After a decade of spandex suits, masks and superpowers, the end of the Infinity Saga with ‘Avengers: Endgame’ ‘Spider-Man: Far from home’ was a point and aside much more difficult to overcome than expected. Since the beginning of Phase 4, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been unable to catch me again with the force that it once didand that extends to some television productions that, to date, had not given the expected blow on the table.
Until now, and always in a personal capacity, ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’, ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, ‘Loki’ and ‘Hawk’s Eye’ —I take out of the equation a ‘What if…? ‘ that plays in its own league—, with their different degrees of satisfaction in global computation, they have not been able to unleash or squeeze the potential of the cathodic format for the same problem that the hilarious ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ has suffered: their ties to the shared universe.
But in the midst of this dynamic, the arrival of “Moon Knight” in the MCU has shown that there is still room for pleasant surprises. The first five episodes of him were progressively pointing ways, pampering his character development and flying free until leading to its spectacular season finale released under the title ‘Gods and monsters’. We’re going to talk about it, so watch out for spoilers from this point on if you haven’t seen it yet.
So on Earth…
After delving into the psyche of Marc Spector in the fantastic ‘The psychiatric hospital’ and squeezing the dramatic side of the series, Mohamed Diab has returned to lead a sixth and final chapter with which ‘Moon Knight’ throws the house down window for the spectacle; and he does it with a party ending to match the circumstances that puts the finishing touch to the best Marvel Studios series for Disney +.
How could it be otherwise, the start of ‘Gods and monsters’ poses the worst possible scenario for our heroes. Marc and Steven seem to be separated forever in the underworld, Harrow has harnessed Ammit’s power and begun his relentless harvest of impure souls to bring her back to life, and Layla is forced to face danger alone and in clear inferiority.
After the Egyptian infiltrates Harrow’s men and declines the offer to become the avatar of the lovable Taweret—who communicates with her through a corpse—the group arrives at the Hall of the Gods, where the villain of the show frees Ammit by destroying his ushabti and puts himself in the service of the deity. Meanwhile, Layla does the same to Khonshu’s ushabti, who makes the heroine an indecent proposal.
Once the bird has escaped from his prison, he feels that Marc Spector is no longer a part of this world and suggests that Layla become his new avatar, since she would be unable to defeat Ammit and Harrow without one. The woman rejects the offer unceremoniously, and Khonshu is forced to fight against the crocodile having everything to loseBut there is still a small ray of hope…
…as in the Underworld
Back in the Egyptian Underworld’s Field of Reeds, Marc can finally be at peace for once in his life…or death. His scales were balanced by separating from Steven, but he will give up an eternity of calm to return to his alter-ego and free him from the sands of the Duat in a really emotional scene in which, at last, he opens his heart. The duo walk through the gate of Osiris, causing Spector to be resurrected into the realm of the living and regain his powers thanks to Khonshu.
And now the really interesting part begins. After Steve and Marc—who can now alternate their manifestations as Moon Knight at will—negotiate their release with Khonshu once it’s all over, the plot heads straight for a truly spectacular final climax that leaves us with one of the star moments of the episode: to Layla becoming the avatar of Taweret —winged armor and superhero pose included—.
Of course, Harrow and his entourage have no time for transformations, and after taking down the Gods’ Chamber, they begin collecting souls in Cairo which they feed to Ammit, making it grow larger than the pyramids and making way for… . A KAIJUS FIGHT BETWEEN THE CROCODILE GODDESS AND A GIANT KHONSHU! —excuse the excitement, but I have to confess that I was like a child in front of the television watching the eggplant.
As the bicharracos measure their loins, our interchangeable Moon Knight arrives in town for a final fight alongside Layla against Harrow and his minions that, after an exchange of blows, ends suddenly when Marc loses consciousness. When he comes to, Harrow is half dead and the square they were fighting in is leveled. —don’t worry, the series has already given clues about this and finishes explaining it in the post-credits—.
With Harrow out of action, it only remains to sacrifice him to end Ammit’s threat, but Marc refuses to be Khonshu’s killing hand and demands his release.. When the god fulfills his will, reality and imagination merge again as we are transported to the office of a Dr. Harrow who knows much less than he thought. Marc and Steve wake up in bed in the London flat sharing body and consciousness after saving the world, cut to black, end.
And with this, added to a post-credits scene that confirms the third and very violent identity of Marc Spector —it was she who finished off Harrow— and which we will explain in detail in a forthcoming article, ‘Moon Knight’ comes to an end, rising as the roundest and freest series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to its self-contained condition and the possibility of going through unexplored territories without being accountable to the previous and subsequent plot keys of a large-scale plot.