Moon Knight: “The Tomb” Recap

Ahem, spoilers. With that out of the way, let’s get into this week’s episode of Moon Knight by stating that Marc/Steven have serious issues that need to be worked out. I know, ‘duh’, right? That’s been the understanding since the first episode, and nothing has changed since then. Instead, things have only managed to get more insane as the story of Moon Knight has continued to unravel just a little more as Marc and Layla, or rather, Steven and Layla, have to fight for their lives, to begin with, and then have to make their way to the tomb of Ammit. Oh yes, we can’t forget the first image of the many ushabtis that were set in their own, candlelit alcoves at the beginning of the episode, where Khonshu was placed before the episode moved on. One has to wonder if there’s going to be a type of prison break at some point, since it doesn’t feel as though the deities, now revealed, will be left to sit where they are, especially since many are already wondering if Gorr the God Butcher is going to be a serious character in the MCU.

But the fact that Khonshu is now imprisoned means that neither Marc nor Steven can gain access to the deity’s power, meaning that there’s no healing, no suit, and no protection. That doesn’t stop Steven, who initially refuses to relinquish control of the body to Marc, and Layla from seeking out Ammit’s tomb. The two of them continue to the tomb after outwitting two of Harrow’s men, only to realize a short way in that things are not quite as calm as they might appear. It’s hard to be mad at Marc for using the body to sucker punch Steven after a kiss that occurs between him and Layla. But then again, it’s not hard to think that Marc is kind of deserving of Layla’s scorn if he’s been pushing her away. He does have a reason that’s been revealed to be fair, as he’s trying to keep her from becoming Khonshu’s next avatar, but the way he went about it was less than helpful. Still, Steven does appear to be stepping over the line, even if he’s the personality that’s the least offensive and simply wants to go home. 

If Harrow’s people were the only danger in the tomb this might have been a mundane episode, but the fact that an undead priest of Ammit is hunting the followers of the goddess and is ready to kill Layla and Steven raises the stakes just a bit. It’s impressive to see how Layla deals with the threat after it would appear that the creature dragged her into the darkness since she ends up ending the creature and tossing it into a pit. Of course, Harrow plants a seed of doubt in her mind not too long after when he speaks of how her father was killed during a dig. His implication of Marc is meant to dig harder into her emotions, and it does, even if Layla does her best to hide this from Harrow. When she confronts Steven, however, demanding that Marc be let out to speak to her, Marc emerges and tells her that his ‘partner’ killed everyone on the dig, including her father. 

While she still blames him for bringing a killer on a dig, the blame has to take a backseat when Harrow and his people catch up to them within the tomb, where Steven had already found the ushabti of Ammit. Marc did manage to fight off a couple of followers before being shot twice by Harrow. Then something strange happens, as the tomb disappears and a strange, white-walled area is revealed, and the idea that this is Marc’s subconscious where images of everything he’s experienced and seen reside. Not only does this make sense, but it’s also revealing since it helps to explain, in one way or another, his chaotic mindset. While in reality, he’s likely hanging on by a thread after being shot, the scene within his mind is anything but cut and dried as  Marc is forced to confront himself, as he rescues Steven from a sarcophagus, but leaves another sarcophagus alone as the two see it rocking back and forth in an empty room. 

There’s not much doubt that this is the third personality that both men are still unaware of, but leaving him confined sends a message that they’re not ready to deal with him yet, but might need him sooner rather than later. When the two men run into the strange hippo goddess though one can’t help but want to see further in this episode so that this image can make a little more sense. As of now though, one can bet that a lot of fans are rightly confused by the imagery that was introduced in the last part of this episode.