirty-five minutes into Moon Knight episode four “The Tomb,” Arthur Harrow shoots Marc and watches him sink into a golden pool of water. For viewers of the show, the change seems to come out of nowhere.

'Moon Knight' really changed the game with an asylum twist in the end of Episode 4. Here's where things stand for Marc, Steven, Arthur Harrow, and Layla.

The key thing we need to look at is the fact that Marc and Steven are, now, not sharing the same body. It's likely that inside there is the third identity of Marc/Steven. This identity was teased at the beginning of Episode 3, fighting Harrow's goons in Egypt, but has yet to be identified in the series. It's not clear what the hell is happening here, but both sides of Marc—somehow existing separately in the same place—are going to have to figure out how to work together to figure out whatever the absolute hell is happening. And the references in the Disney+ Moon Knight show were clear. But while the duo have largely been adversarial to this point, they were clearly happy to see one another—a delight to see someone they actually know, and validation that neither is completely losing their marbles. This twist is heavily influenced by a 2016 Moon Knight run by writer Jeff Lemire (who also wrote Sweet Tooth and several other beloved comics). Lemire's run depicted Marc Spector in an asylum, where he was constantly made to question his own sanity. Perhaps the most interesting parts of Moon Knight so far has been seeing the ways that the two sides of the same person—Marc Spector and Steven Grant—have had to work together to reach their goals. Up to that point, "The Tomb" had been more of the same of what we've seen: an internal battle ensuing between Marc and Steven, as Marc's wife, Layla, guided the two of them toward an end goal with a mystery to solve. Also in the asylum: Layla. Also in the Asylum: Arthur Harrow, who is apparently... And as if that wasn't enough to be concerned about, the two saw a totally unknown (and seemingly friendly?) hippo god just at the end of the episode. Marc got out of Harrow's asylum office and ran around a bit, finding Steven Grant in a sarcophagus and freeing him, while pounding continued on another sarcophagus in another room. Through the first three and a half episodes of its run, Moon Knight, the latest Disney+ limited series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was entertaining enough, and seemed to be very aware of what it was.

'Moon Knight' Episode 4 brings a plot twist and a hippo goddess. Here's what you need to know.

Yes, the goddess Taweret. In Egyptian mythology, Taweret was generally considered a protective deity and was at times associated with childbirth. In the comics, Marc and Steven are usually joined by Jake Lockley, another identity originating in Marc’s youth. While there is a possibility that Marc helped Steven set up that date, the more audiences have seen of Marc, the more out of character and unlikely that explanation seems. In this episode, Marc discovers Steven trapped inside a sarcophagus as he’s trying to escape the institution. But according to Khonshu, with whom Marc still communicates, the institution is an illusion crafted by Seth and Ammut, who need to be defeated. Episode 4 of the Marvel Studios series, titled “The Tomb,” sees its trio of adventurers raiding a secret tomb, all while interpersonal tensions between them approach a boiling point.

'Moon Knight' Episode 4 ends with a major cliffhanger, showing the debut of the Egyptian deity Taweret. Here's everything you need to know about the hippo ...

Also per Marvel.com, Taweret is the Egyptian goddess of childbirth, and "ceases aging at adulthood and cannot die by conventional means." “Right from the very first week, Marvel provided us with a ton of reference material on Egyptology, and on ancient Egyptian gods and deities,” He continues. Struggling to come to his senses, Marc undergoes some mildly stressful questioning from Harrow, who seems to be something akin to a social worker in this dream, reality, or illusion. “One of those pieces of material was a laminated poster that had like a little kid, cartoon drawings of all the different gods — one of those gods was Taweret. I spent that entire first week of our writers' room, just staring at that. Marc wakes up in what seems to be a psychiatric hospital, seeing various items from his recent adventures scattered around the ward. etc. Before we get to Hippo God, who, yes, has a name, let's briefly discuss the surreal ending to Episode 4 of Moon Knight. At the end of this week's edition, villain Arthur Harrow shoots and kills Marc Spector, which kills Steven Grant as well.

Moon Knight Episode 4 is filled with so many great Easter eggs, and I can't stop obsessing over them.

