Spoiler Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Moon Knight.
Now that the Moon Knight finale has aired, MCU fans can catch their breath, as the Oscar Isaac-starring miniseries delivered one unexpected development after another. This began with the Marvel Comics character headlining a Disney+ series in the first place. But his relative obscurity compared to the likes of Iron Man or Spider-Man allowed the series to go to unusual places and the creative team took every opportunity to surprise fans.
The show surprised with an unexpectedly nuanced exploration of mental health in the characters of Marc Spector and Stephen Grant. It also introduced inventive new characters like the goddess Taweret in the form of a talking hippopotamus, as well as Layla. Layla's journey took as many unexpected turns as Moon Knight's, ending with her becoming a powerful hero in her own right.
The Missing Gods
Moon Knight introduces avatars of other major ancient Egyptian deities like Osiris and Isis. Nine chairs rest in their inner sanctum but only five avatars appear. The missing gods represent a major unexpected development in Moon Knight.
The question of what happened to them remains unanswered. The series implies the surviving avatars cast the others into stone as they did Khonshu, but another possibility remains. With Gorr the God Butcher looming in Thor: Love and Thunder, they may have been his victims.
A Unique Love Triangle
Layla proved an unexpected character in many ways. Though she shares some biographical details with Marlene Alraune from the comics, she's a completely new character and her relationship with Marc and Stephen takes unexpected directions.
The trio forms a kind of love triangle throughout the series. Though Marc and Stephen share the same body, they're different men and Layla seems to love them both equally. She falls in love with Stephen while still harboring feelings for Marc.
Splitting The Personalities
The twist in episode four landed Marc Spector in a mental health hospital and questioned the reality of the series. The best Moon Knight comic book issues do the same thing, especially the Jeff Lemire run, but the show went in an unexpected direction by splitting Marc and Stephen.
The series put the two personalities together in the same space and gave Issac a tremendous opportunity to flex his talent. Splitting the two also brought them closer together and created a lovely reconciliation between the two men.
Stephen Becomes Mr. Knight
Based on his iconic role in the comics and early promotional materials, fans expected to see Mr. Knight in the series. Stephen inadvertently creating the Mr. Knight persona as he fought for control against Marc made for a completely unexpected development.
In the comics, Mr. Knight functioned more like a different version of Moon Knight rather than a separate personality. Making him Stephen's avatar, in a sense, added a lot of dimension to the character not present in the original comics.
Marc Goes Back For Stephen
The splitting of Marc and Stephen then led to their seemingly eternal separation in episode five. But Marc changed his mind in the finale. In an unexpected development, he leaves the Field of Reeds and goes back to try and save Stephen from the Underworld.
Rather than go a typical route and present Marc as a whole and complete character who shed his fake personality, he accepts Stephen as his own person. He approaches Stephen and himself with love and understanding in a unique way for the MCU.
Taweret
Episode four ended with a major unexpected twist, but the very end of the episode delivered the best from the series. The appearance of a giant talking hippopotamus in the hospital threw fans as much as it did Marc and Steven.
Taweret doesn't rank among the most powerful Heliopolis gods in Marvel Comics but she stole the show with her quirky appearance and personality. She likely returns in future seasons now that Layla serves as her avatar.
Battle Of The Giants
Fans expected a battle between Ammit and Khonshu's avatars in the finale but the giant-size faceoff between the two provided another Moon Knight surprise. Powerful magical beings fight in the Marvel Universe all the time, but never really like this.
The two ancient Egyptian deities grew to giants and fought each other in a classic kaiju fight at the Great Pyramid of Giza. The scene teases the potential of other Helipolitian gods in the MCU using their powers in unexpected ways.
Meeting Jake Lockley
The series teased Moon Knight's third personality from the very beginning, and fans zeroed in on Jake Lockley, a cab driver from the comics. But his violent debut after Khonshu released Marc and Steven demolished fan expectations.
Jake Lockley remains Khonshu's avatar, and Steven and Marc likely have no idea. His emergence during critical moments, especially violent fights with the likes of Harrow, may make him a villain in a possible second season.
Harrow Meets His End
Arthur Harrow ranked among Moon Knight's most powerful villains in the comics, but the show reimagined him. His fate in the MCU felt secure when the credits rolled, but the post-credits scene ended Harrow's life in a very unexpected way.
Ethan Hawke gave a great performance as the determined but somewhat sympathetic villain, and he certainly could have had a role in a second season or beyond. Instead, Harrow joins the ranks of other MCU villains who died in their first appearance.
Layla Becomes Tawaret's Avatar
Moon Knight's twists and turns made the endgame hard to anticipate, but Layla becoming the avatar of Taweret takes the prize as the series' most unexpected development. Her fantastic costume and powers have no source in the comics.
May Calamay's fantastic performance endeared to fans, and her ascent to an avatar rewards that appreciation. While few saw this coming, it's clear that Layla remains a key part of Moon Knight's adventures moving forward.