Moon Knight previously mentioned that Steven and Marc began to bleed into one another in unpredictable ways and the latest episode reveals why.
The following contains major spoilers for Moon Knight Episode 5 “Asylum” streaming now on Disney+.
In the very first episode of the series, Steven Grant is seen waking and immediately dismantling the various sets of precautions he has put in place to stop himself from appearing in unfamiliar places. He chained himself to a pillar while sleeping, a carpet of sand rings his bed to reveal wandering footprints and painter's tape seals the seam of his front door to mark his passage into the night. While on the phone leaving a message for his mother, he indicated that he is still waking up every morning sore and unrested, demonstrating that the failsafes he put in place are somehow being circumvented.
However, the impression given was that this is a fairly recent occurrence and not a lifelong hardship. The audience, and Steven, quickly realize that he has been sharing his body with another consciousness that goes by the name of Marc Spector. Marc reveals to Steven that their dual existence used to be more manageable, but something has changed the nature of their relationship, giving increased dominion to whichever consciousness inhabits the body at present. This created a situation where it became necessary for the recessive persona to negotiate their release in order to take charge of their body. The fifth episode explained why this started taking place and reveals the true horror of their mangled psyche.
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When Marc was a child he had a younger brother named Randall. There was a cave near their home they often visited but had been warned by their mother not to enter when it was raining since there was a considerable chance that it might become flooded. One afternoon Marc ignored that warning, despite his little brother's reminder, and Randall died as a result. Marc's mother blamed him for the boy's death and never forgave him for his negligence. Her grief and resentment eventually metastasized into neglect and abuse. In an attempt to protect himself from the mental and physical onslaught she subjected him to, Marc reflexively created Steven's identity as place where he could retreat. Modeled after a fictitious televised British adventurer, Doctor Steven Grant was a man with no fear.
Two months prior to the show's first episode Marc's mother died and the unresolved issues that created his splintered psyche in the first place began to erode the barriers that had always kept the two personalities separate and distinct. As a result Steven continued to be sheltered from the hate and anger of his mother and continued to behave as a reactive dynamic of Marc's perceived failures. Whereas Marc could not engage in a relationship with his mother, Steven was under the false impression that he called her everyday. Marc had to live with the guilt of what happened to his brother but for Steven, the existence of a younger sibling was erased entirely.
This ability of Steven to respond subconsciously to provide the things that Marc lacks also show up in the relationship between Marc and his wife Layla. During their time together Marc kept Steven's presence a secret from her, and it was easier to accomplish in the days prior to his mother's death. However, because he never truly allowed her to know him, and because he wanted to save her from the dangers in his life, he always kept her at a distance. There is evidence to suggest that just as Steven adopted traits that allowed him to experience a loving rapport with his mother, there were also interests cultivated and nurtured to do the same with Layla.
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Marc cannot speak French and has no expertise in ancient Egyptian lore, but these are both parts of Layla that are near and dear to her. Steven had no knowledge of her existence, but he is an expert in all the things she values. He can decipher complex hieroglyphics and coded text, and shares her love for French poetry. Though Marc was always aware of Steven, the same was never true in reverse, which protected Steven in a way that Marc was unable to do with his brother. Steven's entire existence, in this context, is a referendum on the type of big brother Marc wishes he could have been for Randall. There a few examples that further foster that premise, though they have not been explicitly laid out.
Steven is under the impression that his mother has been sending him postcards from the places where she travels and it is now clear that someone else must be sending them. Just as Marc hid his tracks by resetting Steven's failsafes, he manages aspects of Steven's life like an invisible caretaker. When Steven noticed that the fish in his tank wasn't his one finned friend Gus, he returned to the shop where he purchased him to find out what had happened. The shop owner is incredulous because she replaced the fish the day before and doesn't understand why Steven doesn't remember the encounter. One of his personalities also asked out his co-worker Dylan in an attempt to curb some of Steven's loneliness.
While these events certainly happened, the only uncertainty comes from which personality actually performed them. The Jake Lockley identity has yet to be revealed, though his presence has been teased again and again throughout the show. It is possible that Jake was responsible for some of those actions, though given the revelations of the fifth episode that feels less and less likely. Just as Steven had always been unaware of Marc, Jake operates without either of the other two being aware of his presence. Jake may be the manifestation of an older brother, one that seeks to protect Marc in the same way he protects Steven, and helping his two "brothers" may be one of his contributions, in addition to lethal violence. Their mother's death was the catalyst for the two to become more intertwined, perhaps Steven's sacrificial death will be the impetus for the third member of their triumvirate to make himself known.
To see the bond between Marc and Steven, Moon Knight is streaming now on Disney+, final episode airing next Wednesday.
Creator/writer of The Hidden Scribes and COVID39 podcasts. Film screener for the Austin Film Festival and holder of passionate opinions e.g. M>DC+(Wars-Sequels~GOAT)/( Game(Breaking(The Wire)Bad)of Thrones-2 last seasons)=FACTS. Raised by Dungeons and Dragons, judges people who liked "Signs", and solidly chicken on the which came first ideological spectrum.