What to Do About Destiny

[setsuled]

A solid new Moon Knight last night. This second episode wasn't quite as extravagant as the first but I felt like I was settling into a decent serialised adventure. It felt a bit like classic Doctor Who.



My favourite characters so far are Khonshu and Arthur Harrow. Arthur's kind of like Thanos, I guess, in that he's operating from a rationale based on helping the world with very tough love. It is nice when villains actually have an intelligible motive. Ethan Hawke is doing a good job in the role, too. It is kind of a drag they're using Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand" ironically, though. It's not like Dylan ever advocated killing babies.



Arthur's argument is basically based on a belief in predestination, like a Calvinist or other hardcore Protestant, i.e. a Puritan. Except he feels he has a direct line with a deity in the know. Steven's (Oscar Isaac) counterargument is basically that you shouldn't kill babies or other innocent people but he doesn't say whether this because he doesn't believe Arthur can see the future or if it's because that doesn't matter or if, like Yoda, he thinks, "Always in motion is the future." Which is fine, Steven is operating on instinct, not philosophy. I would expect Marc or Khonshu to have more of a counterargument, though, and maybe they will at some point.



I don't mind Steven but I'm kind of glad Marc takes over at the end of the episode. I hope we get a chance to know him better next week. The same goes for Layla, who's pretty and May Calamawy gives a decent performance, but she still needs some fleshing out. I would like to see some of her adventures with Marc.

But my favourite thing so far is Khonshu. I love that big bird skull with F. Murray Abraham's voice.



He's a nice blend of comedy and horror.

Moon Knight is available on Disney+.

Comments

[classysleuth]

The pacing for the show has been the best part for me. I don't feel like there's significant periods of filler like I do with most of the live action superhero shows and it never seems too fast for the story its telling.

I'm kind of hoping Steven's knowledge of all things Egyptian will come up in the next episode, so he'll be less of a hinderance to team protector of night travelers.

Khonshu is great!

[yourlibrarian]

I agree that the pacing in this second episode was particularly good. I was almost surprised when it was over. And agreed that his knowledge should be useful. I love the moment when Steven was asked about the pyramid in his apartment and he noted it came from a paperweight shop.

[yourlibrarian]

I did not realize that was F. Murray Abraham, but indeed a great voice!

Although I feel there are still mysteries to be uncovered (such as Steven/Marc's relationship to their mother), I am glad there was more direct interaction between the two and it looks like there may be more communication going forward. Interesting bit near the end about what it feels like to be the one not in control. And given how lonely Steven has clearly been, it was very poignant for him to discover that he had been, in fact, married.

OTOH, I can understand why all this could stay "undercover" for so long if no one can see the supernatural beings except him and a few others. (Sure saves on CGI as well). But it makes it more difficult for someone with a mental disability to be able to grasp what is or isn't actually happening.

My favorite line in the episode by far though was "Put on the soup?" Clearly he still had lentils on his mind.