Warning: spoilers for Moon Knight follow.
Well, that was quite the episode!
The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television show has been a fun ride so far, but episode four (titled The Tomb) of Moon Knight just took things to a whole new level.
Thanks to a surprise twist, everything has now been thrown out of the window, whilst our jaws crashed to the floor.
We break down the cliffhanger answering the key questions including what the hell just happened, who is the hippo, and what does this all mean for the series going forward?
What Just Happened?
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The episode seems to play out as normal (well, as ‘normal’ as Moon Knight has been so far) until the last quarter – when Marc Spector is shot twice, falling into water.
This is where things get really interesting as the screen shifts aspect ratio, showing us a scene from a cheap adventure movie, seemingly ripping off Indiana Jones.
The scene shifts again as Marc wakes up, buckled into a wheelchair in a psychiatric hospital surrounded by people we have seen in the show so far – including Arthur Harrow who here is a psychologist.
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So far the implication is that Marc has been using his surroundings as fuel for a story in his mind, one which we have been following since episode one.
This changes though as Marc breaks out of Harrow’s office, then discovering his other personality Steven Grant locked inside a massive sarcophagus.
The pair continue to run together, agreeing to help each other escape, but they soon cross paths with what appears to be a talking hippo (more on this later) – cut to black, roll the credits.
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Whilst these events on first impression may seem rather baffling, you have to remember that our protagonist has dissociative identity disorder, with Moon Knight clearly wanting to take a deep dive into his mind.
Notably the show is also based on a trippy comic book series, so we should expect bizarre twists and turns like the one seen in episode four.
This sequence appears to be directly inspired by the 2017 run by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Greg Smallwood, which could offer answers as to what this twist means for the future of the series (more thoughts below).
Who Is The Hippo?
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The talking hippo we mentioned earlier, that’s Taweret (played here by Antonia Salib), one of the friendlier Egyptian gods who was known to protect mothers and children. She is also the god of children and fertility, often representing rebirth.
Whilst Taweret is kinder than the likes of Khonshu, according to the stories she is also known to have a fierce side, unafraid to fight off anything threatening who she is protecting.
Although Taweret is a key figure in Egyptian mythology, in the Marvel comics there doesn’t seem to be a character inspired by her, hence it’s intriguing she pops up here.
What Does All Of This Mean For The Show?
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That is indeed a big question as the twist has left us wondering what is real. If it is inspired by the comic series we mentioned earlier, then it’s likely the asylum is an illusion created by either Harrow or Khonshu to manipulate Marc.
Instead it may be Marc hallucinating, something brought on by the shock of being shot or the mysterious tomb waters he fell into.
Whatever the situation, it appears that Taweret will offer Marc a way out, hence she was briefly introduced at the end of the episode. As a protector, we suspect she will be more than happy to help Marc escape.
Associated with rebirth, maybe she will help Marc be reborn? What we do know is that Marc’s parents will be involved in some way as actors Rey Lucas and Fernand Andrade have been confirmed to be playing them in the series.
We can also safely guess that more surprises will be on the way too!
Moon Knight airs weekly on Disney+.
