Moon Knight episode 5 focuses on Marc Spector’s traumatic origin story. Spoilers ahead.
Moon Knight episode 5 provides some much-needed answers about Marc’s past. It begins with Marc and Steven Grant en route to the underworld as their judgment is being determined by a set of scales. Things are not looking good as Egyptian god Taweret urges Marc to address his trauma to try and balance them out before it’s too late.
He reluctantly goes with Steven through a series of flashbacks as we find out how Marc lost his younger brother Randall when he was just a child. Addressing the heartbreaking twist, director Mohamed Diab has shared why he left part of the scene out of the final cut.
In the episode, we see the young boys pretending to be Dr. Steven Grant and his ward on an adventure. They head through the forest and into a local cave just as the weather turns and it starts pouring with rain. As they enter, Marc can be heard dismissing Randall’s worry that their mother doesn’t let them go inside when it's raining.
Modern-day Steven then follows the brothers into the cave, calling after them and trying to get them to leave. However, tragedy strikes and he can hear Marc and Randall’s cries as they’re caught in the flooded cave. In the next scene, we discover Randall died in the accident, as Marc’s mother blames him for the terrible event.
This aspect of Marc’s story was distressing to watch as a viewer and the creative team behind the show shared their own difficulties with filming it. Speaking to Marvel.com, Moon Knight director Diab shared how he wanted to make sure to not show what actually happened, just to hint at it.
He explained: "It was shot in a way that you're not going to see what happened to kids. Yes, I want to push you as much as we can, but we're not going to go there." He shared how the aim was to see the haunting moment through Steven’s eyes. Cinematographer Gregory Middleton explained one of the ways they did this was by making the scene as dark as possible.
He said: "It's a very difficult thing, storytelling-wise. I want to see what's going on, but I don't want any light there… To create a mood and make it seem appropriately dark. It's a feeling of mystery."
The cinematographer added how he hopes this conveys the experience of being swept underwater. "Hearing [Steve] panic and call out to his brother is like – I’m tearing up just thinking about it now," he added. "You just wanna make sure you capture that."
The Marvel show has only one episode remaining, so check out our Moon Knight release schedule to make sure you don’t miss it. While you’re at it, why not check out our complete guide to upcoming Marvel Phase 4 releases. If you’re not already, subscribe to Disney Plus here.
