As promised, Moon Knight has been a Marvel Studios production like no other. This mystery-based series, starring Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, isn't just the first MCU project of 2022, but it also broke new ground in terms of its supernatural focus, mature tone, and lack of connections and Easter eggs to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Moon Knight is also unique in that its hero struggles with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and much of the show's plot and mystery happens to be rooted in the character's mental state and his various personalities.
In fact, in Episode 4, titled "The Tomb," Moon Knight's mental disorder, as well as the Egyptian supernatural elements of the series, led to a cliff-hanger twist, with fans questioning all that came before and where Episodes 5 and 6 could lead.
While it's true that Moon Knight has been limited in its references to the larger MCU, the series hasn't abandoned the practice altogether. Episode 4's monumental, albeit confusing, climactic scene was a literal treasure trove of Easter eggs from prior episodes that have more to say about the reality of this series than fans first thought.
Moon Knight Video Highlights Episode 4 Easter Eggs
Episode 4 of Moon Knight ended with Ethan Hawke's villainous Arthur Harrow shooting Oscar Isaac's Marc Spector. Marc then wakes up in a stark, white mental facility where characters from the series, including Layla, are his fellow patients; and the asylum itself is littered with references from the show thus far.
geek.stufff has now posted a TikTok video comparing 14 individuals or items seen in the asylum to where they appeared in earlier episodes of the series.
For example, the video compares the cupcake truck Steven Grant found himself driving in Episode 1 to the cart of the very same cupcakes in the institution.
The video also shows the silent, gold-covered street performer Crawley, who Steven Grant always talked to, no longer gold and now calling out Bingo.
Another callback shows Marc, in the asylum, finding himself tied to a wheelchair, similar to how Steven tied himself to his bed to avoid sleepwalking.
The scene where Steven wakes up near a European village and a castle - which many Marvel fans speculated was Latveria - is a picture in the asylum.
And, perhaps the most shocking moment of Moon Knight so far, the appearance of the anthropomorphic hippo - who appears to be the Egyptian goddess Taweret - was first teased in Episode 1 as a plush hippo at the museum gift shop.
The Chaos of Cupcakes, Goldfish, and Bingo
While audiences no doubt picked up on a few of these callbacks while watching Moon Knight's Episode 4 twist, it's fascinating to see just how many there were and in direct comparison to where they appeared in earlier scenes from the show.
For weeks, Marvel Studios has released posters featuring some of these objects. At the time, few could've guessed they would be the tools to lead fans to question reality, similar to how Steven Grant has been questioning reality all along.
There's also the new question of what the asylum's Bingo cards could mean, given their use in the facility but their absence in earlier episodes.
In addition to the mystery surrounding these references, the asylum office where Ethan Hawke's Harrow questions Marc has also been seen in the show before.
In Episode 2, Steven and Layla find themselves in a storage room filled with artifacts while attempting to escape Harrow and his cult. That same storage room is Harrow's office but with a white paint job and a few new touches.
Since Moon Knight only has two episodes remaining, just what all of these references mean and what's actually happening to Marc and Steven should all soon be revealed. However, that doesn't mean the show is done with surprises as, according to its executive producer, Episodes 5 and 6 are also "going to blow your mind."
Fans should prepare themselves to embrace the chaos as new episodes of Moon Knight debut on Wednesdays on Disney+.
