This week will see the premiere of theMoon Knightfinale on Disney Plus. With just one episode to go before the miniseries comes to an end, fans still have a lot of questions. For now, though, fans are still reveling in the genius that episode 5 was. Between the major focus on mental health, Marc Spector and his alter ego Steven Grant, the Egyptian goddess Taweret, and the balancing of the scales, the episode had so much to offer. One of the things that some fans may have missed, however, is the relevance of Arthur Harrow’s office and how it plays into the plot.
Inlast week’s episode ofMoon Knight, titled “Asylum,” fans got a good look at the office that belongs to the latestMarvelvillain, Ethan Hawke’s Harrow. While he plays doctor in Spector’s purgatory asylum, he sets up base in a minimalist office. It is one of the most visually striking locations in the series so far, and is mostly covered in white tones, with several pieces of art scattered around the room. But, what some fans may not have noticed is that this space was last seen in episode 2, “Summon the Suit.”
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Towards the end of episode 4 ofMoon Knight, “The Tomb,” Spector first arrives in the asylum after being shot by Harrow in Alexander the Great’s lost tomb. While he does visit Harrow’s office, details of the space are missing. But, in last week’s episode, he spends a lot of time in there, allowing fans to analyze every corner of the room and the various pieces of art in it. Some keen-eyed fans were quick to point out that it was the exact space that Grant andMay Calamawy’s Layla El-Faoulyseek refuge in after being chased by a jackal in episode 2.
In the second episode, Grant meets Harrow at his London compound, and learns about his plans to bring the Egyptian goddess Ammit back to life. When he doesn’t hand over the golden scarab, Harrow uses his cane to summon an Egyptian jackal that attacks Grant and El-Faouly. The two run off into the compound, and find themselves in a room that is dimly lit and filled with artifacts. It’s the same space where fans first witnessedSteven’s iteration of Mr. Knight. It looks nothing like Harrow’s office in the asylum, but upon closer inspection, and side-by-side images that fans have been sharing on social media, it is evident that it is in fact the same space, with the same large window and pillars. Why is this significant, though?
While to many this may seem like the studio reusing the same set in two separate episodes, it has a deeper meaning than just that. Throughout the episode, Spector returns to the office several times, and each time a new section of the space is brought into the spotlight. Each piece of art in that office is important and is connected to the plot of the series thus far. But, at one point in the episode, his alter ego Grant arrives in the office and comes face to face with Harrow. “I recognize this place,” he is heard saying, as the camera pans around the space real quick. Even though no further explanation is offered, this is when it becomes evident that there is a reason behind reusing the same set in two different episodes.
Inthe latestMoon Knightepisode, the goddess Tawaret informs Spector and Steven that the asylum is just a manifestation of their subconscious minds and “something recognizable” to them. It is essentially a purgatory on their way to the afterlife. This mindscape is something created by the protagonists themselves, and this is why Harrow’s office looks the way it does. Having seen the space in Harrow’s London compound, Grant is simply manifesting the office to look identical. In addition, Harrow’s compound had a space for people to watch television, and so did the asylum, along with a games room.
Another argument can be that Marc and Steven designed the asylum the way they did so they could constantly remind themselves of Harrow’s devious plans ofbringing Ammit back to life. While it was Marc’s main mission to stop Harrow, before he was shot by the villain, having the mindscape designed in that way helps him stay on the chosen path and possibly find a way out. Fans last saw him trapped in what Tawaret refers to as the Field of Reeds.
The flip side of the argument, however, is that the space has been created as such to convince Spector and Steven that they did in fact create theentire story of Khonshuand Ammit in their minds. From the goldfish, the cane, the Egyptian artifacts, all the way to the cupcakes, the detail in Harrow’s office isn’t coincidental. A lot of care has been put into the set, and all the items placed within. Spector is being forced to believe that everything that has happened so far was all in his imagination. What makes things even more suspicious is the fact that Harrow’s employees are constantly seen drugging Spector.
The entire asylum is designed in a way that as Spector traverses through the corridors, he is slowly driven further to believe that his life has been a lie. Each room pushes him closer to insanity, and he is constantly seen questioning his reality. It may seem easy for fans to believe that Spector had a traumatic childhood, and the after-effects have cascaded into his adult life. But, the truth could potentially be hidden in plain sight, just shrouded under a coat of white paint. Is Spector truly dead? Fans find out in just a few days.
