'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The highly-anticipated Marvel series Moon Knight debuted today and is darker than one would think.
The first episode, titled The Goldfish Problem, was directed by Mohamed Diab and written by Jeremy Slater. The episode set base for Marvel's disjointed character and introduced his personalities - Steven and Marc, while also giving a slight insight into the antagonist, Arthur Harrow.
Moon Knight episode 1: Recap
Marvel's Moon Knight opens with a guy drinking from a glass, later proceeding to break it with a hammer and putting the shattered pieces into his slipper to walk in. The man's silhoutte makes it clear that it's none other than cult leader Arthur Harrow.
The scene then cuts to the protagonist, Steven, waking up with an ankle chained to his bed post. He frees himself from the chains, feeds his one-finned fish Gus and calls his mother, like it was just another normal day in his life.
Steven is a gift-shop employee at London's National Art Gallery and knows a lot about Ancient Egypt. He hates his job and that day, he realized that he had asked a colleague out on a date, which he doesn't remember. The date is at a steak place and Steven is a vegan, which makes the entire situation even more questionable.
An unsual place
Back at home that night in Moon Knight, Steven tries his best to stay awake but fails to do so and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a field with his jaw popped. As Steven tries to understand and regain his senses, an unknown voice remarks that "the idiot has gained control" and tells him to "surrender his body to Marc."
He is then shot at by gunmen from afar, the voice returns and asks him to run. Steven then runs towards the village, which appears to be European. He makes his way into a crowd who is amused by the presence of a person who is like a god to them.
Arthur Harrow is then seen with a supernatural scale of justice on his right arm along with a weird looking cane, which he uses to judge people on behalf of the Egyptian god Ammit. If the scales turn green, the person is free to go, but if it turns red, Arthur sucks the life out of them.
A terrifying dream
Arthur was then greeted with bad news when his gunmen told him that a man killed two of them and stole something. He then announced something in language that his followers understood and went down on their knees. Only Steven is left standing amongst the crowd, which gives him away. Arthur confronts Steven, calling him a mercenary and asking him to return the scarab. Steven looks through his pockets and finds the artifact.
He tries to hand it over to Arthur but is unable to as the voice tells him not to do so. During all this, his other personality, Marc, takes over and in a second, the people around him end up dead. Steven's personality returns and he tries to escape in a van, only to get chased by Arthur's people.
The voice returns and shouts, and Marc returns to handle the situation. The car chase ends when the last man standing is killed by a tree log dislodged from a truck carrying them. A terrified Steven wakes up in his bed with his ankle restraints in place. He thinks he dreamed it all.
No escape
Steven then realizes that his fish Gus has two fins now, instead of one, which shocks him. He takes him to the store to complain and realizes that its nearly time for his date, even though he just woke up. After waiting for his date at the restaurant, he realizes that he has lost two days in the event that took place in his 'dream.'
He returns home and discovers hiding spots in his apartment. Inside one of them, he finds a key and a flip phone with missed calls from Layla. The phone rings and a confused Layla is on the other end, calling him Marc and then cutting the call. The lights start flashing and Marc appears through the mirror, prompting Steven to run out and into the elevator.
He sees a giant figure coming towards him, except it's an old woman who gets off on the fifth floor. Steven turns around and is confronted by the figure again and just as he screams, he is transported on the bus. He sees the figure again at a distance and upon exiting the bus, he spots Arthur. At the museum, Arthur gets a hold of him and explains the scarab, which supposedly belongs to Ammit.
Chaos within
Arthur then talks to Steven about the voice in his head, grabbing Steven's hands and performing his justice act. He realizes that the supernatural scales of justice do not work for him and tells Steven that there is chaos in him. This causes Steven to run.
Late at night T the museum, Steven hears a dog right as he is about to leave. As he tries to look for the dog, he discovers a different giant figure stalking him. He then hears Arthur's voice, asking him to handover the scarab to not get hurt. However, Steven is too busy with the creature who is now chasing him. He runs through the museum and locks himself in the bathroom.
For the first time in this episode of Moon Knight, Marc confronts Steven and asks him to transfer control so he can save them. When Steven lets Marc take over, he transforms into Moon Knight. The scene then cuts to Moon Knight beating the creature with bare hands. The episode ends with Moon Knight turning and staring into the camera.
Why did Arthur Harrow put broken glass in his shoes?
The opening scene of Moon Knight saw Arthur Harrow putting pieces of broken glass into his shoes. This is a form of self-sacrifice and a blood payment to Ammit on face value. It is a tradition in some religions for zealous followers to hurt themselves as a sign of solidarity with their God.
The actual reason for Arthur doing so remains a mystery right now, but an explanation can be expected as the series unfolds.
Moon Knight is now available to stream on Disney+, with new episodes releasing every Wednesday.
