Moon Knight Episode 4 Gets Real Trippy, Man

Just when you might have thought you had a handle on what Disney+'s "Moon Knight" is all about, we get this week's episode. We're finally at Ammit's tomb, yes, but we get a whole lot more than killer mummies making their way through cobwebs to attack our protagonists.

This episode is darker than those before it as well. To say more, however, will get us way into spoiler territory, so here's your official warning that there will be major spoilers for the fourth episode of "Moon Knight" ahead.

Marc And Steven Smell The Same

We start out the episode back in the desert with an unconscious Marc/Steven and Layla trying to avoid getting killed by Harrow's goons. They get away, and Steven wakes up and refuses to give the body over to Marc, even though Marc is undoubtedly better at the whole fighting thing. Steven and Layla make their way to Ammit's tomb by car and then by walking, including a shuffle through the sand that is reminiscent of the "Dune" sand walk.

When they make it to the tomb, the two see the camp Harrow's followers made. The camp is empty, however, with Harrow and his fellow cultists presumably already in the tomb trying to find the latest MacGuffin — the ushabti of Ammit that will bring the crocodile god back to Earth to judge everyone and kill many. Steven is showing bravery here — he doesn't have the mercenary fighting skills of Marc, which makes it all the more impressive that he's determined to go into the tomb himself, especially since their suit is gone now that Khonshu is entombed in stone.

Layla seems to see some of that too, and also remarks that Steven smells like her husband, Marc. These two things apparently cause her to try to kiss Steven. Steven stops her, however, and tells her why Marc has been such a jerk to her — Khonshu has been eyeing her as his next avatar and Marc didn't want that to happen. Layla understandably takes offense to that. "I don't need protection," she says. "What I need is honesty."

Steven decides that means he should kiss her, and does so awkwardly. He's also awarded for that kiss with a punch from Marc, who managed to get at least some control of the body to share how he feels about all of this. 

Is It Really An Ancient Egyptian Tomb If There Aren't Magical Killer Mummies Inside?

Layla and Steven don't see anyone in the tomb at first, but they are far from the only ones down there. The two hear gunshots and eventually run into magical mummies who start disemboweling one of Ammit's followers while Layla hides near them and Steven sees from above. It's dark and gross, and Steven and Layla get separated in their search for the pharaoh's tomb.

Layla ends up finding herself in a version of "The Mummy" and/or a maze at a Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights as she walks on a crumbling passageway and fights off killer creatures. She succeeds and then sees Harrow from afar. The two chat and Harrow hints that Marc knows more about her dad's death than he's let on.

Meanwhile, Steven makes it to the pharaoh's tomb first! He finds out the pharaoh is actually Alexander the Great and pulls Ammit's ushabti out of Alexander's mummified mouth. All things seem to be coming up Steven until Layla comes in and demands to speak to Marc about her dad. Marc takes over the body and admits that he was there when her dad was killed but he didn't do it. That night Marc almost died as well, only to be saved by Khonshu. Layla, however, is still understandably pissed but Harrow catches up with them before they can argue more.

And Now For Something Completely Different

And now things get trippy, folks. Harrow shoots Marc twice in the chest and he falls down into a patch of water. We first see what looks like a rip-off "Indiana Jones" film starring someone named Steven Grant, and we then see Marc drugged senseless in a mental institution.

Marc's not the only patient in this white-walled ward — others from his life including Layla, Crowley (the golden statue performer), and even his boss at the museum gift shop are patients there. There are also hints of events that have happened so far in the series — a cupcake stand, a painting of the Alps — that suggest that maybe the events so far have been a delusion in Marc's mind. It's a scene straight from the Lemire "Moon Knight" comic run, and it was still surprising given the direction the show appeared to be going.

Harrow, of course, is Marc's doctor in this world, and still has the same condescending, terrifyingly calm demeanor. Harrow's office is also full of Egyptian statues, including one of Ammit, and it's enough to cause Marc to run away from Harrow and the orderlies. In his race to escape, he goes into the room with a sarcophagus in it. He opens it, and finds Steven! The two have their own Oscar Isaac-looking bodies here, and before they can make much sense of it, they run into a talking hippo in Egyptian wear that says, "Hi!"

Steven and Marc scream, which is reasonable. That hippo is most likely Taweret, the Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility who also acts as a protector. Is she protecting Steven/Marc? Who knows! We'll have to wait until next week to find out.

Before I Say, 'Lators Gators!'

• There was a brief mention of Taweret in episode 1, when Steven moves some stuffed hippos in the museum gift shop. Foreshadowing!
• Layla can really handle her own s***. That scene of her fighting off a killer mummy and then pulling herself up from falling to her death was more realistic (I use that term loosely) than similar scenes we've seen in other films and shows.
• Harrow as Marc's doctor says at one point, "I too have suffered from mental Illness, breaks in psychic awareness, manic episodes followed by depression." This might suggest that Harrow isn't the paragon of mental health he claims he is, or that he's a liar. It's also a little callout to the comic villain, The Sun King, who suffered accordingly.
• That third personality is in this realm as well, though both Marc and Steven decide to leave that one in its sarcophagus at this time.

New episodes of "Moon Knight" drop on Disney+ on Wednesdays.

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