Courtesy of Marvel Studios
Moon Knight went to new heights in this week's episode. The episode titled "Asylum" was the best episode Marvel Studios has produced in their Disney+ platform. This episode showed a different side of Marvel we haven't seen before. The episode was dark and traumatic. The Disney+ Marvel six episode structure allow Marvel to try different things in their content. These last two episodes have proved that Moon Knight is the best Marvel Disney+ series. Let's break down "Asylum" in this week's recap.
Episode 5 of Moon Knight starts with Marc sitting in Dr. Harrow's office. Dr. Harrow tries to convince Marc that he didn't shoot him and all these illusions are in his head. We then go back to Marc and Steven with the hippo goddess Taweret. Taweret reveals to Marc and Steven that they are dead and are currently being judged in desert afterlife known as the Duat. According to Taweret, Marc and Steven's hearts are being judged by the Gods. If the scales don't balance out, they will stay in the sand forever. If they balance out, they will proceed to a paradise. The only way to do this is for Marc and Steven to revisit their past.
Marc and Steven first go into a room full of dead people. This is revealed to be all of the people Marc has killed in his life as Khonsu's avatar. We then see a little boy looking at Steven over. Steven follows the little boy into a new room locking Marc out. Steven sees Marc and his little brother as kids. The boys go down to a cave. While in the cave after rain starts to fall, Marc's brother dies in the cave drowning in the water. Marc is blamed for his brother's death by his mother and endures years of abuse because of this. This also results in Marc creating his alter ego known as Steven.
Steven freaks out as he is revealed he isn't a real person and is just a creation of Marc's mind. It is also revealed to Steven that their mom is dead which freaks him out even more. Marc created Steven as a crutch to deal with the abuse he's been facing. It is also revealed that Marc was going to kill himself before Khonsu found him and became Marc's mentor. This is where the origin of Moon Knight came from. Marc faced his past in this episode like never before.
Marc and Steven could not balance the scales in time and they fight off zombies coming from the Duat. Steven falls into the Duat and is stuck there forever. Marc screams in agony as he sees his alter ego die. The scales have balanced and now Marc is in paradise. This proves Marc needed to face his pain and let go of Steven. He needed to let go of his crutch even though it has helped him. He needed to face his trauma head on, something he refused to do previously.
Moon Knight episode 5 will go down as one of the best episodes in Marvel history. The unique storytelling of Marc's trauma made for a darker story fans of Marvel are not used to. This episode makes you forget you're watching a superhero show. It felt very real and I can see it affecting people who are going through the same thing and deciding if they should face the trauma. Episode 6 will be the finale with a potential second season in sight.
Oscar Isaac in this episode deserves all the awards. The way he played Marc and Steven in this whole series is magnificent. It is the best acting done in any Marvel show or movie. The way he switches from Marc's personality to Steven's personality is incredible and should get the recognition he deserves.
Grade: A+
What did you think of episode 5 of Moon Knight? Leave it in the comments below.