Moon Knight Episode 5 Explained
Episode 5 of Moon Knight (exclusively on Disney Plus) exposes the conscious and unconscious elements lingering in the mind of Marc Spector. Throughout the entire show Marc sporadically assumes the Steven persona, shifting to and from distinct moments in time. In "Asylum" Marc must come to terms with the events that led to his mental health condition. Whenever the present becomes too difficult to face Marc relies on his alternate self for support. In the comics, Moon Knight goes as far as mimicking traits of Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Captain America. Therefore, assuming traits of distinct personalities is a way Marc copes with hardship. In the show, Harrow poses as a doctor to manipulate Marc into disclosing painful truth from his past. These details are deeply obscure and traumatizing so the Steven persona is unaware they ever took place. The spectator is led to believe Spector's battle with dissociative identity disorder (DID) stems from this childhood trauma. However, in the comic books, Marc grew up in Chicago with his father Elias, who was a rabbi. Elias managed to escape the grasp of Hitler when he was younger and after lived modestly with his boys Marc and Randall. Then, Marc discovers that a close friend of the family's, Rabbi Yitz Perlman was in actuality a killer of Jews named Ernst. For the first time Marc fights, utilizing his instincts to protect himself against Perlman. Perlman gets away but Marc develops dissociative identity disorder as a result of this disturbing altercation. The show deviates from this narrative to create an origin that is much more damaging and disturbing. As the show initiates, the first agonizing clue to the past is the water and the cave.
After facing the Egyptian goddess Taweret, Marc screams and shifts back to Harrow's office. He is bleeding from his face and engages a patronizing Harrow. It seems like Harrow is obtaining satisfaction from tormenting Marc as he tells him to retrace his steps. According to Harrow, the struggle of the mind will build places to "seek shelter" for different aspects of oneself during traumatic events. Harrow calls it, "the organizing principle," which entails the formation of one's early childhood relational experiences. On the surface Harrow uses the doctor farce to help Marc untangle his thoughts with an agenda of his own. He is aware of everything Marc is encountering in his mind yet makes it seem like they are having a therapy session. Harrow expresses intrigue for the hippo, claiming she could break the walls between Marc and Steven. Next, he mentions "the boy" and once again Marc has a breakdown. Marc starts lashing out at the mere mention of this child and Harrow's men sedate him. In Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight comic run (2016) the role of Harrow is occupied by Dr. Emmet who is Ammit in disguise. Dr. Emmet serves to distort Marc's perception of reality and his past. Nevertheless, in the show, Harrow is leading Marc down an excruciating path to face his origin.
Abruptly, Marc reappears before Taweret and a physical form of Steven. Taweret reveals they are dead and she must carry them to the Duat or Egyptian underworld. The Egyptian deity further elaborates that there are infinite variations of the afterlife because it is "impossible for the human mind to understand" its true nature. This is the first time an afterlife appears as a psychiatric hospital for Taweret. Marc's blatant answer is, "because we're insane." Suddenly, Marc attempts to open a door and discovers they are on a boat navigating through the Duat. Taweret indicates if one has a balanced heart the reward is spending an eternity in paradise, also known as the Field of Reeds. If the heart is unbalanced, the dead will drag the individual to the Duat where they shall remain. Taweret extracts Marc and Steven's hearts only to discover they are not balanced. She places them on the scale and there is no equilibrium, similar to Harrow's observation in previous episodes. In an effort to help Marc and Steven, Taweret suggests for them to show each other the hidden truth about their lives. As result, they walk through a corridor with many doors that lead to key moments of their past. They both observe in awe and one memory stands out to Steven. Their physical form is standing next to a vehicle while drinking alcohol and Steven is perplexed because he cannot recall that moment. There is a cab in the background which could possibly be a reference to Jake Lockley the missing third persona. However, this memory is a glimpse into one of the most obscure aspects of Marc's life.
Moreover, Marc and Steven enter a room filled with people Marc killed in the past. He remembers every single individual, telling Steven one cannot simply forget the face of a person they slaughtered. Marc confesses to Steven that Khonshu wanted these people dead because they are the worse of the worse. The scales reappear in the room and it looks like this exchange between the two is bringing forth balance and closure. Mysteriously, a little boy enters the room and Steven tries to talk to him. Marc protests while Steven dashes after the fleeing boy. In pursuit, Steven enters a door and locks it, leaving Marc outside. Marc screams hysterically making it clear there is something within he does not want Steven to see. Steven walks into an unfamiliar memory of his mom barbequing while his dad worked on a treehouse. A child version of Marc appears beside the young boy who is his brother Randall. "Keep and eye on your brother," his mom reminds him before the boys take off to go play. They are walking through a forest and it begins to rain. The boys reach a cave and choosing to disregard the rain, they both enter. Steven anticipates the danger and chases after the boys. The cave is quickly flooding and Steven is unable to reach the children. Marc is also present in the scene that follows which depicts Marc's family grieving for his deceased sibling. His mother looks devastated and broken, mumbling to herself, "I want him back." A young Marc walks down the stairs and his mother uncontrollably starts yelling at him. "This is all your fault," she reiterates over and over, as young Marc runs away. The Steven and Marc personas chase the boy into the next memory.
