After repeatedly hinting at Marc Spector’s (Oscar Isaac) backstory across its first four installments, Moon Knight finally delivered its most emotionally moving and vulnerable episode last week. The Disney+ show’s fifth chapter laid bare some important truths about its multi-dimensional lead before seemingly eliminating his primarily alternate personality, Steven Grant, and leaving Marc stranded in the Field of Reeds.
Moon Knight Episode 5 left a lot of story threads dangling for its sixth — and final — installment to pick up. Unfortunately, a new Moon Knight leak suggests that the series’ highly anticipated season (and possibly series) finale may be a whole lot messier than Marvel Cinematic Universe fans would like it to be.
The Leak — According to MCU insider Amit Chaudhari, Moon Knight Episode 6’s runtime will end up clocking in somewhere between 42 and 45 minutes in length, including the credits. Assuming this leak is true, that means Moon Knight’s final episode will not only be its shortest, but also the shortest season finale of any of Marvel’s live-action Disney+ show to date. Most MCU fans will probably be disappointed to hear that, and for good reason.
Too Much to Do, Too Little Time — There is a lot that Moon Knight has to do in its final episode in order to deliver a satisfying conclusion to its story.
Not only does the episode have to bring Marc out of the Field of Reeds and back to life, but it also has to free Khonshu so that Marc can actually step up and try to stop Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) from unleashing Ammit’s judgment upon the world. Additionally, the finale will have to reunite Marc with Layla (May Calamawy), and find some way to save Steven from spending eternity trapped on the sands of the Duat.
It doesn’t seem like 45 minutes is enough time for Moon Knight Episode 6 to be able to pull all that off without feeling rushed or messy. That doesn’t mean Moon Knight’s Season 1 finale will automatically be disappointing, but it certainly raises some early concerns about the quality of the show’s final chapter.
The Inverse Analysis — Over the past year, Marvel has had a notoriously difficult time wrapping up its Disney+ shows, with the finales of WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye all earning lukewarm responses from both critics and viewers. Those episodes tried to pack too much into their runtimes, and largely failed to deliver the kind of nuanced conclusions that their respective series deserved.
Most fans are likely going into Moon Knight Episode 6 hoping that the show won’t make the same mistakes as many of Marvel’s previous TV finales. While there’s still a chance the episode will manage to avoid fumbling the ball the same way that several of its predecessors did, its shortened runtime certainly doesn’t inspire confidence as fans head into its premiere this week.
Moon Knight Episode 6 premieres Wednesday, May 4 on Disney+.