‘Moon Knight’ Episode 5 Recap & Easter Eggs – ‘Asylum’
In Moon Knight Episode 5 we see the past clearly and it hurts.
At the end of Episode 4 (read the recap here) Steven was shot, which lands him and Marc somewhere in their psyche. Arthur Harrow and his cult are there, along with various relics and the third alt. After some screaming, we meet a new hippo-headed god – Taweret. The latest episode takes us on a journey in Marc’s memories.
“There can be no progress without understanding.”
Major Spoilers Below the Poster
Moon Knight Episode 5 – What Comes After
We open with another meeting between Marc and Harrow the psychiatrist. Harrow tries to guide Marc through what is reality and what is fantasy. And that the giant talking hippo is nonsense. The meeting is cut short. Marc picks up a glass pyramid as a weapon and the orderlies jab him with some kind of drug.
via Marvel
We arrive back in the hallway with Steven and Marc. Taweret informs the pair (after they stop screaming) that they are, in fact, dead. She welcomes them to the realm of the Duat as gently as she can. She explains that the realm appears in a way that makes sense to the soul. In this case, a psych ward.
Marc isn’t really buying it until he slams the cafeteria doors open and he rushes out onto a boat on its way across an endless desert to A’Aru. At the center of the ship’s deck are the scales of Ma’at. Taweret carefully takes the souls out of Mark and Steven and places them on the scale. As we’ve seen over the course of the series – they do no balance. The hippo-headed goddess explains that they must balance their souls before they reach A’Aru, or they’ll be thrown overboard.
via Marvel
Balancing the Scales
They rush back into the psych ward. Marc has to confront a cafeteria full of those he’s killed for Khonshu. As he shares his experiences with Steven the scales begin to balance. And then a boy appears. Steven chases after him to a door. Through the door is a childhood that Steven hasn’t seen – with a brother he’s never known.
Steven begins to learn of all the things Marc has hidden from him. The death of his brother and the blame his mother put on him. Leaving his family to escape it. His time as a mercenary and the murder of Abdallah El-Faouly (Layla’s father). Marc’s first meeting with Khonshu and the agreement they made. As they watch the memory of Marc rise as Moon Knight, the scales tip more toward balance.
Moon Knight Vol 9 via Marvel
The tragedies pile up and Marc doesn’t want to relive them or expose Steven to them. Marc finds himself back in Harrow’s office. He asks a question: did you think you created Steven or did Steven create you? The two return to his childhood bedroom, his mother is pounding on the door and screaming at him. At this moment Steven discovers his purpose. He’s a shield from years of torment and abuse.Steven faces all that has been hidden from him, including the death of his mother. Her death began the bleeding of the two alts together.
via Marvel
Fighting Together
At the end of the journey through Marc’s memories, Steven begins to understand. He implores Marc to forgive himself for the trauma that started it all. It was not his fault. What happened to him was not his fault. Something all survivors wrestle with.
Suddenly the world of memories they’re in shakes. While they have been looking to the past, Ammit has been set free in the land of the living. The course of the boat has changed to the Gates of Osiris. It has come to a standstill, though. Marc’s scales are not balanced. With time run out, the lost souls of the Duat crawl up from the sands to take Marc and Steven.
Marc hides Steven behind him and does what he does. When Marc is knocked down, Steven decides it’s time to step up and save him. He’s flung over the side of the boat and becomes victim to the desert. Marc’s scale balances. We leave him in the Field of Reeds where Osiris rules.
via Trustees of the British Museum
Moon Knight Episode 5 – Quick Thoughts
Like the rest of the Marvel shows (and comics), Moon Knight isn’t just about dispatching the bad guy. It’s a story of pain, forgiveness, and redemption. Steven’s death is a symbol of Marc’s forgiveness and a repair of a fractured mind. Marc no longer needs him.
We have one episode left. An internal battle has been fought, and there have been devastating casualties. The battle in the world of the living awaits.
- What is the third alt’s role in this?
- How does Khonshu return?
- What will become of Marc at the end of his journey?
The finale of Moon Knight drops on Disney+ on May 4th.
