Moon Knight Episode 4 Review: The Tomb is the best, craziest episode of the series so far

Removing Khonshu and Moon Knight from the show leads to the best episode of the series in The Tomb.

Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke are fantastic. Out of all the MCU series on Disney Plus, these two actors are delivering the best protagonist-antagonist performance.

Isaac continues to carve out a sharp contrast between his portrayals of Steven Grant and Marc Spector. I have issues with how the characters are written, but that takes nothing away from Isaac’s dynamic performance. The weird love triangle between Steven, Marc and Layla is interesting. Then you have the bonkers ending that sets the series off on a new trajectory.

In execution, I don’t think Steven and Layla have much romantic chemistry. May Calamawy is doing a great job. Unfortunately, the energy of the Layla-Steven pairing feels more like a friendship. However, what works great is the reaction Marc has to Steven and Layla’s flirtatious interactions.

The tomb raiding is fine. Nothing too special, but it does lead to some great scares, an Alexander the Great reveal and the best action in the series thus far. Also, there’s a scene featuring Arthur Harrow and Layla that’s easily the best scene of the series thus far.

The Tomb does have some odd moments. Layla and Marc’s conversation about his involvement in her father’s death needed to happen. However, Layla demanding an answer when they’re being surrounded by mummies and a small army of mercenaries is ill-timed. I also still don’t care about Marc as a character and I find Steven’s voice to grate after long periods of screentime. Luckily, Layla really takes on the lead role in the episode, so it’s not too distracting.

However, the ending is sensational. The Tomb doesn’t just up the stakes, it redefines what the series might be about. Moon Knight is no longer a show featuring gods and treasure hunting to prevent Ammit’s resurrection. The Tomb has transformed the series into a psychological, pressure cooker that should provide an even sharper focus on the dissociative identity disorder.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in The Tomb. There may be some minor spoilers. Moon Knight is available to stream on Disney Plus.

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The Tomb Raiding

Steven continues to be the primary identity in The Tomb. He works alongside Layla to connect the dots to Ammit’s tomb.

From a treasure hunting standpoint, Moon Knight is adequate but doesn’t match the twists and turns of Indiana Jones, National Treasure or even Uncharted. However, there are some pretty good scares in the episode. Layla getting grabbed by a mummy from pure darkness was awesome.

The biggest reveal in The Tomb‘s treasure-hunting plot was Alexander the Great being a former avatar of Ammit. Like the rest of this plot, it doesn’t really drive anything forward. It’s just a cool tidbit tying in real history with the MCU’s depiction of Egyptian gods and their influence.

The treasure hunting is basically used to provide something for Steven, Layla and Marc to banter over. When Layla and Steven split off, Layla’s storyline gets new life, while Steven’s kinds of grounds the episode to a halt.

A Love Triangle

The Tomb plays with a potential romance between Steven and Layla too fast. There’s not too much time spent before Layla nearly kisses Steven. It feels out of place and rushed.

The dynamic between Steven and Marc continues to shine in spite of some shallow writing. Steven continuing to have a backbone is great even if I have to endure his voice for long periods of time.

Layla’s separation from Steven and Marc leads to a fantastic scene between Harrow and Layla. There’s a calm, commanding presence to how Hawke plays Harrow, which makes Layla believe in what he’s saying even if she disagrees with what he’s doing. When Harrow reveals Marc’s involvement in her father’s death, there’s no question he’s telling the truth.

The confrontation between Layla and Marc about his involvement in her father’s death is great. He didn’t kill her father, his partner did. He tried to stop his partner and was shot in the process. During this conversation, it dawns on Layla that their meeting was because of her father and Marc developing a guilty conscience. Before they can dig deeper, they’re surrounded and Marc is shot.

Layla and Marc’s conversation is ill-timed. The conversation really should have happened in the last episode when she asked the question the first time and Marc evaded. In The Tomb, they’re surrounded by mercenaries and mummies. Having a deep conversation just shouldn’t be a priority in this sequence. However, in a vacuum, the performances by Calamawy, Isaac and Hawke are fantastic.

A New Reality

Steven doesn’t wake up in the tomb. He wakes up in a mental hospital. Darrow is the therapist. Marc is the patient.

Apparently, everything that we’ve seen on the show has occurred in Marc’s head. None of it’s real. At least that’s what Darrow wants Steven to believe.

All of the passing characters like the living gold statue from the first two episodes are in the mental hospital. Marc is able to escape Darrow’s office. He finds Steven in a sarcophagus and frees him. Steven isn’t in a mirror or vice versa. There are two Isaacs walking around the facility.

The Tomb ends with a Steven and Marc coming face-to-face with a giant talking hippopotamus-headed figure.

A bonkers ending, which completes changes the course of the series. Changing to this setting makes the prospect of a 3rd personality seem inconsequential.

Final Thoughts on The Tomb

The ending in The Tomb completely changes the game. There’s no use in predicting where the series will go from here.

Hopefully, the turn toward the surreal doesn’t come at the expense of genuine character growth. Time will tell.

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