Moon Knight: Why Steven Is Able To Resist Marc So Much More In Episode 2

This article contains spoilers for Moon Knight.

One of the core themes of Disney+'s Moon Knight is the struggle between Steven and Marc over control of their shared body, a struggle that developed in episode 2 with Steven resisting Marc more than might have been expected. Moon Knight tells the story of Marc Spector, who lives with dissociative identity disorder, sharing a body with one alternate identity thus far: Steven Grant. Steven lives a seemingly normal life until he discovers his alter is a mercenary empowered with the abilities of the vigilante Moon Knight by the Egyptian god Khonshu.

The first episode of Moon Knight focuses most of its time on Steven, who has missing periods in his life that he assumes are caused by an extreme sleepwalking disorder. However, it is revealed Steven's blackout periods are when Marc Spector takes control of their shared body to carry out his work as the mercenary Moon Knight. Episode 1 of the Disney+ show showed Steven as largely unable to stop Marc from controlling their body, simply blacking out and then waking back up once he resumes control. However, in Moon Knight episode 2, the show changes this dynamic. Steven can seemingly resist Marc and is more aware of the latter's presence. It leads to questions of what has changed and why Steven is now better able to resist Marc.

The main change between the two episodes is the fact that Steven is now completely aware of his other identity. As opposed to putting his unusual circumstances down to sleepwalking, Steven now knows they were the actions of his host identity, Marc. This fact alone is enough to explain why Steven is able to resist Marc. In Moon Knight episode 1, Steven shows no indication that he's aware of another person sharing his body, meaning he has no cause to resist anything or anyone. In episode 2, though, Steven shows a greater desire to keep his life the way it was as opposed to Marc's mercenary/superhero lifestyle, therefore showing a greater willingness to push back against Marc. The drive from Steven to stay in control now that he knows Marc can also control their body is what enables him to resist the latter more strongly. The relationship between Marc and Steven now seems much more consensual after Steven's discovery, with Marc only able to take over at the end of both episodes and engage in some Moon Knight action with Steven's permission.

Moon Knight: Marc Spector/Steven Grant in Mirror

It is also possible that something else is factoring into Steven's resistance being stronger outside of his awareness. In Moon Knight episode 1, Marc's godly ally Khonshu was regularly irritated at Steven being able to wrestle control the body from Marc, constantly berating Steven for getting in the way. Once Marc regained control, it is possible that Khonshu somehow imposed his will on the body, making whoever is in control at the time more resistant to the other in order to keep Steven at bay. This could make it so that, in Moon Knight episode 2 when Marc regains control of the body, his resistance is also stronger. While there isn't much evidence for this besides Moon Knight's Egyptian god and his obvious annoyance with Steven, it is possibly another factor for his resistance being stronger in the second episode.

It remains to be seen how Marc and Steven's relationship and struggles will develop throughout the remainder of Moon Knight. Whether the identities will learn to work in tandem, swapping and relinquishing control when they see fit, or whether the tension between Steven and Marc will cause more issues for the two and the people around them is unclear. However, capitalizing on the story potential of such an interesting character dynamic for a new hero is bound to give the Moon Knight audience a lot to look forward to in the future.

Next: Moon Knight Episode 2 Easter Eggs & Marvel References Explained

New episodes of Moon Knight release every Wednesday on Disney+.