the first episode of Moon Knight where Oscar Isaac's Stephen Grant hits a low point during a date, and that's exactly what director Mohamed Diab wanted.
Moon Night Episode 1 Director Mohamed Diab fought to preserve the scene of Stephen Grant's heartbreaking history for one very important reason. The Marvel limited series Moon Knight premiered this week on Disney+ and has begun a new adventure, this time around MCU newcomer Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac). Although Stephen thinks he's a normal guy, he's one of the characters living inside Mark Spector, mercenary suffering from a dissociative identity disorder. Oh, and Mark is also a servant of the Egyptian moon god Khuncho, who bestowed upon him powers for mysterious purposes.
The first episode of Moon Knight keeps things firmly with Stephen and only hints at the second part of the story that has to do with Mark. Since Stephen does not yet know what is happening around him, the audience is similarly left to piece together things with the limited information that is presented to them. In a particularly poignant scene, Moon Knight highlights the difficulties that come from living with DID. Stephen arrives at a steakhouse on a date he doesn't remember having arranged for him, and though he's excited about it, he soon realizes that he somehow lost two days of his life and misses the appointment completely. That's because Mark held the position for a while and went on a mission abroad; Stephen just thought it was a dream.
While speaking to THR in an interview timed for the release of the first episode, Diab expanded on that history scene a bit more and revealed that he had to fight to keep it. To Stephen in a major way. There's a slight comedic feature in the scene because Stephen is a vegetarian who doesn't know how to order steaks, but it's also an emotional moment. Diab said:
I remember fighting for that scene. This scene was written by Sarah [Joe] and me, and I knew I'd never know Stephen unless we had that steak scene. This is the moment when the audience will say, "It's the first episode, but I love this character. Done." For me, it was very important to find something to express that DID is not just a coma and then his life is fine and normal. no-no-no. It ruined his life, even his romantic life. He cannot have a lover or a normal relationship with anyone because of what he is going through. It's a dark comedy moment, but it's the moment when audiences can connect with Stephen.
Based on fan reactions that quickly swept the internet after the first episode of Moon Knight came out, it's safe to say that Diab has managed to win over fans. Isaac's look of utter devastation even as he stumbles his way through ordering a steak that gets home is even more poignant when considering the rest of the episode. Stephen laughs through his awkward avatar jokes and pseudo-therapy sessions with a street artist, but he keeps inside him more than just his confusingly sweet nature. Moon Knight is certainly a Marvel show, but he's already done more personal work than most movies do at the same time.
So far, Moon Knight only has 1 episode under her belt, so there are still 5 more episodes left. Stephen is just beginning to truly understand what is happening around him, and it can be assumed that later installments will reveal more about Mark as well. It will be interesting to see how the two characters interact as Moon Knight continues. One has to hope for an optimistic ending that awaits Mark and his collaborators, but viewers should pay attention to find out.