“Moon Knight” brings supernatural elements to the Marvel Universe

PHOTO: (Courtesy / Marvel Studios)

By Jihan Moon,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Steven Knight (Oscar Isaac) has dissociative identity disorder (DID) and suffers from occasional blackouts and dreams of someone else’s life. In his day-to-day life, he notices that people keep mentioning him having done things that he has no memory of.

Then one day, he wakes up in a field to a booming, intimidating voice, being pursued by a cult led by Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke).

Knight has a thousand questions. What is happening? Why is it happening to him? How is it happening?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) latest TV series, “Moon Knight”, premiered on March 30.

This is the finest and most arresting premiere to a MCU series so far. It stands out tonally, it is a tad more gruesome (while managing to stay kid-friendly), and it is full of legitimate thrills.

This first episode is directed by Mohammed Diab, who manages to carve out a new section of the MCU by staying true to the MCU aesthetic, but making the show a little darker and more mature.

Writer Jeremy Slater, who previously worked on “The Umbrella Academy”, utilizes a blackout structure in the episode. That, combined with Diab’s daft direction, puts the viewer in Knight’s shoes, making you feel his confusion and terror.

Steeped in Ancient Egyptian mythology (Harrow’s cult serves goddess Ammit and Knight works in a museum that holds a large collection of Egyptian artifacts), the show is able to stay grounded while being mystical. However, it feels dated to have a show with an emphasis on Egyptian culture have two non-Egyptian leads. Egyptian-Palestinian actress May Calamwy is teased to have a large role in the upcoming episodes, but she only appears briefly in this first episode.

That being said, Isaac and Hawke both do great work in their respective roles. Isaac is charmingly perplexed and distraught, while Hawke intimidates and feels patiently unhinged.

The first episode of “Moon Knight” is streaming on Disney+, with new episodes out every Wednesday.