Major spoilers follow for Moon Knight episode 4.
Moon Knight episode 4 has landed on Disney Plus – and we suspect you have plenty of questions about what went down in those surreal last 15 minutes.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the Marvel Phase 4 project's latest episode, with numerous journalists and websites – ourselves included – hinting that something major would go down in Moon Knight episode 4. We teased as much in our spoiler-free review and, now that the episode is out in the wild, you can clearly see why we were excited for you to see it.
Still, there's a lot that happens in those final few moments of episode 4, so you may need a recap of what happened. You might also be baffled about who that Egyptian hippo goddess is, how the episode's final scenes were inspired by Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight comic series, what executive producer Grant Curtis teased to us about the show's final two entries and more. Allow us, then, to be your guide on Moon Knight episode 4's ending.
This is your final warning: we're about to dive into major spoilers for Moon Knight episode 4. If you haven't watched it yet, bookmark this page and re-open it once you've seen the Disney Plus show's latest entry.
Taking inspiration from Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight comics
Let's recap what actually happens in the last act of Moon Knight episode 4 first.
As you'll know – providing you've seen the episode, of course, but why would you still be here if you haven't? – Marc Spector/Steven Grant is shot and seemingly killed by Arthur Harrow. This incident takes place in the tomb of Alexander the Great, but we'll dig into the importance of this iconic historical figure in another section.
Wait, why can Marc/Steven be hurt now when he couldn't in episode 3? He (or, rather, they) were previously protected by Khonshu's healing bandages, hence why mortal weapons couldn't hurt them. With Khonshu imprisoned by the other Egyptian gods in episode 3, though, he isn't around to help Marc/Steven anymore, which is why the duo can be wounded or even killed.
So it looks like Marc/Steven are dead. That is, until episode 4 pulls a surreal U-turn (around the 38:00 mark) and shows a TV displaying a low budget, action-adventure movie starring someone called Doctor Steven Grant. The camera pulls back to reveal that Marc Spector is seemingly a patient at a psychiatric hospital. Layla is one of Marc's fellow in-patients, while Arthur Harrow is later revealed to be the chief psychologist in charge of running the establishment.
Confused? Well, it's a weird and unsettling 180-degree spin on the part of Moon Knight's creative team. But there's precedent for something like this in Marvel comics – and, in particular, Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight series run.
The Canadian comic book writer helped to reboot the caped vigilante in 2016, with the opening issues of Lemire's run revealing that Marc (who is suffering from amnesia) has been sectioned under the mental health act for believing he's the superhero known as Moon Knight. The psychiatric hospital in question is run by a Doctor Emmet, who just happens to be the conduit for the Egyptian god Ammit.
You don't need us to point out the similarities between Lemire's comic series and what you've just seen in episode 4 (and the show's other episodes up to this point). It won't be a total surprise for you to learn that Lemire's run was a major influence on the TV show as a whole, too. Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson – directors on episodes 2 and 4 – have previously spoken about how Lemire's run inspired the aesthetic and tone of Moon Knight's latest entry, and episode 4 proves it.
So, what else happens in Moon Knight episode 4? Long story short, Marc ends up meeting Arthur Harrow in his office, with the latter trying to convince Marc that Khonshu, Moon Knight, and everything else is a by-product of his Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). However, Marc refuses to believe him and, after escaping the clutches of his handlers, looks for a way out of the hospital.
Things only get more trippy from here on out. For one, Marc encounters a locked sarcophagus, in a room that he hides in, with someone trying to break out – and it's Steven! The pair's joyful reunion is quickly cut short, though, as they realize that they need to escape. That's not before Steven questions why the pair can physically exist in the same room for the first time ever, which only adds to the uncertainty that all of these events are playing out inside Marc/Steven's head.
Not long after their reunion, the duo come across another locked sarcophagus, with someone else trying to escape. Could the person (or identity) that's trapped inside be Jake Lockley, aka Marc/Steven's other persona? We certainly think so. His arrival was teased in episode 3, after all, so don't be surprised if Lockley finally shows up in episode 5.
That reveal, though, will have to wait. The pair gingerly walk towards a set of double doors, which may be their ticket out of this place. To the surprise of Marc/Steven/viewers, though, an Egyptian hippo goddess – known as Tawaret – bursts through the door. She waves at them, says "hi", and Marc and Steven start screaming in shock. The screen cuts to black and the credits roll.
Who is Tawaret, the Egyptian hippo goddess?
Hang on – who is Tawaret? In ancient Egyptian religion, Tawaret (voiced by newcomer Antonia Salib) is the god of fertility and childbirth. She has no prior Marvel comic appearances either, so this officially marks Tawaret's inaugural appearance in any Marvel property.
Curiously, Tawaret's supposedly surprise appearance in Moon Knight had already been spoiled by Variety during Moon Knight's world premiere. Salib, who was invited to the MCU TV show's red carpet premiere in Los Angeles, spoke to Variety about her character, revealing that she was given the creative freedom to inform Tawaret's personality.
So, what role will Tawaret play in Moon Knight's final two episodes? Well, given that she's the goddess of fertility and childbirth, we suspect that she may help Marc/Steven escape and reunite them with their parents.
Thanks to more spoilers (cheers, Variety...) on the Moon Knight red carpet, we already know that Marc's parents will appear in the show. Rey Lucas and Fernand Andrade confirmed that they would turn up as Elias and Wendy Spector in the TV series' final instalments. Who better, then, than to lead Elias and Wendy's DID-afflicted child back to them than the Egyptian goddess of, well, childbirth?
Why is Alexander the Great in Moon Knight episode 4?
Given everything that happens in Moon Knight episode 4's final 15 minutes, you may have completely forgotten about Alexander the Great's role in proceedings.
Before Harrow and his followers show up and attack Marc/Steven, the latter discovers that Ammit's Ushabti statue was hidden inside Alexander the Great before he was buried in his tomb. As Steven says, Alexander was the voice of Ammit, so it seems the former ruler of Macedonia was Ammit's avatar once upon a time. Well, in the MCU, at least.
Interestingly, Alexander the Great exists in the Marvel comic universe, too. He was the King of Macedonia in ancient Greece between 356 to 323 BC, so his inclusion in Moon Knight episode 4 isn't an original MCU storyline that acts as plot exposition for the superhero's Disney Plus show.
How will Moon Knight episode 4's ending impact the show's final instalments?
That remains to be seen. But, speaking exclusively to TechRadar ahead of Moon Knight's initial release on March 30, executive producer Grant Curtis revealed that there were plenty of other surprises to come in the show's final two episodes.
"I can't get into spoilers too much as you can imagine," Curtis told us. "But the one thing that was very important to [head writer] Jeremy Slater and the writers, from day one, was giving the audience a front row seat to what Mark and Steven were going through.
"I think that's what really comes through, especially episodes one and two, as Mark and Steven are learning to do this dance between each other. And, as Mark and Steven continue to unearth this mystery – as this narrative unfolds – I think the audience continues to guess as well. And I can promise you, they're going to be guessing until the final frame of this series."
Given the mind-bending entries that have come so far, we're guessing that Moon Knight episodes 5 and 6 will be as strange, supernatural-fuelled, and mystical as their predecessors. Curtis' comments only serve to hype them up even more, so here's hoping that Moon Knight's third act brings the show to a fitting end.
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