Thursday, April 7, 2022

Moon Knight - Summon the Suit

Having watched the first four episodes of Disney+'s Moon Knight, it's easy for me to say that the show's second episode is my favorite. After a teasing introductory episodes (as has become the format of all the Disney+ Marvel shows), "Summon the Suit" gets down to business. It also finds a way to work in the more buttoned down version of Moon Knight's costume (with a valid reason for it to exist) along with something closer to the classic look (which we got at the end of the first episode).

"Summon the Suit" forces Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) to deal with the fallout of the attack on the museum which becomes hard to explain when he's the only one who appears on the security footages. Given what fans know about the character, this is a fun bit as without the physical evidence left at the scene we could see the possibility of everything that happened being in Steven's mind. The episode also introduces Layla (May Calamawy) who it turns out is the estranged wife of one of his other personalities that Steven has only just become vaguely aware of. Talk about some awkward conversations!

Through Layla he learns a bit more about Marc Spector, who turns out to be one of the voices he's heard in his head. He also gets a more formal introduction to Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) who is able to fill in a few facts about the other voice Steven has been hearing along with the various Egyptian visions and hallucinations. Turns out Harrow was the previous avatar of Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) who is now connected to Steven and Marc. However, Harrow has found a new god with a different take on justice that will provide the crucial issue over the remainder of the series.

While I like Hawke, I'm not the biggest fan of his casting here or of the character of Harrow overall. He's doing your basic toned-down crazy bad guy that works on a basic level, but thankfully the rest of the episode with its humorous opening, action sequences, and starting to fill in the blanks of Steven's life (and his reaction to those answers), help cover up one of the weaker aspects of the show. By the end of the episode, Steven's stint as Moon Knight doesn't turn out all that well and he's forced to allow Marc control over the body once more (giving us both suits in one episode and allowing for a flip in the show's dynamic at the beginning of episode 3).

  • Title: Moon Knight - Summon the Suit
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