At the end of the finale of Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight, audiences were finally introduced to the third mysterious persona: Jake Lockley. The new personality had been teased throughout the whole season, as seen in the random violent blackouts, or the creepy third sarcophagus in Episode 4. MCU Fans had been dying to finally get a peek of him, and it wasn't until the finale's post-credits scene that they did.
But how have Marc and Steven gone so long without knowing about Jake? Did those violent outbursts never rear their ugly faces sooner? Especially if the pair have started to become more attuned to each other in recent months, it raises the question as to whether the two knew of Jake's presence.
More importantly, in the show’s fifth episode, how were the two able to balance Taweret’s scales if Jake was still sitting around in his head? Thankfully, The Direct was able to ask that very question to Moon Knight’s head writer.
Balancing Marc’s Hearts
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, Moon Knight head writer and executive producer Jeremy Slater opened up about Marc Spector and Steven Grant were able to balance Taweret's scales in Episode 5, even though Jake Lockley existed.
Some fans have considered this a plot hole, as presumably all aspects of Marc's system would need to be balanced in order to progress to the Field of Reeds. If there was a lingering part of Marc's psyche that was out of whack, wouldn't that affect Tawaret's judgement? How was it possible for the scales to balance?
Slater revealed that because "they weren't aware of [Jake's] presence... they didn't really have anything to balance in terms of that:"
“Yeah, we kept him out of there. Essentially, Marc and Steven needed to reconcile who they were. They needed to come to grips with who they are inside that system. They weren’t aware of [Jake's] presence, so they didn’t really have anything to balance in terms of that because they’re still sort of unaware. It was much more about their internal journey over the course of that episode. And a lot of people—I like the fact that there is still healthy debate in terms of what actually causes those scales to become balanced at the end of the episode."
The writer went on to clarify how he felt "it was always Steven's decision that ultimately balances those scales at the end:"
"I’ve seen people say it's all about Marc kind of accepting Steven’s purpose and everything, and from my perspective, it was always Steven’s decision that ultimately balances those scales at the end. Steven realizes that he is the protector of the system, and him finally stepping up and doing that job, and sort of assuming the mantle of what he was always supposed to be. For me, Marc knew exactly who he was over the course of that episode. He was repressing it and delaying it, but Steven kind of had no idea what his purpose was and why he was there. So the misdirect we play is [how] you think it's Marc who is not coming to grips and dealing with things, and by the end of it, it’s ultimately Steven who has to make that decision. But I love the fact that like fans have their own theories and that people are arguing in my Twitter mentions over it. I think that’s really fun.”
Taking Jake Out of the Equation
It would seem that the balancing audiences witness was only in relation to Steven and Marc, so their side is the only important one. Even with that being true, it’s still questionable how an entire personality was left banging around in a sarcophagus within the walls of an asylum-based fever dream—doesn’t seem all that balanced.
While Marc and Steven may not have been aware of a third persona, they probably should have been more curious about the third coffin. Especially given how Steven emerged from one that looked just like it.
Also, even though they may not have been knowledgeable about Jake’s presence, Taweret would probably have picked up on something. It's possible that Marc, Steven, and Jake all have to be balanced within themselves, rather than balanced in tandem with one another. Jake certainly seemed cool, calm, and collected in the post-credits scene, so maybe him being well put together was enough to keep the scales from tipping.
Alas, the mystery of Lockley will have to wait until next season (or general appearance) to be solved.
Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney+.
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