Breaking Down The Most Important Moment In Moon Knight Episode 4
This article contains major spoilers for episode four of "Moon Knight."
The biggest conflict in "Moon Knight" has been happening inside one body. The personalities of Marc Spector and Steven Grant have both fought for control over their shared body (Oscar Isaac's!), also inhabited by Khonshu, an Egyptian moon god. Steven and Marc have Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), in which the mind splinters into multiple personalities, or "alters." The show thus far has shown that Marc was the original personality and Steven became an alter through which to channel the parts of himself that would hold him back as Moon Knight, the avatar of Khonshu. (There's also Jake, but he's still only been hinted at.) The series has handled mental illness with care, showing the terror of dissociation with real empathy and making both Steven and Marc fully-formed characters with individual arcs.
As the series has progressed, both Marc and Steven have been forced to come to terms with the fact that they share a body, and it all led up to a remarkable moment in episode 4, "The Tomb."
United at last
In episode 4, Marc ends up in what seems like a mental health facility after Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) appears to shoot him twice in the chest in the tomb of Alexander the Great. He wakes up strapped to a wheelchair in a startlingly white facility and is eventually taken to talk to the hospital's doctor, who happens to look a lot like Harrow. Marc escapes and runs through the hospital, finding a sarcophagus in one of the rooms .. and that sarcophagus contains Steven. He lets Steven out and the two, usually so combative, hug one another tight.
It's a great moment because they're finally on the same page, for quite possibly the first time ever. They find comfort in one another because of their shared experiences and shared knowledge of the truth. Marc asks Steven what his last memory was and Steven replies that Harrow "shot us," and the joy in Marc's eyes is tangible. He has an ally in this terrifying place, even if he's not the ally Marc probably would have chosen.
Mental illness, even if it's not DID, can often feel like you're fighting yourself. Marc and Steven have been at odds the entire series, and Marc even becomes furious with Steven for kissing his wife, Layla. But when they're forced into a situation where all they have is one another, they try to make the best of it and realize that they do have an appreciation for one another. Marc needs Steven. Steven needs Marc. Even though they both probably wish that they had their own body, at least they're finally recognizing that they should work together instead of duking it out for control. It's hugely cathartic, and could mean that the two of them will be able to combine their skills in order to save Layla, free Khonshu, and stop Harrow. After all, Steven's got all of the Egyptology knowledge, and Marc's pretty great at kicking butt.
Marc and Steven's hug is like a breakthrough in therapy, a moment where someone can reconcile conflicting aspects of themselves in service of a common goal. It's heartwarming, it's kind of funny, and best of all, Isaac knocks both performances out of the park.