Phase 4 being the Marvel Cinematic Universe's freak era is confirmed with Moon Knight's weirdest episode yet.A recap of episode four of the Disney+ ...

It feels like we should see this night in a flashback before the series is over — the clock’s ticking. Marc and Steven attempt to escape the hospital, pass another shaking sarcophagus in another room, and run directly into … how do I put this … a hippo. Said hippo is, in fact, the Egyptian goddess Taweret. She is played/voiced by Antonia Salib. Taweret is the goddess of childbirth and fertility. Marc opens the sarcophagus, and inside, amazingly, is Steven. In the chaos, all conflict is forgotten. In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Normal Again,” a demon tries to make Buffy believe that she is institutionalized and all of her slayer memories are delusions. For Moon Knight specifically, this is based on Moon Knight volume eight, a 2016 run of the Marvel comic from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Greg Smallwood. In it, Marc Spector wakes up in an asylum run by Ammit (spelled alternatively Ammut in the comic and under the guise of a psychologist named Dr. Emmet) and is told that he has imagined his vigilante life. This is the first time they’re meeting face-to-face in the flesh — the longed-for moment! “It’s all been happening in your head” and “you’re actually a patient in an asylum” is a time-honored trope seen in films like Shutter Island and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and especially favored in genre television. Steven may tell Layla about Marc’s plan to give Steven the body and Khonshu’s plan to make Layla the next avatar, but he’s no saint. But that is not exactly what’s happening from a mental-health standpoint, and it’s not fair to Marc or Steven to say so. Steven gives the body to Marc so that they can talk. Oh, and Steven and Layla kiss, and Marc punches himself (a.k.a. Steven) in the face.

A new recap of Moon Knight's fourth episode posted by Marvel has revealed a deleted scene not included on the final cut of the installment found on Disney+.

At the same time, Arthur Harrow is already leagues above a lot of MCU villains when it comes to the depth associated with the character. In doing so, his time for further character development is far from over, so maybe the absence of the above scene can be made up for. That said, any further details to flesh out the villain of the piece would have been welcome. with victory in sight, Harrow speaks to his congregation to reunify and invigorate the weary acolytes. "Meanwhile, at the dig site, Harrow and his disciples uncover the entrance of Ammit’s tomb. It looks like, at one point and time, an earlier cut of the installment had even more for audiences to process.

Moon Knight only has two episodes left to either end the character arc for good, set it up for season 2, or fling Marc and Steven to a new corner of the ...

At the beginning of the episode, we saw Khonshu trapped in a little statue with a bunch of other trapped gods, so I’m wondering if this is where all the trapped gods hang out. Marc lets Steven out of a coffin and the two try to begin an escape. In the tomb of Alexander the Great (long story), Marc is shot in the chest by Harrow, and presumably dies.

I mean, it goes alright for a while, before Marc confesses to being present at the mercenary raid during which Layla's archaeologist father was killed (Marc ...

And the show is aware enough of its pulpy B-movie/syndicated-TV roots to make a joke about it in the form of that Tomb Buster video. In short, it’s a show of simple pleasures, and simple pleasures are worth celebrating. (For what it’s worth, the hippo is most likely Tawaret, a fertility goddess with a protective reputation. I mean, it goes alright for a while, before Marc confesses to being present at the mercenary raid during which Layla’s archaeologist father was killed (Marc himself was shot by his own partner), then gets shot by Harrow, then tumbles into a pool of water and floats off into nothingness. Anyway, after passing yet another sarcophagus, the contents of which are unknown, Marc and Steven run straight into a chipper-sounding anthropomorphized hippopotamus, who greets them with a cheery “Hi!” Both men scream like frightened children. What good is a Moon Knight who’s no longer a knight powered by the moon?

Steven and Layla race to stop Harrow from completing his mission, as Marc finds himself in a very unusual place in Moon Knight episode 4.

