‘Moon Knight’ Episode 3 Recap

The third episode of the Disney+ series gives us more action and a hint at a new person in Marc’s head.

‘Moon Knight’ episode 3 opens with Layla getting herself a fake ID. We’re told she hasn’t been back to Egypt in a while, and that her father was involved in a dig site. It’s implied that Layla is not safe on her trip.

Cut to Arthur Harrow scouring the Egyptian desert and finding Ammit’s tomb. He knows Marc is there, but it doesn’t matter to him. Marc is seen chasing after someone, an informant who knows about the dig site, only for him to get murdered by two of Harrow’s men.

A fight ensues, and before Marc can kill them - Steven stops “him.” But then Moon Knight continues to fight and brutally murders the other men. It is hinted at that neither Marc nor Steven are controlling the hero at the time, leaving the possibility of a third alter.

Khonshu blocks out the sun, the god claiming it’s a “sign none of them could ignore.” He tells Steven the avatars are gathering, and that the last time he was seen by the gods, he was banished. A gate opens up, and Marc is allowed into the gathering.

He’s welcomed by another avatar, and their bodies are slowly taken over by the other Egyptian gods, and Khonshu calls them to judge Harrow. He’s summoned, and Harrow instantly begins to lie, claiming the moon god was the one to find Ammit’s tomb.

Harrow begins to use Marc’s disorder against him. Claiming he doesn’t know his own name, and knowing about his other alters. The gods asked to speak to Marc, and while he doesn’t deny being ‘unwell,’ he still tries to get them to see his point of view, but due to Khonshu’s reputation, the other gods excuse him and go off.

But a woman, who was the avatar of a goddess, explains one person knew about Ammit’s tomb, but their own sarcophagus was sold on the black market. Marc instantly goes to find it, only to be intercepted by Layla and begrudgingly excepts her help.

Layla tells him that she’s aware of where the body is, and a touching scene occurs, where we get more backstory on Marc. It was only recently that he had begun losing “control” of Steven and allowing him to take over, with no further details given.

Marc and Layla go to meet the black-market dealer, Anton (Gaspard Ulliel), who has the sarcophagus. While he claims to be a collector, it’s obvious that he is one sketchy guy. They find the coffin, while Marc and Steven talk about ‘unlocking’ the sarcophagus. They get into a fight, Steven begging to take over but Marc keeping him at bay.

Steven begins to explain to Marc the puzzle, only for the arms dealer to stop him. Harrow then shows up and tries to get Anton to take his side. He starts to convince everyone to turn against one another, including Layla on Marc because of her father’s death and the fact that he has been lying to her about it.

Then all hell breaks loose. Khonshu yells at Marc to summon the suit, and Harrow destroys the sarcophagus. We then get what is probably the coolest fight scene in the show so far. Specter in the full suit kicking ass, while also having Steven at the same time trying to stop the violence.

Of course, he breaks through, changing to Steven. It’s a matter of seconds before he’s literally impaled and yelling for Marc to take over. He gets held down, Layla’s hurt, and that causes Marc to go berserk and kill everyone.

The two of them escape, and Layla begins to question Marc about what Harrow brought up. He promises Layla that what he said wasn’t true. But Marc doesn’t deny the fact that she truly doesn’t know him as they drive into the desert.

Marc and Layla attempt to put together the pieces from the coffin. She tells him they need Steven’s help. But Khonshu claims the alter won’t give Marc the body back. He grumbles about it but walks away, letting Steven take over.

He explains how ancient Egyptians used both sun and the stars to navigate the desert. Steven finishes the destroyed piece, and explains why the stars won’t help them, but Khonshu says he knows where the stars were the night of the burial. “I remember every night.” He drawls and explains he can turn back the stars to that night. But that it would come at a cost.

Steven and Khonshu begin to turn back the sky like a clock. It’s a gorgeous sequence, and quiet honestly, one of my personal favorites in this cinematic universe thus far. The two of them change the constellations back to where they were in the past.

Khonshu (voiced by F. Murray Abraham) in 'Moon Knight.'

Khonshu is imprisoned by the other gods for obviously breaking multiple rules he wasn’t supposed to. The god and his power fade away, trapped in a stone. Marc will now most likely die, as Khonshu was keeping him alive.

We’re shown Harrow led to the gods chamber by one of the avatars. Harrow speaks with the statue, explaining how he was glad that Khonshu let him go when he did. He claims he owes everything to the god, and the episode ends.

So, we learned a couple of important things from this episode. The first one is that the other gods do exist. We meet them for the first time, even if we only see them as their avatars. There is no confirmation that the gods are actually gods (and not weird celestials like they are in the comics), but we finally know they do exist in this world and it’s not just Khonshu. What this could mean for the future isn’t know, but this confirms that it’s not just the Greek gods that rule in place of heroes and celestials.

One scene from the episode that should be important is Khonshu changing the sky. It’s showed prominently in the show that everyone saw the sky changing. Not just Layla and Steven. What am I getting at with this? Well, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ releases on May 5th, and the last episode of ‘Moon Knight’ releases on May 4th … so are we going to see Doctor Strange in ‘Moon Knight?’

Benedict Cumberbatch in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' from Marvel Studios.

Next to Wanda Maximoff & the Sorcerer Supreme, Marc Specter is the next main magic user in the MCU. While not fully magical himself, he fits the bill. Strange would see the stars changing and want answers, and it would be a great way to connect the Disney+ series to the timeline (even if Oscar Isaac has been on record saying the show is “disconnected” from the movies.)

Another major Easter egg that showed up in this episode was the name drop of Madripoor. While it’s been mentioned before, it was first shown in ‘The Falcon & the Winter Soldier’ and later in ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’. Madripoor is basically the MCU’s version of the black market. That’s where the cage match in ‘Shang-Chi’ took place, and where Sharon Carter calls herself the Power Broker. It would make sense Layla & Anton would make deals on artifacts in Madripoor.

Once again, Marvel gives us another great episode. With a mixture of both character drama and action, we can only guess where the next few take us.

See you next week!