The ending from episode two sets up the events of episode three with Marc now in Egypt on the hunt for Ammit's tomb. With Harrow in possession of the scarab, Marc is playing from behind in the hopes he can beat Arthur to the ushabti containing Ammit. Marc might be in Egypt, but he has no idea where to look, this episode takes on a very distinct Indiana Jones feel to it. I think the choice for the show to lean so heavily into the Egyptian gods was a smart choice, it is another world for Marvel to explore. When Moon Knight was first announced I never for a second considered the show to be what it has been, it is a different approach than I expected. I was thinking the show would be similar to the Netflix Marvel shows (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and The Punisher). I expected the show to be a street level hero type of show, I am pleased that the ambitions of Moon Knight are lofty. With all that praise, I am not sure how well the story is serving Moon Knight who is taking a back seat to everything else. The title of the show is based on a character who has barely been seen in the first three episodes, this show should be called Steven Grant since he has the most screen time. I am enjoying the show, but I wish there was Moon Knight in the show, and I'd like to see the action rather than cutting to just after the action. I know the show is building towards the appearance by a third personality (Jake Lockley), and that is why we missed more action in this episode.
The Friendly Type introduced us to some of the other Egyptian gods and their human avatars; it was something I did not expect to see. In my review of episode two I wondered if we would meet any other Egyptian gods, and I am glad that we did as it makes the world feel more fleshed out. I am not sure what to make of the other gods as they all feel disconnected except for Hathor's avatar who helped Marc. Just as we were getting to like Khonshu, he was imprisoned by the other gods for drawing attention. If Khonshu is imprisoned, then I guess Marc/Steven cannot summon the suit anymore; this feels like an excuse to not have the suit in the next few episodes. If the show had not felt like Moon Knight was a side character rather than the focus, losing the suit would have meant more. The episode did give us more of Layla which is a great thing as she is a great character, I like her because she is an active character in that she contributes to the action. Layla is a bit of a sad character; we learn in this episode that she has been haunted since her father was murdered. Layla is also struggling with Marc pulling away from her, she feels that he has kept things from her on top of pushing her away. Layla is the character I am most rooting for at this point, Marc is too stoic, Steven is too aloof, and Arthur is a broken man who thinks he has found a purpose. This episode did a good job of the audience getting to know the other characters a little better than we had previously seen.
EPISODE THREE RECAP
The episode begins with Layla getting a fake passport made, she is going home to Cairo to look for Marc/Steven. The woman making the forged passport (an old family friend) warns Layla to be careful because of all the bridges she has burned over the years. We then go to Harrow and his followers walking through the desert with the scarab as a compass. Harrow reaches his final destination, but he is told that Marc is now in Egypt. Marc is running from rooftop to rooftop chasing after someone when he runs into thugs who work for Harrow. Marc fights the three men, and he wins but when he looks in the reflection of a knife Steven tells him not to kill. Marc then blacks out and wakes up in a cab, he sees two of the men from the roof and he chases after them. Marc catches one of them, and in a mirror, Steven tells him to stop. Marc is then hit from behind and as he falls to the ground, he blacks out again and when he wakes up he has just stabbed one of the guys he was chasing. Marc is confused, Steven says he did nothing; the last thug gets questioned by Marc, but he chooses to fall to his death than reveal Harrow's location. Marc asks Khonshu if the other gods will help since they are the ones who imprisoned Ammit, but Khonshu warns to seek an audience with the gods is to risk their wrath. Khonshu causes an unplanned eclipse to attract the attention of the gods, a portal appears that Marc has to enter.
Marc is now inside the great pyramid of Giza; the human avatars of the gods are present for a meeting of the gods. The gods present in the meeting are Hathor, Horus, Isis, Tefnut and Osiris and they threaten Khonshu with imprisonment in stone if he touches the sky again. Khonshu then accuses the gods of banishing him because he would not abandon humanity like they did. Khonshu believes that the might of gods is needed, and he calls for judgement against Arthur Harrow. Arthur arrives and denies that he is trying to release Ammit, but Arthur counters that Khonshu's avatar is broken in the mind. The gods believe Arthur, he is free to leave while Khonshu is admonished for his wasting of their time. The avatar of Hathor gives Marc some information on how to find Ammit's tomb, the gods were never told of where Ammit was buried. Marc is told to locate the sarcophagus of Senfu who recorded the location of Ammit's tomb, but Senfu's sarcophagus was stolen. Layla finds Marc in a market, and she offers her help to find the sarcophagus, Layla located who is in possession of it. The man in possession of the sarcophagus is a powerful and dangerous smuggler who knows Layla. They find the sarcophagus, but they need Stevens help to make sense out of the map. They are interrupted by Harrow who offers the smuggler something better in return. Marc summons the suit to free Layla so they can escape with the location, they need to fight off the security of the smuggler. Steven takes control of the body, but he is immediately attacked and gives control back to Marc to save them.
