Ryan Shoots First: Moon Knight (S1 Ep1) “The Goldfish Problem”
It has been a while since a Marvel show took us on a deep mind trip and after the fun popcorn feel of Hawkeye we are back into the deep as Moon Knight makes its debut in the MCU.
Right to the point, this was a fantastic first episode. We talked last week in our Halo review that a first episode needs to set the stakes and introduce the world. Moon Knight gives us a taste of the supernatural world the show lives in but the mystery and hook is what makes this first episode shine. This is one of the Marvel shows where I really wish I could binge it so I could get answers to all my questions. And they are not the usual answers we are looking for in Marvel shows which usually revolves around something outside of the story. We are speculating about what from the greater MCU is gonna tie in or who will show up.
This first episode stands apart as never once mentioning anything else in the greater MCU. You could watch this episode and not even know it shares the same universe. No references to other characters or bystanders talking about the Avengers or something. It is a bold movie I appreciate. I am sure it is coming but for this episode the burden of selling the show rests firmly on the shoulders of its main actor Oscar Issac. And man does he deliver, Isaac brings it in this first episode and given the nature of the character we get a brief glimpse of the type of duality this role will have and how great of a choice he will be in that role. I can’t say enough about how bought in his performance is and how excited I am to see where the season goes. Joining Issac is Ethan Hawke playing Arthur Harrow, the villain of the show. Harrow also is a deranged out there character but in a different way. Harrow is compelling and a threat. The scenes Isaac and Hawke share together, while brief, is a good tease of what promises to be some great interactions going forward.
If there was a ding it did seem like some of the CGI specifically in one of the action scenes looked a little cheap. Not sure if it was just choosing where to allocate resources but it stood out as being less than what we have seen in some of the other Marvel series. I will let it slide if the writing and performances continue to be on the level they were here. It is fun to look forward to Disney+ Wednesday again!
Observations (SPOILERS)
- Oh man the croc full of glass is gonna be a TikTok trend isn’t it.
- Yea if I had a dollar every time I woke up strapped to a pole… amirite fellas!
- I need that “I don’t know Donna” energy in my life
- “Oh Bollocks” Oscar Isaac is already fantastic with some of this delivery.
- Issac and Hawke are acting their asses off.
- That was a pretty great first reveal.
