There really should be some way to warn you what you're about to hear that goes above and beyond what can be included here in the description of the episode. Steve is a bit cruel and snotty about having his time wasted.

The acting in Moon Knight has been, for the most part, superb. Oscar Isaac does as much with the script as an actor can. Ethan Hawke may not be a favorite actor for Steve, but capable actors were in the main and supporting roles. There's even a surprise appearance of the Phase Four iteration of the Scarlet Scarab, though you wouldn't have known it without social media.

Moon Knight's failures came in the script, edit, and planning. When you limit your season to six episodes, faults like those are going to be easier to spot. If you have one story to tell, the exposition is going to feel rushed if it's not poetic and sharp and mindful of the rules the show sets out for itself. In the end, Moon Knight tried to set up a mystery that it couldn't figure out for itself so it figured it could fudge it to the end. It wouldn't have been hard to make it make more sense. It's like someone thought "hey, if we SAY this is about exposing a mental health issue, no one will critique us on the normal storytelling because they'll be afraid (woke)Disney will shame them" and it ruins what could have just been a fun ride. Writing is hard, but the solutions here were obvious, even to an amateur.

It's perfectly fine to disagree. It's also possible that you agree, but just don't like the smart-aleck tone Steve takes. Forgive the frustration, if you wouldn't mind. How bad was this episode, in Steve's opinion? It was so bad, he skipped watching any and all content creator takes on YouTube, something he very much looks forward to doing after he finishes recording. He just didn't care enough.

You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour is a convenient "handle" for links since it also happens to be our Twitter and IG addresses.

If Star Wars is more your (light)speed, find our podcast centered on a galaxy, far, far away called This is the Way Podcast (@ThisistheWayPod) at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. Thanks for listening!

This was a rough episode to review and discuss. Was it because of the subject matter? Maybe. Was this an important episode for people to watch who have gone through suffering in childhood? Maybe. Was it an important episode to the character of Marc Spector and for the show Moon Knight? Probably. Was it a well-meaning episode? Yeah. Was it a good penultimate episode in a six episode series. Absolutely not.

Episode five was great and terrible at the same time. For the show, it puts a grinding halt on the entire narrative. Marc is in heaven now. Why should we care? Is he NOT in heaven? Well, you should have shown us more at the end to hint that's the case. If the people putting this show together think that pulling a "St. Elsewhere" style reveal at the end or "J.R."-ing us with scenes of Jake Lockley under sedation at the end, then this show was a colossal fraud. Marvel fans don't want or need psychology lessons. Marvel fans want superheros saving the day. If you're going to tell fans of the genre that they'll have to do with it being all in someone's mind, well, you can do that, but don't expect people to watch. Something tells me (woke)Disney will complain anyway.

Yeah, that's right, this show is bringing out a political side the host would rather keep hidden. That should tell you enough. Let's just say we're venturing into "Rian Johnson" territory with this show and it has a lot to live up to in it's final minutes, coming on May 4th, 2022.

Did you like the episode? Great! You're allowed. That doesn't mean other points of view aren't valid. It's not our glass of water, but maybe your scales found balance on the boat, like some "perfectly level" roulette wheel in the "Princess of the Duat" casino.

Music appreciation time! "May Alla Del Sol" from Manuel Bonilla is how Marc Spector first experiences A'aru and "Love and Revenge" by Rayess Bek samples "Saat Saat" as performed by Sabah. We still can't figure out where that song appeared last week, but we're not going back to watch again...unless episode 6 is a "banger" of a finale.

Join in on the discussion, if you like. You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour is convenient for links since it also happens to be our Twitter and IG handle.

If Star Wars is more your (light)speed, find our podcast centered on a galaxy, far, far away called This is the Way Podcast (@ThisistheWayPod) at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. Thanks for listening!

Theories galore! Steve wonders aloud a few times in this episode. Is Harrow the secret partner that killed Layla's father...because Layla's father was actually Ammit's avatar or seeking Ammit's treasures? Did Harrow leave Khonshu's service because he stole the cane and was searching for "the little scarab" and Marc's devotion to Khonshu came about after a betrayal? Is Hathor secretly behind all this plotting, actually endowing the cane with power to help release Ammit? IS Tawaret hiding from the Ennead on the funeral boat of the dead or like a hippopotamus just hanging out in the Field of Reeds?

One thing we're absolutely sure of is that the hospital is not real. The lanterns are a "dead" giveaway, but then again, so is Steven and Marc having separate bodies, a couple of sarcophagii lying around imprisoning people, a bingo game with nonsensical letter and number combos, a cupcake cart at a sanitarium, sharp objects and stark colors, an office that is a "dead ringer" for the storage room above Harrow's London haunt, and don't forget the talking "hippo" goddess.

The "real world" should be abuzz at the discovery of Alexander the Great's hidden tomb, but he was hiding something in his tummy. The goat stuff? It turns out all that was foreshadowing for us because he's "the son of Zeus-Ammon", which is weird, because he was a pretty powerful general. He was a "pharaoh-phile" though and apparently the "voice of Ammit" who betrayed her. Heka was a goddess, too...one of healing. She sure had some nasty priests, but nothing superhero Layla can't fight her way past. All we were missing were tasks written down by Henry Jones Sr. in a diary and a chalice at the end. Instead we got a low budget version of Indy called "Tomb Busters".

Join in on the discussion! Let us know if you think Steve is close to solving the mystery or stuck out in the Siwa desert. You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour is convenient for links since it also happens to be our Twitter and IG handle.

If Star Wars is of more interest, Steve produces another podcast called "This is the Way Podcast" (@ThisistheWayPod) and you can find links to it at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. Thanks for listening!