This is the Way Phase Four This is the Way Phase Four

There really should be some way to warn you what you're about to hear that goes above and beyond what can be included here in the description of the episode. Steve is a bit cruel and snotty about having his time wasted.

The acting in Moon Knight has been, for the most part, superb. Oscar Isaac does as much with the script as an actor can. Ethan Hawke may not be a favorite actor for Steve, but capable actors were in the main and supporting roles. There's even a surprise appearance of the Phase Four iteration of the Scarlet Scarab, though you wouldn't have known it without social media.

Moon Knight's failures came in the script, edit, and planning. When you limit your season to six episodes, faults like those are going to be easier to spot. If you have one story to tell, the exposition is going to feel rushed if it's not poetic and sharp and mindful of the rules the show sets out for itself. In the end, Moon Knight tried to set up a mystery that it couldn't figure out for itself so it figured it could fudge it to the end. It wouldn't have been hard to make it make more sense. It's like someone thought "hey, if we SAY this is about exposing a mental health issue, no one will critique us on the normal storytelling because they'll be afraid (woke)Disney will shame them" and it ruins what could have just been a fun ride. Writing is hard, but the solutions here were obvious, even to an amateur.

It's perfectly fine to disagree. It's also possible that you agree, but just don't like the smart-aleck tone Steve takes. Forgive the frustration, if you wouldn't mind. How bad was this episode, in Steve's opinion? It was so bad, he skipped watching any and all content creator takes on YouTube, something he very much looks forward to doing after he finishes recording. He just didn't care enough.

You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour is a convenient "handle" for links since it also happens to be our Twitter and IG addresses.

If Star Wars is more your (light)speed, find our podcast centered on a galaxy, far, far away called This is the Way Podcast (@ThisistheWayPod) at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. Thanks for listening!


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This was a rough episode to review and discuss. Was it because of the subject matter? Maybe. Was this an important episode for people to watch who have gone through suffering in childhood? Maybe. Was it an important episode to the character of Marc Spector and for the show Moon Knight? Probably. Was it a well-meaning episode? Yeah. Was it a good penultimate episode in a six episode series. Absolutely not.

Episode five was great and terrible at the same time. For the show, it puts a grinding halt on the entire narrative. Marc is in heaven now. Why should we care? Is he NOT in heaven? Well, you should have shown us more at the end to hint that's the case. If the people putting this show together think that pulling a "St. Elsewhere" style reveal at the end or "J.R."-ing us with scenes of Jake Lockley under sedation at the end, then this show was a colossal fraud. Marvel fans don't want or need psychology lessons. Marvel fans want superheros saving the day. If you're going to tell fans of the genre that they'll have to do with it being all in someone's mind, well, you can do that, but don't expect people to watch. Something tells me (woke)Disney will complain anyway.

Yeah, that's right, this show is bringing out a political side the host would rather keep hidden. That should tell you enough. Let's just say we're venturing into "Rian Johnson" territory with this show and it has a lot to live up to in it's final minutes, coming on May 4th, 2022.

Did you like the episode? Great! You're allowed. That doesn't mean other points of view aren't valid. It's not our glass of water, but maybe your scales found balance on the boat, like some "perfectly level" roulette wheel in the "Princess of the Duat" casino.

Music appreciation time! "May Alla Del Sol" from Manuel Bonilla is how Marc Spector first experiences A'aru and "Love and Revenge" by Rayess Bek samples "Saat Saat" as performed by Sabah. We still can't figure out where that song appeared last week, but we're not going back to watch again...unless episode 6 is a "banger" of a finale.

Join in on the discussion, if you like. You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour is convenient for links since it also happens to be our Twitter and IG handle.

If Star Wars is more your (light)speed, find our podcast centered on a galaxy, far, far away called This is the Way Podcast (@ThisistheWayPod) at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. Thanks for listening!


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/this-is-the-way-phase-four/support

Theories galore! Steve wonders aloud a few times in this episode. Is Harrow the secret partner that killed Layla's father...because Layla's father was actually Ammit's avatar or seeking Ammit's treasures? Did Harrow leave Khonshu's service because he stole the cane and was searching for "the little scarab" and Marc's devotion to Khonshu came about after a betrayal? Is Hathor secretly behind all this plotting, actually endowing the cane with power to help release Ammit? IS Tawaret hiding from the Ennead on the funeral boat of the dead or like a hippopotamus just hanging out in the Field of Reeds?

One thing we're absolutely sure of is that the hospital is not real. The lanterns are a "dead" giveaway, but then again, so is Steven and Marc having separate bodies, a couple of sarcophagii lying around imprisoning people, a bingo game with nonsensical letter and number combos, a cupcake cart at a sanitarium, sharp objects and stark colors, an office that is a "dead ringer" for the storage room above Harrow's London haunt, and don't forget the talking "hippo" goddess.

The "real world" should be abuzz at the discovery of Alexander the Great's hidden tomb, but he was hiding something in his tummy. The goat stuff? It turns out all that was foreshadowing for us because he's "the son of Zeus-Ammon", which is weird, because he was a pretty powerful general. He was a "pharaoh-phile" though and apparently the "voice of Ammit" who betrayed her. Heka was a goddess, too...one of healing. She sure had some nasty priests, but nothing superhero Layla can't fight her way past. All we were missing were tasks written down by Henry Jones Sr. in a diary and a chalice at the end. Instead we got a low budget version of Indy called "Tomb Busters".