Marc and his father are celebrating his birthday and mom refuses to join the festivities. They continue up the stairs which serve as a passage way into what is hidden in the catacombs of Marc's mind. The memory that follows contains mom intoxicated with alcohol violently blaming young Marc for the passing of his brother. She wrongfully tells Marc he was jealous of Randall and makes it seem like he purposely ended his brother's life. Before he can enter the following door, Marc pulls Steven out and they are walking down a street. Beside them, another memory unravels containing an adolescent Marc trying to leave the home. He could no longer take his mother's abuse and his father is begging him to stay.
The remembrance that follows illustrates Marc's encounter with Bushman and Khonshu. There are bodies lying dead in a dig site, one of them being Layla's father. Everyone was shot including Marc. A wounded Marc manages to crawl before Khonshu while holding a gun, ready to end his own life. Khonshu interjects, "what a waste," catching Marc completely off guard. The Egyptian god says he could feel Marc's pain and can see inside his fractured mind. Khonshu tells Marc he is a worthy candidate to protect the travelers of the night and bring vengeance as his avatar. All Marc has to do is accept his proposal or face imminent death. Steven is disgusted as he watches the transformation unravel, telling Marc Khonshu took advantage of him at his weakest. Marc disagrees since he is convinced Khonshu helped keep him alive. The scales continue to calibrate but have not reached full balance. Thereafter, the duo returns to Taweret who is concerned unbalanced souls are being condemned before their time. Steven and Marc tell her this is Harrow's doing and she must reconnect them with Khonshu and Layla. Unfortunately, they cannot return to their body because it was shot so she sends them to get the scales balanced. Marc declares he does not want to go back and Steven tells him if does not return Layla will die and it will be his fault. Marc enters full panic mode and finds himself with Harrow in his office.
Harrow knows he has been looking through the trauma of his past; the moments that led him to the person he currently is. Without any regard for Marc's feelings Harrow asks the daunting questions: Did Marc create Steven to hide from the awful things he did? Or did Steven create Marc to punish the world for what his mother did? Marc himself does not know the answer to these questions, running from the truth his whole life. At that moment, Marc realizes he will be set free when he faces the truth. Harrow calculatingly suggests, "Can you open up to Steven?" Afterwards, the time sequence leaps to a memory of a young Marc in his room. His mom is violently banging on the door and Marc whispers to himself, "It's not my mom." This is the first moment the onlooker sees young Marc shift into the Steven persona. He is speaking in a British accent and starts picking up scattered colors in his room. It is clear that the Steven persona is brought forth like a blanket or shield from the pain inflicted by his mother. This transition is the starting point of Marc's battle with dissociative identity disorder. There is a "Tomb Buster" movie poster in his room and Steven notices the name of the protagonist is his own. Mom manages to open the door and savagely beats young Marc. Present Marc drags Steven out of the room and tells him he is not meant to see that, "that's the whole point of you." Steven feels absolutely betrayed. Marc points out at least he got to live a happy life away from the pain he had to face daily. Everything about Steven was made up. At this time, Marc confesses the most staggering memory of them all: his mom has been dead for a long time. Marc attempts to elaborate and Steven panics, reverting back to Harrow in the other plane of consciousness.
Steven is talking to Harrow completely skeptical about the whole situation. Harrow mercilessly declares Steven's mother is dead although this truth causes anguish to Steven. In addition, Harrow tells Steven to call his mom and pretends to place her on the phone. Harrow hands the phone over at which point a tearful Steven whispers, "My mum is dead." Finally, Steven is able to see the memory Marc was hiding from him. It is the same one Steven saw earlier where Marc is standing in front of a car, drinking alcohol, and peering into his parents' house. Marc's dad signals his son to enter the house and say goodbye to his deceased mother. However, Marc refuses to and runs away with grief, pain, and sorrow visible in his expression. He collapses on the ground and does not know how to process this reality. Subsequently, the Steven persona comes forward and pretends to be talking on the phone with his mother as he carries on like nothing happened. This instance demonstrates when their lives started bleeding into each other. Steven is not angry about the deceit rather he comforts Marc, "It was not your fault." Marc was just a kid and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother was enough to make anyone go insane. The way Marc's past unravels in the show is way more traumatic than the comics. His origin strikes pathos and creates sympathy for his situation. It is difficult to condemn Marc for his actions when all he ever knew was torment and suffering.
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