Ryan Shoots First: Moon Knight (S1 Ep5) “Asylum”
You know what time it is!!! Time to do a penultimate episode recap of Moon Knight! After last week’s shocking twist that ended with Steven and Mark together in an insane asylum with a giant hippo god we move on to the next to the last episode of this limited series.
This episode is a mind bending trip as Marc and Steven attempt to reconcile with each others past and their own existence. Time is running out and if they don’t get on the same page it could mean the end of them both. I say this every week but Oscar Isaac shines again this week not just playing dual roles but actually acting against himself. It was easy to get lost in those scenes and really forget not only is it the same person but he would have to deliver those lines then do the other part he couldn’t even play off another actor. Just insane work. Not to be outdone is Ethan Hawke who this week himself plays a whole different role from the previous weeks.
This week was low on actual action but the trippy moments as the duo move from memory to memory looking to reveal the secrets of their lives is engaging to watch. The mystery of which one is the original and which one is the creation is finally revealed and when we finally get the answer it’s 100% understandable and tragic. Both characters come out with our sympathy and investment as we head full on into the finale next week. It does feel like we have A LOT of ground to cover in the finale and that episode may move at breakneck speed to get us to a conclusion. I joked in the observations that once again Marvel is tackling big stuff in their TV shows from grief in WandaVision, regret and self-love in Loki, race in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and now trauma in Moon Knight. Thank God for Hawkeye for being the fun holiday adventure it was being light of these heavy introspective takes. Again props to them for taking on these challenges in a way they really couldn’t in a short two hour movie.
Next week stands to be an eventful finale and even though this series has been rather removed from the MCU timeline that won’t stop MCU fans from looking for the next hint at what’s to come. Then again Doctor Strange comes out in 10 days and that will certainly shake things up.
Observations:
- Ethan Hawk decided Oscar can’t have all the dual role fun
- Ancestral Plane that may be the first direct reference to another MCU film.
- Oh man the “later gator” line now hits hard
- Marvel shows diving back into how to cope to trauma
- Dude is literally doing a scene with himself and they are two entirely different characters. Insane
- Haha Ned Flanders reference
- Man we got a long way to go to a finale it feels.
