Moon Knight Actress Speaks Out About the Hippo Surprise (Exclusive)

Warning - this article contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Moon Knight.

The fourth episode of Moon Knight just aired for audiences worldwide, and it sure did drop quite the bombshell on audiences. Not only was Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spector shot, but instead of falling to his death, he awoke in a psychiatric hospital. Is he dead? Is this new world his actual reality, or some trick of the mind?

There are lots of questions to be had, but little to no answers have revealed themselves. The biggest shocker happened in the final few seconds: a giant Hippo lady appeared, completely scaring the living daylight out of both Steven and Marc—not to mention everyone watching from home.

For those wondering, that mysterious talking figure is the Egyptian Goddess Taweret. In myth, she, the Hippopotamus, is described as the goddess of childbirth and fertility. With such a big twist, it’s hard not to wonder if the cast members of the show knew it was going to happen before the actual production started filming. Now, one of Moon Knight's actors has addressed the hippopotamus in the room.

The Hippo In the Psychiatric Ward

The Direct's Russ Milheim got to sit down with actress Lucy Thackeray, who plays Donna in Moon Knight, to discuss the glaring hippo in the psychiatric ward within those closing seconds of the Disney+ series' fourth installment.

Thackeray revealed that Marvel kept her in the dark about the surprise Egyptian goddess despite her brief appearance in the scene before. The actress noted, however, that there was a specific reference to Taweret in the series' premiere episode during "one of [the] little scenes in the stockroom [between Donna and Steven]:

“I’ve heard about the hippo, but I have no idea. Somebody else asked about the hippo, and I was like, ‘I’m sorry?’ One of our little scenes in the stockroom, actually, the very beginning of the scene, I say something like, ‘Bring the hippos over here,’ and [Steven] says, ‘Oh no, they’re actually called Taweret.’ You’ve gotta really be listening. But other than that, I literally have no idea what to expect. I’ve heard little things from other cast members [about the last episode], and it all sounds crazy.”

For those hoping to see Donna one last time, it sadly doesn’t look like that will happen. According to Thackeray, “that’s Donna’s [last scene]," but she hopes there’s room for her return:

“I mean, unless they’ve done something crazy with the edit. I think that’s Donna’s [last scene]... I just hope the museum doesn’t get blown up [in one of those final episodes]. Cause then there’s hope that Donna can come back.”

Keeping the Hippo in the Bag

While the stars of the show, Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, likely knew about the Egyptian hippo goddess' surprise appearance, many of the other different actors that popped up throughout Steven/Marc’s life were likely in a similar spot of confusion as Thackeray when those hospital scenes started to film. Even amongst any confusion, they all likely had a fun time with the craziness of it all.

While fans are used to dealing with Marvel’s intense secrecy on this side of everything, it’s easy to forget how sometimes the actors of these projects have to deal with the very same situation. It’s nothing new, however, but it's a system that seems to be working quite well for them.

As for the hippo, well, who knows why the Goddess ended up there. Marc’s situation doesn’t really fall under her area of God-coverage, so it’s confusing, to say the least. Thankfully, fans only have to wait a week to get the answers; well, for at least some of them.

Moon Knight is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.