Gretchen Lee—Copy Editor

Marvel’s forays onto the small screen have brought me mixed levels of enjoyment. 

WandaVision sucked me in, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left me unimpressed. I found Hawkeye fun but unremarkable and Loki enjoyable but far too short. 

In some ways, WandaVision’s mystery provided such a strong start to Marvel’s Disney+ exclusives that new series experienced difficulty following in its footsteps. I’ve had to learn to temper my expectations of WandaVision’s wake.

Moon Knight, however, has blown my un-tempered expectations away.

Steven Grant is a knowledgeable and awkward museum gift shop worker who discovers that he sleepwalks vast distances. As he attempts to prevent himself from wandering about, he sees things in his life he can’t explain—dates he doesn’t remember scheduling, people he doesn’t remember meeting, and a fish in his tank that has sprouted an extra fin. 

Steven unravels the alternate life he didn’t know he was living in a spellbinding storyline packed with action, humor, magic, and a brilliant exploration of morality.

The series is aesthetically pleasing, both visually and in its storytelling. There’s a certain flow to the story—a pattern of how information is revealed in conjunction with character moments and humorous bits—that makes it satisfying to watch and matches the environment well. 

Steven, as well as his alternate personality, Marc, are compelling, flawed, and funny characters in their own, unique ways. Steven is the bright, innocent, un-confident character who acts as a great foil to Marc’s darker storyline. 

The villain, Harrow, is also compelling as a man who sees himself as a hero, despite the dark deeds he commits. All of this, set against a backdrop of ancient Egyptian mythology, gives Moon Knight a strong start. 

The crown jewel of this show, however, is Oscar Isaac’s acting. His ability to shift between his character’s dueling personalities is seamless. Marc and Steven’s differences are clear. They have different mannerisms, different speech patterns, and different methods of interacting with the world around them. 

However, bits and pieces of the two personalities spill into the other as the show progresses, which is fascinating to see Isaac handle. And though hearing him with a British accent at the beginning of the series was a bit jarring, it helps set Steven and Marc apart in every way.

Overall, Moon Knight is funny, clever, and well-structured. It’s clear a large amount of thought went into it. This attention to detail has paid off by setting it apart from other Marvel projects, not just in aesthetics and structure, but also in quality.

I have high hopes for Moon Knight to deliver an equally strong finish that will lead into more opportunities for us to see Oscar Isaac in the MCU.