Moonknight - Season 1
Released on Disney+ March 30, 2022
Episode: 6 Episodes (Around 45-55 minutes each)
Rated TV-14
Moon Knight is a six episode series that is based on Marvel’s Moon Knight comics. The show takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but mostly does it’s own thing without going out of it’s way to connect to the other movies and shows.
Steven (Oscar Isaac) loves Egyptian history and lore and works at his local museum. He is slowly discovering that he is living a double life, but doesn’t remember any of it. He goes to sleep or blacks out and wakes up somewhere else. It is a classic case of dissociative identity disorder. Mark, the other personality, is a mercenary that has super powers and works for on Egyptian god. Going into the story much more than that will likely be spoiler territory. It is kind of a psychological thriller mixed with a super hero movie with some Egyptian gods thrown in for good measure.
Themes:
Themes in the movie includes mental illness, living a double life, love, loss, dissociative identity disorder, Egyptian gods, Egyptian history, good vs. bad and where the line is, super heroes, lying, mercenaries, fear, mortality, after life, death, family, verbal abuse, alcoholism, blaming oneself, forgiveness, and coping.
Language:
This show has about the same level of cursing as the other MCU shows on Disney+. Bloody H-E-Double Sticks, other words for butt, etc. are all said. I feel like this one may have had a little less than Falcon and Winter Soldier, but more than Wanda Vision. There is also some name calling (stupid, idiot, etc.).
Stuff to be aware of:
Mental illness plays a major factor in this show. As with real life, dissociative identity disorder stems from past trauma. Some of this plays out in later episodes, but only gives you glimpses of the character’s past. There is some alcoholism and verbal and physical abuse. I can’t go much more into it without it being spoiler-ish. The first few episodes play up a horror aspect a little because you don’t fully understand what is going on. The Egyptian gods that make appearances are based on animals and one has a dead bird skull for a head. The first few episodes have him popping out, following the main character, and creeping around. Once you know what is going on he stops being scary. There is lots of fighting, some blood, a character gets shot, and people die. Probably nothing more than what you would see in a typical PG-13 Marvel movie. The villain is kind of weird, for no reason he puts broken glass in his shoes. Looks painful. There are also some monsters that resemble jackals, I can’t forget them.
Overall:
I didn’t read too many comics with Moon Knight when I was a kid. The ones I did read I remember he was always cool. My friend, Brandon, loved him. Moon Knight has often been compared to Batman. Cape, family issues, slightly broody, uses tools, etc. I enjoyed this show, it isn’t my favorite MCU Disney+ show, but its fun. Oscar Issac does a great job playing multiple personalities and he does so with typical Marvel humor. There is a psychological thriller aspect, but there is also lots of humor. It is kind of Tomb Raider meets Percy Jackson with a pinch of Batman.
One slightly confusing aspect is that the show can jump from reality, to setting in the character’s mind. This can be a little confusing at times. Also, one complaint I have about several of the MCU Disney+ shows is they take several episodes to build up steam (or to explain fully what is going on) and by the time they end (after 6 episodes) they are just getting good. Moon Knight does this. The first two episodes you will likely feel lost, but it does explain things so hang in there. By the time it ends you are just understanding everything and its getting good, then boom its over. Hopefully there will be a season two. The last episode has a mid credits scene. I liked it, but probably won’t watch it again unless there is a season two.