They make it out alive and head to the desert and Marc needs to cede control to Steven so he can put the map together. Steven instantly begins putting the pieces of the map together, but there is a problem, the map is a star chart made the night Ammit was entombed. To use the map the stars in the sky would need to be in the same place as they were on that night, Khonshu says he remembers that night. Khonshu with Steven's help begins to turn the sky back to the way it was on that night but turning back the sky will draw the ire of the gods. Steven and Khonshu begin turning back the night sky, but the gods become alerted and start the process of imprisoning Khonshu in a ushabti. As Khonshu is imprisoned the sky is turned back and Layla gets the location of the tomb. We see Arthur with one of the avatars who shows Arthur the ushabti of Khonshu. Arthur talks to Khonshu and tells him that Khonshu leaving Arthur broken forged him into this and that he owes his victory to him as the episode ends.
PARTING THOUGHTS ON 'THE FRIENDLY TYPE'
I thought this might have been the best episode we have seen so far, it had good action, intrigue and built out the world of the show. The gods were very interesting to me, we never saw the gods in their godly form like Khonshu, but they feel a lot more reserved than Khonshu. The MCU continues to expand, we had Eternals, we have the multiverse breaking open, and now we have Egyptian gods. I hope we get to see them in their ideal form, but I wonder if the gods descend back to earth what that will mean for the MCU. Having the Eternals appear has raised more questions about the MCU in terms of how they will be incorporated with the other characters going forward. The same question applies if the Egyptian gods enter the MCU, right now they only exist via their avatars, but maybe the series ends with them taking on a bigger role. The gods coming back to earth would make sense if Ammit is released and the goods need to return to place her back into an ushabti. Khonshu was a lot more sympathetic in this episode, we do not know why he is still trying to interfere in human affairs, but I am hoping we learn why he is so attached to humans. I assume that Marc/Steven will need to team up to free Khonshu, I can't see the season ending with Khonshu still imprisoned.
Now it is time to discuss the big hint in this episode that Marc/Steven are not the only personalities in that body. When Marc and Steven are blaming each other for killing the thugs we can finally be certain that an appearance by Jake Lockley is likely. While we never met him in this episode, it was teased that there is at least one more personality inside that body. I am curious about Jake because he seems more violent than even Marc who we know is a killer. Oscar Isaac will be playing three roles maybe in the next few episodes, I think this is what drew him to this project (aside from that Disney money). Each character looks to be very different from each other, and I can't wait to see how Oscar Isaac is going to portray Jake. In the episode Marc mentions that until recently he had everything under control, but he neglected to share what caused him to lose control. Arthur also told Layla that Marc was keeping a secret from her, I am not sure if it is that Khonshu wants her as his avatar or if something else (like maybe he died and Khonshu saved him). I am both frustrated and annoyed at how little information we have about what is going on, it is effective to keep me watching but also frustrating that we might not get answers for everything.
While I do think this was my favourite episode so far, it is not much better than episode one, but it is better. I am going to give The Friendly Type a 7/10 since it is not a big improvement on episode despite it being the best episode aired yet. I think the show is gaining momentum, and I expect one of the final three episodes to be better than episode three. I am starting to appreciate Steven more now that he was in the background more, the fact that he ceded control to Marc in the fight shows his growth. Marc is also growing as he too ceded control to Steven knowing that he could not figure out the map. They are starting to work together now, and I wonder if the introduction of Jake will deepen their bond or push them apart. Arthur continues to be a fascinating villain, he is not over-the-top like most villains, he is very calm and measured. I really do hope there is a flashback to Arthur's time as Khonshu's avatar, I think there is a very interesting story there. Arthur appears to be so calm, but his revelation that he enjoyed hurting people on behalf of Khonshu was surprising. I think there is a lot of rage inside Arthur, and I hope he lets it out at some point; he is winning now, but how will he react if he starts losing. I really like how the episode ended, Khonshu and Steven working together to turn back the sky felt like a great Marvel moment. The next episode will be a race to see who can get to Ammit's ushabti first, Arthur has the advantage, but Marc/Steven and Layla are a formidable team.
Thank you for reading my review of Moon Knight episode three, please tell me if you're enjoying the show so far.
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