The ending of "Moon Knight" does some heavy lifting to wrap up the season's story – and
then at the last minute, it seriously pulls the rug out from under the viewers' feet.
Warning - spoilers for "Moon Knight" Episode 6 ahead.
"Marc Spector…
Steven Grant…
Whoever else might be in there."
As Arthur Harrow notes in "Moon Knight," the head of Marc Spector-slash-Steven Grant is
more than a little crowded.
By the time the finale episode is over, this umpteenth little tease about another personality's
existence comes into play in a major way.
Despite the warnings of Taweret, Marc Spector turns his back to the peaceful Field of Reeds,
and chooses to rescue Steven from Duat.
He still finds a form of peace, though, after finally confessing that he needs Steven to
keep together, and even calling the cheerful Brit identity his only true superpower — a
pretty heavy statement from a guy who wields powers granted by a moon god.
With that, Marc and Steven become whole, return to their body, and become Moon Knight (and Mr. Knight) again.
Unfortunately, even their combined forces aren't quite enough to defeat Harrow, who
comes within inches of killing Marc.
However, after Marc experiences another unexplained mid-fight blackout, it's Harrow who lies helpless
on the ground.
At this point, even the most casual viewer probably suspects that a third, unseen identity
is responsible for knocking Harrow's glass-filled shoes off his feet.
After all, the show has teased this dangerous persona's existence since Episode 3.
"Steven, what did you do?"
"I swear that wasn't me."
"Then who was it?"
By the time the post-credits scene comes along, the Jake Lockley identity indeed makes his presence known.
Wearing his signature flat cap, the violent Jake hijacks Harrow from the hospital, and
shoots him while Khonshu looks on.
In this short scene, this new persona establishes himself as a ruthless and capable operator.
What's worse, he's still willingly working with Khonshu, and since he occupies the same
body as Steven and Marc, it appears that none of them are as free from the lunar god's servitude
as they think.
"Moon Knight" has been teasing the possibility that Layla El-Faouly might become the new
avatar of Khonshu for a while, and while she does gain avatar-based superpowers in Episode
6, this happens in a very different way than you might think.
Sure, the show teases a "Layla as Moon Knight" moment when she releases Khonshu from his
mini-statue prison and the moon god offers to make her his new avatar — but Layla promptly
refuses, and even attempts to browbeat Khonshu into partnership instead of a servitude deal.
This doesn't go particularly well, but as it turns out, this isn't the first time Layla
cold-shoulders an Egyptian god's avatar offer that day.
"Only an avatar can do it."
"I said, 'no.'"
Earlier in the episode, Taweret delivers Marc's message to Layla, and throws in a far less
ominous avatar deal in the process.
Wary of Marc's negative experiences, Layla initially turns Taweret down, but reconsiders
upon learning that Team Egyptian Pantheon needs more avatars to successfully trap Ammit.
As such, she accepts the hippo goddess' offer.
This proves to be a good call, because the delighted Taweret provides Layla with some
welcome information about her father's afterlife situation, and grants her a cool, winged costume.
"Wow, you look amazing.
What are you wearing?"
Layla appears to highly enjoy her new avatar powers.
What's more, the show pretty much states that she's not going away any time soon, when a
young girl asks her whether she's an Egyptian superhero, and Layla immediately confirms
that she is.
Just like that, "Moon Knight" has delivered the origin story of a character who's been
confirmed to be the Scarlet Scarab, making her debut in the MCU.
Harrow continues his penance-filled path in this episode of "Moon Knight," and his mission
to let Ammit clean the world keeps adding to the show's body count.
After pulling assorted "don't resist and you don't get hurt" stunts — including one on
the Egyptian gods' avatars — he finally releases the crocodile-headed judgment deity,
who promptly makes Harrow her official avatar.
From this point on, things play out much like Harrow promised in Episode 1.
Ammit's followers start cleansing the world, and the goddess feasts on the souls the scales deem unworthy.
Unfortunately for the villains, the plan is rudely interrupted by the freshly resurrected
Moon Knight and the Tawaret-powered Layla, who manage to defeat Harrow and trap Ammit
in his body.
The shock is enough to hospitalize Harrow, but even then, he finds no peace despite Ammit's promises.
Instead, Jake Lockley unceremoniously abducts and shoots him, destroying Ammit in the process.
It's not exactly a surprise that the villain loses in the end, but the way Episode 6 presents
Harrow as a vulnerable, hurt, and deeply regretful man who's simply going through his twisted
perception of doing the right thing is a pretty nice take for a MCU antagonist.
By the time he's forced to act as Ammit's living, broken vessel, Harrow has clearly
endured so much pain that even the hitherto implacable Doctor Harrow construct in Marc's
mind is hurt and terrified.
Few MCU properties can escape the big CGI ending battle, so by the time Harrow stands
on a pyramid and Moon Knight is flying around, it's clear that "Moon Knight" is about to
deliver on this front.
Instead of the Harrow-Moon Knight showdown that you might have been expecting, though,
the show turns this ultimate battle into a full-on superteam fight.
Moon Knight keeps alternating between his main costume and Steven's Mr. Knight persona,
the freshly avatarized Layla soon turns up to help, and Harrow's cultists keep stirring the pot.
In the background, Ammit and Khonshu keep themselves busy with a kaiju-sized grudge match.
This goes pretty much as you'd expect.
After almost getting defeated, the good guys ultimately win the night, and even Steven
gets to demonstrate some sweet moves.
However, this being "Moon Knight," the real battle is just beginning ... and, ultimately,
inside Marc's head.
As the post-credits scene reveals, Khonshu's taken to deploying Marc's third personality,
Jake, as his secret avatar, which effectively renders his release of Marc and Steven completely
moot as they share the same body.
And so, like cycles of the moon, the protagonist ends where he began — in Steven's messy
London apartment, with the confused main character's leg chained to his bed in a futile attempt
to stop blackout-walking, and the same song playing in the background.
Meanwhile, a mysterious, violent personality is making moves out in the world.
"Moon Knight" doesn't shy away from the fact that Khonshu isn't the nicest or most effective
deity around.
As everyone from Harrow to Layla is quick to point out, he's an abusive and treacherous
entity at the best of times, and Khonshu himself is quick to confirm all the negative reviews
with his condescending attitude, overly theatrical delivery, and rampant name-calling.
It doesn't exactly help the moon god's case that he manages to get himself trapped in
a statue halfway through the show, and starts throwing shade at Layla the second she releases him.
The end of "Moon Knight" Episode 6, however, features copious Khonshu action, and makes
it clear that the deity is far more than a pompous poser.
Not only does he fearlessly engage the dangerous Ammit in combat on two separate occasions,
but he also reveals himself as the kind of ruthless trickster that Loki would be proud of.
His interest in Layla as a potential future avatar was a feint all along, and the moon
god has actually been working with Marc's Jake Lockley identity to ensure that he stays
in Khonshu's service.
Though Khonshu is technically fighting evil, it certainly seems that he's no angel himself,
and may actually be outright dangerous.
He's extremely dedicated to keeping Marc-Steven-Jake as his avatar, and his final scene in the
episode hints that this obsession is about to turn hostile.
Not only does he outright declare that Marc's troubles have only just begun, but his new,
sweet suit resembles the outfit he wears in the Jeff Lemire-penned "Moon Knight" comics
... where Khonshu is the villain.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about the Marvel Cinematic Universe are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.