Moon Knight has been a hell of a ride since its premiere and with the show setting up what is about to arrive, the motives of the characters slowly unveil as well. As for Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon, who is attached to the titular character, responsible for making him a hero, his actions seem to be leaning into a villain in Episode 2. Is he really one of the good guys or not?
Moon Knight Episode 2: Is Khonshu a Villain?
In Moon Knight Episode 1, The Goldfish Problem, Khonshu is revealed to be a voice inside Steven Grant's head, barking orders on him to surrender the body to Marc Spector. Of course, Steven is reluctant because he has no idea what the voice means and everything happening around him seems to be a blur, a nightmare.
As the show goes on with Episode 2, Summon the Suit, Steven gets a heart-to-heart talk with Marc Spector as to what in the world is really happening to him and when Marc tells him that he is the avatar, a servant of Khonshu, Steven calls it absurd and runs away when he sees Khonshu again, orderin him to give Marc the control.
Arthur Harrow was able to give some insights about Khonshu to Steven after he gets kidnapped by Harrow's people, revealing that he used to be the avatar of Khonshu, the fist of vengeance of the Egyptian god of the moon who seeks retribution to those who wronged others.
Related: Moon Knight Episode 2: What is the Scarab and Why is Harrow Interested in it?
Harrow, somehow, escaped Khonshu given that in his perspective, the wrong is already done when Khonshu acts and he learned that with Ammit, the sin is cut from the roots, before it even begins. While that did not sit well with Steven especially with child murders, that gave everyone an outlook on the motives of Khonshu: to seek justice from those who wronged others.
This is cohesive with what Marc says when he expresses that he protects the weak. However, later in the episode, Khonshu gets to talk to Marc about their problem with Steven not giving up control over the body. Marc defends himself, Steven, from Khonshu, saying he could handle it. From there, Khonshu opens up about their connection.
Khonshu and Marc had an agreement and Marc was just a lifeless body before Khonshu made him his avatar. While they team up to stop Ammit from resurrecting and killing people who are still innocent, he seems to have Marc hostage with the thought of having Layla as his next avatar.
It's like Marc is in an endless battering cycle of pain and suffering only to be comforted after with the words of Khonshu saying that Marc is worth protecting. Looking at a deeper perspective, he may really look like a villain, at least for Marc who gets to be trapped in his mess so that he would be able to protect Layla from being hurt.
In a broader sense, Khonshu's motives seem to be for the greater good. Stopping Harrow from resurrecting Ammit means that they would be able to save countless lives from demise from Ammit's judgment. In comparison, it is like in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when Hydra would eliminate those in the algorithm before they could do anything in the future, only this time, it involves Egyptian deities.
Khonshu is, probably, still on the good side, but for Marc, he could be a thorn on his chest, a villain within him.
Moon Knight Episode 2 is now streaming on Disney Plus.
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