0 
0 When I first heard that Marvel was making a “Moon Knight” show that will be directed by Mohamed Diab, my first reaction was…mixed to be honest. On one hand, it seemed like a weird case of “representation hiring”: an Egyptian director for a show about a non-egyptian American Jewish mercenary with Dissociative Identity Disorder guided by an Egyptian Moon God? Why? Anyone can do that. And on the other hand, I was super excited that said Egyptian director is a friend of mine, and one with actual talent, vision and understanding of story structure, which is a super rare combo in that market. But Moon Knight? The Fist of Konshu? Is Diab being set-up to fail?
You see, Moon Knight (Marc Spencer) is really really out there in terms of a Marvel comic character. He is a mercenary with multiple personalities who may or may not be influenced by an Egyptian Moon God “Konshu” to enact “Justice” and “protect those traveling by night”.
(Side rant: Therapists must really hate the MCU. More accurately, Therapists must really hate the Disney + MCU shows, and the slew of psychological disorders that each one seems to have as their show’s pathos. Wanda vision with its grief-triggered reality-dissociation; Falcon and Winter Soldier on post-War PTSD; not to mention Loki flirtation with narcissistic personality disorder and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Given that the ultimate amount of Pathos delivered by any of the MCU films prior to that were of the “Daddy is negligent/bad” variety (See Iron Man/Thor/Hulk/Peter Quill/Gamora/Black Panther/that Chinese guy/etc..), the fact that Marvel has been going there with their Disney+ shows is striking, and one could even argue helpful in terms of raising awareness and addressing mental health issues. That bring said, most therapists I know do complain about how much extra work they have been getting because of Marvel shows triggering everybody. Also, don’t go to a therapist stating that you are “such a Loki”; you are not and it’s tacky and basic. Side-rant over. Let’s get back to the review now..)
Said Moon God may not be benevolent though, or have the best intentions for Spencer, not to mention may not even be real. Also, besides Konshu’s, Marc also has 9 other voices sharing his brain, including an Egyptologist, a Taxi driver and a millionaire. It’s a party up there. The closest character to him is X-men’s Legion, and it took Noah Hawley two seasons just to flesh that aspect out in an amazing TV show. How can anyone, let alone Diab, pull this off in 6 episodes?
Well, 5 episodes in, it’s safe to say that the answer is “brilliantly”. Diab pulls it off brilliantly and with style, due in no small part to his ability to create a winning work team of Egyptian talent, first and foremost of which is his wife and co-producer Sarah Gohar, whom I had the pleasure to meet alongside with Diab last October, right after they finished production. When we discussed the show, I was struck by how unexpectedly humble both were, while my inner geek was tickled by how much comic lore those two seemed to have absorbed. They make an amazing creative team together, which is obvious to anyone watching the show. At the time I was still skeptical to be honest, but I was also feeling something that I didn’t in a very long time… Hopeful about a piece of Egyptian-directed drama.
And I will be damned if my faith was not rewarded.
Let’s discuss the show, shall we?
First off, the Acting is amazing. Oscar Isaac vacillates so brilliantly and effortlessly between his Marc and Steven Personalities that it’s easy to forget that they are played by the same actor (We are talking Tatiana Maslany’s Orphan Black levels here). May Calamawy is a revelation: She is insanely charismatic and watching her steal back the space that Rachel Weisz took in the Mummy films is joyous. Ethan Hawke is understated but still menacing AF, same with the late Gaspard Uliel. But that’s about it. Khaled Abdallah could’ve been played by anyone else to be honest.
Secondly, the Direction is different than any other MCU show thus far, mainly due to electing to go with a “less is more” approach in story-telling and action sequences, especially in the action scenes in the first three episodes. By cutting away from action scenes Diab forces the viewer to work out how that scene got resolved in their heads, as well as pay close attention to the action in order not to miss anything. And just when you think that this is a trick to cover up some weakness in action scenes directing, the fighting scene at the finale of the third episode, well, it will shut that thought right the f up. Additionally, the pacing is quick, and you are always left wanting more at the end of each episode, an effect which to this date only WandaVision had on me.
Thirdly, the Cinematography, visual language and look and feel of the show are all superb but shine brightest in the Egypt scenes. Diab’s problems with shooting the show in Egypt are well documented now, but the Egypt he managed to create, well, it’s an Egypt that is both authentic and magical at the same time. It’s in those scenes that the show becomes the love letter to Egypt that Diab always intended it to be.
And if all of that doesn’t sell it to you, then there is the story that this show decides to tell. A story of a broken man whose life is filled with violence and death and insanity, and his quest for redemption. The boy who lost his brother in an accident that his mother never stopped blaming him for or punishing him over. The man whose self-hate and loathing was so internalized his mind broke in two and created an alter personality for him so he can go on. The mercenary who lost his life failing to protect archeologists from being slaughtered by his fellow mercs, so he accepts a devil’s bargain just to make it right and redeem himself, because losing his life was apparently not enough.
Moon Knight is a hero who is lone-fighting the forces of another Egyptian God just to make sure that everyone else, no matter what their deeds may be, get a chance to a redeem themselves. In a world that seems to relish breaking us, unfairly judging us and not providing us with opportunities for healing and redemption, well, he may just be the hero we need.
The final episode is tomorrow, so if you haven’t seen it so far, start binging. It’s worth it!
English