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Violent Night 2 writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller say they are "closing in" on a first draft but also acknowledge how busy star David Harbour is right now.
Posted in: Disney+, Kaitlyn Booth, Marvel, TV | Tagged: disney, Episode 1, marvel, moon knight, Review, tv
Moon Knight Episode 1 Proved Steady, Promising Series Start: Review
The first episode of Moon Knight isn't going to blow anyone's mind, but it is an interesting start to what is looking to be one of Marvel's more unique-looking series. However, the thing with the Marvel series is that they really aren't that built for week-to-week viewing. The ending of this episode, with the reveal of the costume and whatnot, is a good ending for a pilot episode. Still, "The Goldfish Problem" is also an episode that could be very confusing to people unfamiliar with this lore. Moon Knight has always been one of Marvel's weirder characters before you have to tackle one of the more complex mental illnesses.
This first episode doesn't show us too much about Steven and his illness, but it does show how he is dealing with the side effects. He's a sleepwalker, or he thinks he's a sleepwalker, so he's taken the precautions to ensure that he doesn't leave the apartment. He loses time and the moments where we see him grappling with those things are the more relatable moments of the show so far. As anyone who has a mental illness can tell you, the moments when you feel out of control or like you can't trust your own mind are the moments that terrify you more than anything.
In that sense, Oscar Isaac does an excellent job of portraying that fear and anxiety. The moment at the restaurant where Steven realizes that he has lost two entire days, that look in his eye and how he is barely holding it together felt all too real. We don't see much of Marc in this episode, but it was probably right to start the series off by just showing us the life of Steven. We need to see what life this man is trying to live in the light, so the one in the dark, the one Marc is living by way of Khonshu, so we know what will be lost in the fallout of all of this. Steven might not have had much, but he still had a life, and while it wasn't overly impressive, we needed to see it, so we know what he is losing.
The thing that might be a bit of a turn-off for some people is that the show does walk the line of being mysterious and being confusing, not exceptionally well. There aren't any moments in this episode that there will be clarity further down the line. That can be frustrating for people who want to understand the mythos of the show they are watching. It's not a bad thing, but Moon Knight might be a show that you really need to push the "give it three episodes" thing because this one doesn't have much. Again, it is thematically important that we see the life that Steven is inevitably about to lose. However, in a week-to-week-paced show, the lack of much happening in terms of story or explanation could turn some people off of the show.
In terms 0f this taking place within the Marvel universe, the connections are small and inconsequential, which is actually very refreshing. None of the Marvel Disney+ shows have been particularly approachable for fans that don't know anything about Marvel, but someone could easily watch this episode of Moon Knight and not miss anything because there is so little to miss. The Easter Eggs are there for the ones that want to see them, but they aren't so obvious that the show lingers on them, even if the extended Avatar joke was extremely cringing to watch play out. You own all the things Disney, we know, can we move on now? However, what this episode does have might be one of the best scenes when it comes to introducing a villain without words that we've seen in a long time. With a simple action, we know exactly the kind of insane Arthur Harrow is, and that is the kind of show don't tell television we love to see.
The first episode of Moon Knight isn't so much weak as it is a bit poorly suited to the week-to-week format, which has been an ongoing pacing problem throughout the Marvel Disney+ series. That doesn't mean that there isn't plenty of like; it just means it might be a show that some people might need some convincing to tune in next week if it didn't blow them away.
Moon Knight Episode 1 "The Goldfish Problem"
8.5/10
The first episode of Marvel Studios & Disney+'s Moon Knight isn't going to blow anyone's mind, but it is an interesting start to what is looking to be one of Marvel's more unique-looking series. However, the pacing and storytelling might be a bit off for some, especially with its week-to-week release schedule.
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