Join in on the discussion! Let us know if you think Steve is close to solving the mystery or stuck out in the Siwa desert. You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour is convenient for links since it also happens to be our Twitter and IG handle.

If Star Wars is of more interest, Steve produces another podcast called "This is the Way Podcast" (@ThisistheWayPod) and you can find links to it at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. Thanks for listening!




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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/this-is-the-way-phase-four/support

If you ever see the sky spinning at the speed of light at night, it might be Khonshu to blame. We get appearances from Moon Knight, Mr. Knight, Marc Spector, and Steven Grant in this episode AND a pretty big indication we have yet to meet another of Marc's persona non grata. Spector went on a nice little "treasure hunt" for clues to where Harrow would be digging, but kept coming up short. Khonshu signaled for a meeting of the Ennead "eclipse" style and got a dressing down from the five laziest gods on the planet. Maybe Harrow should just run for office if his run-around answer to "Why are you in the desert?" is so readily accepted by supernatural beings. Mere mortals wouldn't have a chance. In the end, the search for Ammit's ushabti by Arthur was allowed to continue while the creation of Khonshu's ushabti happened right before our eyes.

Are we really watching a battle between these lazy gods that just LOOKS like it's between Arthur and Marc? Maybe the Ennead's three triads have been broken and we're seeing some power plays against Osiris and Isis. Those were a lot of ushabti's sitting there in the great chamber. Cross Selim and get chiseled? Maybe Hathor has the hots for one of the gods and our hearts just aren't light enough to be invited to that celestial party. Maybe Arthur is (gasp!) right and releasing Ammit will only be bad for the Ennead. What if Khonshu's quest for justice SHOULD end with his imprisonment? Three episodes remain to clear up questions and for the host of this podcast, a clear connection to the MCU's Phase Four needs to happen or this is just another exercise in wasting time.

Music appreciation time! "Batwanes Beek" from Warda gets sampled by DJ Kaboo for "Enta" and it's beat begins and ends the episode for us. We also hear again from Abdel Halim Hafez, this time "Shaghalouny", another of Hathor's love songs, perhaps? "Walima" by Tito Rinesi gives us some street sound and "Salka" from Hassan Shakosh gets some ferry goers dancing on the way to Anton's house party.

Join in on the discussion since Steve...well, since he's asking you! You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour is convenient for links since it also happens to be our Twitter and IG handle.

If Star Wars is more your (light)speed, find our podcast centered on a galaxy, far, far away called This is the Way Podcast (@ThisistheWayPod) at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. Thanks for listening!


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/this-is-the-way-phase-four/support

Marc Spector caused a lot of damage to the museum "loo" and Steven Grant suffers the consequences. He gets "sacked" and seems to have lost his livelihood, his future as a tour guide, and a bit more of his sanity. With few friends to turn to, he looks inward and finds more than he's ready to handle. Just when he "reunites" with his (well, Marc's) long lost wife--Layla from the flip phone contact list--he gets a visit from corrupt cops who take him to Harrow's version of Shangri La.  Arthur and Khonshu are formerly acquainted it would seem, but he weighed his options and now chooses to support Ammit. Layla brings a scarab to a summoning fight and she brings out a new personality for Steven--Mr. Knight. In the end, it's Moon Knight's job to protect the innocent at night, so control is back in Marc's hands...until Khonshu decides he's had enough and finds a new fist of vengeance.


Music appreciation folk might appreciate the music in episode two with Bauhaus's "quasi-famous" goth hit "Bela Lugosi's Dead", a redux of Dylan's episode one kick-off song and his personal born again anthem "Every Grain of Sand" and we whet our Middle "Eats" appetite with "El Melouk" by Ahmed Saad in the credits.

Join in on the discussion since Steve mostly goes it solo. You can email the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. @TheWayPhaseFour happens to be our Twitter and IG handle.

If Star Wars is more your (light)speed, find our podcast centered on a galaxy, far, far away called This is the Way Podcast (@ThisistheWayPod) at linktr.ee/ThisistheWayPod. As always, thanks for listening!


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/this-is-the-way-phase-four/support

Move over Batman! Moon Knight is on the...

No. No, that definitely doesn't feel right. Marvel Studios brings another entry to the Disney Plus streaming service, for the first time featuring a character that has absolutely no previous ties to Avengers and may never tie in to the MCU. Yes, I know the "Defender" series were moved over, but those existed first on Netflix.

Steven Grant is a mild-mannered "gift shop-ist" who seems to just want to stay under the radar and stay awake. In the first entry to the short (and maybe limited) series, he comes to grips with his dissociative identity disorder. His best friends seem to be a fish with one fin that he has already replaced and a gold painted street performer that won't say a word. Donna, Dylan, and JB don't seem to wish him harm (yet), but Ammit's scales are the new trend in tattoos apparently. Arthur Harrow might enjoy an Annie Lennox tune ("Walkin' on Broken Glass") just as much as Bob Dylan. Englebert Humperdinck, Wham!, Nagat and DJ Kaboo (as well as Abdel Halim Hafez's "Khosara") all get sampled before we finally hear that sweet, sweet new theme music.

Join in on the discussion by emailing the show at thisisthewayphasefour@gmail.com and find our other media at our new Linktree site: linktr.ee/thewayphasefour. Hey. @TheWayPhaseFour is our Twitter and IG handle. How about that?

If Star Wars is more your speed, find our podcast centered on a galaxy, far, far away called This is the Way Podcast (@ThisistheWayPod).


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/this-is-the-way-phase-four/support