Moon Knight Episode 6 Review: Occasionally Brilliant, Often Confounding Finale

The season and possibly series finale of Moon Knight features gorgeous imagery and terrific performances by Oscar Isaac and May Calamawy. However, the great aspects of the series are balanced out with poorly executed action sequences, a disappointing use of Harrow, a weird disconnect between Khonshu and Ammit, and a bad ending.

The highlight of Gods and Monsters was watching Marc and Steven work in tandem to take down Harrow and Ammit. Steven and Marc switching at will while fighting Harrow, talking to Layla and arguing with Khonshu were fantastic.

Layla’s role as Taweret’s temporary avatar was an inspired choice. Calamawy does a great job of changing up her mannerisms when Tawaret takes over. Her version of a Moon Knight costume is the best costume in the series and that includes Moon Knight himself.

Ammit and Khonshu’s philosophical debate over free will is interesting if Marc Spector was of sound mind. He’s not and Khonshu’s actions in the post-credit scene show he’s not any different than Ammit when it comes to justice. Harrow’s role in the finale starts promising but ends in a disappointing fashion. The avatars of the other Egyptian gods are waisted in the finale.

In spite of these issues, is one of the better episodes thanks to Isaac and Calamway, clever dialogue and Hesham Nazih‘s hypnotic score. It can’t be overstated how great Isaac was throughout this series. There are plenty of great moments in the finale, but everything about it felt rushed.

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

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Steven and Marc: Partners for life, death and everything in between in Gods and Monsters

The finale begins by showing what’s going on with Harrow, Ammit and Layla in the living world. Eventually, the episode shifts to the “Field of Reeds.” Taweret tells Marc his heart is full once again and he can die at peace. Marc with just the slightest bit of hesitation decides to return to the living.

Once Marc and Steven are alive, they work harmoniously with one another. Even in fight scenes, they switch back and forth from Mr. Knight to Moon Knight. Moon Knight appears to move faster and is more skilled at throwing the moon-shaped, Sais. For some reason, Mr. Knight lands heavier blows and wields a police-like baton.

There is one excellent fight sequence amid the otherwise poorly constructed action scenes. On the ground in Cairo, Marc and Steven seamlessly transition between their two personas using their different skillset to take our Harrow’s men and Ammit’s pawns.

The worst action sequence in the series is also in Gods and Monsters. Moon Knight and Harrow take their fight to the sky. Good luck making out what they’re doing up there. Other than tumbling to the ground in a heap, I have no idea.

A New Avatar

After a one-episode reprieve, Layla returns and has just as much screentime as Marc and Steven in Gods and Monsters. Isaac’s performance has been great, but as a character, Layla has been the most consistently likable character in Moon Knight. The finale is no exception.

Layla releases Khonshu from his tomb. When Khonshu offers for Layla to be his vessel, she turns him down flat and without hesitation. She’s committed to avenging Marc’s death, but isn’t beyond reasoning. As she trie to sneak up on Harrow and his men, Taweret begins speaking to her through dead bodies on the ground. A really well executed scene that balanes horror with comedy.

She follows Tawaret’s instructions on how to release Khonshu. When Taweret suggests Layla could become an avatar for her, Layla balks at first, before eventually relenting. As Tawaret’s avatar, Layla wields bronze wings that allow her to move through the air, shield herself and others as well as use the wings as blades to cut through Harrow’s men.

Not only is the costume awesome, but one of my favorite moments of the series occurs when Layla saves a girl. The girl asks if Layla is an Egyptian superhero, Layla simply say “yes, I am.”

The only disappointment is the ending. After Harrow is defeated, Layla just disappears. There’s an agreement that Taweret will give up her control, but we never see her leave. I’d love to see more of Layla as an Egyptian hero. It’s unique, different and a true breakout performance by Calamawy. The series ends with Marc and Steven in the therapist office with Harrow. They turn the scene around on Harrow. Suddently, bloody footprints, probably due to the shards of glass appear on the floor. The episode cuts again to Steven waking up in his bed with Marc talking from the window. No sign of Layla.

Ammit vs Khonshu

Ammit is finally revealed in full. A crocodile-looking creature who looks to exact justice before sin is committed. Khonshu and Ammit have an interesting battle, which is slightly undermined by how alike the two deities are to one another.

Ammit even calls out how Khonshu’s justice is the same. He just enacts his revenge after. Khonshu points out that he gives his avatars a choice, which isn’t true. Khonshu approaching a broken man like Marc when he’s on the precipice of death isn’t really a choice. Holding his wife as bait to keep Marc under his control also restricts Marc’s free will.

To be fair, Khonshu does listen to Layla when she refuses to become his avatar. However, that’s also subterfuge. In the post-credit scene, Jake Lockley, the 3rd personality, is finally revealed. Khonshu is in the back seat of a limo with a kidnapped, nearly catatonic Harrow with him. Jake is in the front seat and without hesitation executes Harrow. Khonshu makes it clear, that he had no intention of letting Jake go, nor was Layla ever really a candidate.

Also, hampering the Egyptian gods’ subplot is the other avatars. All of them are killed by Harrow when he releases Ammit. There really wasn’t much of a point in showing the other gods. Moon Knight would have been better served by focusing on Ammit and Khonshu’s opposing views of justice and applying that scope through the eyes of humanity. Redemption vs retribution is an interesting debate, which would be a great fit for Moon Knight.

Gods and Monsters Final Thoughts

Overall, Moon Knight was one of the weaker Disney Plus series. Asylum is the one truly outstanding episode. The rest vary in terms of quality.

As a finale, Gods and Monsters felt rushed. Scenes weren’t given much time to breathe. However, the performances by Isaac and Calamawy were fantastic throughout the series. Although it was weird after the flirtations between Steven and Layla, Layla never says Steven’s name.

The directing did improve throughout the series. However, the action scene rarely reached the quality expected from an MCU show on Disney Plus. Especially in light of Hawkeye.

While being entirely different in tone, I expect Ms. Marvel to improve upon Moon Knight when it debuts in June 2022.

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