Moon Knight season 1, episode 3 review: The Friendly Type

The third episode of Moon Knight on Disney Plus was even better than the first two as it develops its characters in a big way. 

Moon Knight has been going strong. Viewers have enjoyed the comedy, action, and the acting that they’ve seen so far.

You also have to appreciate the Marvel Studios / Disney Plus end of the show cliffhangers. They always leave people anticipating the next episode. Episode 2 was no different. It concludes with Marc Spector getting drunk in Egypt getting ready to find the scarab and Arthur Harrow before they can find Ammit. Episode 3 starts off perfectly and keeps getting better.

Opening with Layla

A lot of viewers have been waiting to learn more about Layla El-Faouly from Moon Knight. All we knew was she’s Marc’s wife and a badass. In the first five minutes of the third episode, though, we learn more about her.

First, Layla’s father was the one who got her into archaeology. It also turns out that her mother was in the game as well, as she creates the fake passports needed to get them around the world (she made one for Layla to get to Egypt). She wasn’t just destined to do this. She was born into it.

Despite Layla having issues with Marc, she was going to Egypt to save him. It was funny seeing her try and deny her feelings for him. She may not be in love with him anymore, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care. It’s obvious she does.

Marc, Steven, and…

In a previous Moon Knight  article, this writer wrote that we may have already seen Jake Lockley, theorizing that perhaps he was the one who asked the woman at the museum out on a date. It appears he may have been right.

When Marc and Steven were battling for their body in the third episode, someone else popped in and he was killing people. Steven thought it was Marc and Marc had no clue what was going on. Apparently, we’re seeing the third personality. Is it Jake Lockley? Maybe he’ll have a version of the suit too.

Moon Knight’s Meeting of the avatars

When Khonshu calls a meeting of the gods and their avatars, we learn that they don’t trust or respect him. It ends with the gods denying Khonsu’s request to stop Arthur Harrow. Harrow brings up Marc’s personality issues in his defense and that’s enough for them to say no. Thankfully, one of the avatars, Yatzil, doesn’t trust some of the gods. She puts Marc on a path to stop Ammit.

The Gods of Egypt seem to be like other deities in comics. They abandoned humanity when they stopped believing. In comics, this is something that happens regularly. However, there’s always one person on a council of gods who wants to help humanity and one or more who want humans dead or worshiping them. It’s a trope used whenever gods get together. If this writer is being honest, it’s getting old. It would have been nice to see something different this time around. It gets too predictable.

Moon Knight review

This was another great episode. Seeing Layla in action was incredible. She’s even better than this writer could have hoped. It makes sense that Khonshu wants her as his avatar and not Marc. She may embrace the role more than Marc. Plus, she doesn’t have three people living in her head.

There was more action in “The Friendly Type” than any of the other episodes. While the fight scenes aren’t the driving force behind the show, it did help develop the characters. Sure, Moon Knight could defeat jackals, but could he and Layla beat skilled fighters? Absolutely. Viewers also saw more of what the suit can do. It absorbs punishment and heals the avatar. It makes this writer wonder what the other gods’ avatars can do. We may find out later.

Mogart is a Moon Knight villain named Midnight Man in Marvel Comics. We didn’t see the character die in the dust. And, as we’ve seen in many comic book projects, no one is dead until you see the body. Midnight Man could return and become someone else’s avatar. Maybe even Khonshu gets tired of Marc’s disobedience.

The most interesting part came at the end of the episode when Khonshu gave up his freedom to help protect the world. Khonshu comes off as a jerk, but it’s within reason. He truly does want to protect the innocent and avenge those he couldn’t help. This sacrifice proves it. Now, without Khonshu, Marc and Steven (and perhaps Jake) are blocked from his power. We’ll have to see how they fare without the abilities he gave them.

Grade: A

Moon Knight streams new episodes of its first season on Disney Plus on Wednesdays.

What do you think, readers? Did you enjoy the third episode of Moon Knight? Let us know in the comments below.