Hot guy protagonist trying to stop an apocalyptic resurrection in Egypt? Check. Co-star and romantic interest who looks surprisingly like Rachel Weisz? Check. Eclipses and sandstorms? Check. I mean, the episode even uses the Medjai to lead the way to the site of said apocalyptic resurrection. Moon Knight went full Mummy this week, and along the way delved into the mythological roots of the Moon Knight, Khonshu, and his history with both his avatars and the rest of the Egyptian pantheon.
But seriously, can we just go ahead and reboot The Mummy with Oscar Isaac?
Besides the similarities to one of the best action movies ever made, Moon Knight was a fun ride this week because of the continued unveiling of Khonshu’s history. The best scene of the episode was the one where the avatars of the Egyptian gods meet in a desperate bid by Khonshu to end Arthur Harrow’s ambitions. Besides Oscar Isaac doing his best Broken Matt Hardy impression while possessed by Khonshu, there are so many tantalizing hints as to Khonshu’s past, both on his own and through his avatars.
It is no secret that Khonshu is a violent being, but there seems to be something deeper to Harrow’s speech and his past as the god’s avatar. Khonshu has some connection to humanity that drives him to protect it in ways that the other gods do not. Whether this is all tied solely to the danger Ammit poses or not has yet to be revealed, and may not be revealed for a long time now that Khonshu is imprisoned in stone. He does seem to care about his avatars, at least. The second episode dropped hints as to the god’s protectiveness and episode 3 does as well.
If nothing else, he is clearly the most caring towards humanity of the Egyptian gods.
Still, what in the world has Khonshu done in the past to create such hostility among said gods? They clearly view him as a harmful, volatile force who schemes towards selfish ends. Harrow has hinted numerous times towards the violence he did at Khonshu’s request. We have seen for ourselves what the god suggests and has Marc do.
It feels frustrating as a viewer to know what Harrow intends with Ammit, but there is clearly information known by everyone else that we have not learned. And besides, Harrow is absolutely right about the fractured state of Marc’s mind, which now apparently includes a third personality we have yet to meet. If Marc didn’t kill those servants of Ammit, and Steven obviously never would, then someone else did.
Now, this newfound Egyptian pantheon raises familiar, Eternals-type problems about the existence of powerful beings on Earth and their complete lack of involvement in the things that threaten their subjects. I doubt we will get any real answers about any of this. This episode somewhat writes the issue off as “we decided not to interfere in humanity” and they will probably leave it at that.
This was one of the lesser of the logical problems Moon Knight had this week. The largest had to be for Khonshu to make such a big deal of presenting an airtight case against Harrow, only to present…nothing. There were things Marc/Khonshu could have said and done and it made him and the scene feel illogical in distracting ways.
I can mostly accept this when I have fun, and Oscar Isaac is breaking his back to make Moon Knight entertaining. Few actors could make the completely absurd acting asked of him during the Khonshu possession work that well, or be as good as he was when shifting from Marc to Steven before the stars scene.
With only three episodes left in the season, Isaac can probably carry this whole project on his back for what time is left. It would be a shame if he had to, though.
The flip side of asking Oscar Isaac to carry so much of Moon Knight is that we are here, halfway through the season, and there are no other real characters of consequence around. Khonshu was great, but we may be trapped in stone for the next episode or two, at least. Layla has potential, but we’re halfway through the season and she is just now establishing herself. Harrow is bland and falling into the ever-growing pile of mediocre Marvel villains.
More than any other MCU show to date, Moon Knight is asking one person to carry everything. I hope Layla gets to change that now that Khonshu is gone, leaving a companion slot besides Marc/Steven to fill. The cast could use another interesting character.
If they decide to embrace the Mummy reboot theme, well, I will not complain. I don’t need my Marvel content to be masterpieces, I just need to have fun.
Images Courtesy of Marvel Studios
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