Steven and Marc are so happy to see each other that they actually embrace. Shortly thereafter, Harrow spots Layla and speaks to her from across the ledge. Although Layla tries to hide her emotional response, she is clearly angered by the revelation. Steven and Layla venture deep into the tomb, where they discover an apparently undead Heka priest harvesting organs from one of Harrow’s followers. However, Marc objects to that in Steven’s reflection, but Layla can’t hear her husband’s words. Inside the tomb, Steven’s knowledge of Egyptian lore allows them to navigate the maze.

Moon Knight directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead discuss how episode 4's Marc and Steven scream scene involved a number of different shots.

Marc and Steven have been portrayed as unreliable narrators throughout the entirety of Moon Knight so far, and bumping into bizarre characters such as Salib's hippo certainly beg the question of which other elements of the show viewers can take as real or not. As if Moon Knight episode 4’s shocking revelation wasn’t not enough already, the directors went on to tease the upcoming events of the final episode 5 and 6, revealing that audiences should “get ready to be surprised again” as the series enters its final stages. Moon Knight episode 4 culminated with Marc and Steven being greeted by a giant talking hippo (believed to represent the Egyptian goddess Taweret) taking the pair by surprise and causing them to scream as she offered a simple “Hi,” with the scene only adding to the overall chaos of the episode’s final moments. With episode 4 having flipped the entirety of Moon Knight’s plot on its head, it remains to be seen just what the final two episodes will bring. We just kind of stood off to the side, and she immediately trusted us and took the direction in stride. Moon Knight directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead discuss how episode 4’s Marc and Steven scream scene involved capturing a number of different shots.

In Moon Knight's most recent episode, Marc Spector finds himself as a patient in an asylum. But is it all a fever dream?

When Marc notices the image, his belief in his reality seems to waver momentarily. It’s unclear how Taweret fits into the story, but she seems friendly and may be Steven and Marc’s only ally in the asylum. Bek (Loic Mabanza) was working with Anton Mogart (the late Gaspard Ulliel), but he’s one of the orderlies in the asylum, and he’s seen handing out cupcakes—how interesting, considering that Steven stole a cupcake van during his first encounter with Harrow in the Alps. Bobbi (Ann Akinjirin) is seen interacting with Donna, and Billy (David Ganly) appears to be Marc’s handler. These two characters first appeared in the second episode of Moon Knight pretending to be police officers investigating Steven. They were revealed to be Harrow’s right hands and went on to kidnap Steven. In the institution, their roles are very similar. It’s easy to draw a parallel between the lunar god of the film and Marc being convinced he works for the Egyptian moon god, Khonshu. Marc apparently loves this film and watches it endlessly. And Marc isn’t the only familiar face in the asylum. Marc is able to see Harrow’s shoes in the mirror from his patient chair, which may explain how he added this peculiar fashion item to his delusions. Another patient is Donna (Lucy Thackeray)— only a few episodes ago she was Steven’s dismissive boss at the museum, but she remains a grouch in the institution. In the film, called Tomb Busters, a British explorer named Dr. Steven Grant (Joseph Millson) uses his knowledge to hunt down lost treasures of the Aztec. The film specifically follows the story of Grant dealing with a lunar god. The second act of “The Tomb” concludes with a twist—Marc is shot point-blank by Harrow, not once but twice. This sudden change in the landscape appears to be inspired by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood’s 2016 run of Moon Knight. We know Marc has been desperate to seek help for his mental illness; perhaps he’s already taken that step. Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for the first 4 episodes of Moon Knight.Episode 4 of Marvel’s Moon Knight, “The Tomb,” added a twist to the tale.

The shocking ending to Moon Knight's latest episode finds its origins in an equally twisted comic book story. Oscar Isaac Steven and Marc in Asylum Moon Knight.

Moon Knight is not the typical MCU plot where audiences get a streamlined origin story, because the superhero’s genesis moment is not all that clear, both due to his varying origins in Marvel Comics and to Marc/Steven themselves. A trip down “The Tomb” was always bound to end up with a banger, and yet the true shock value of it is only boosted by how relatively calm of a start it gets. Nevertheless, Moon Knight’s directors and writers wouldn’t be able to put all of this together if it wasn’t for the already fascinating source material the superhero brings to the table, especially with his revamped identity in recent years.