Moon Knight's Hippopotamus Explained: Taweret's MCU Connections Revealed
Moon Knight delivered an in-depth look at the lore of the Egyptian gods of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the third episode giving viewers an understanding of the Ennead, their backstory, and why they chose to abandon humans. During the installment, five avatars of the gods were featured, namely Horus, Isis, Tefnut, Osiris, and Hathor.
The Ennead was involved in several significant moments in Episode 3. First, the gods were summoned by Khonshu for Arthur Harrow's trial, ultimately leading to an unfortunate end on the Moon god's part as his fellow deities didn't believe his accusation. The group then resurfaces at the episode's ending, with them imprisoning Khonshu in stone due to him turning back the night sky.
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Originally, the Ennead is composed of nine Egyptian gods, but Moon Knight only showed five of them (six, if Khonshu was not banished). This led to speculation among fans about what happened to the other gods.
Now, the fourth episode has shed some light on another Egyptian god.
Moon Knight Episode 4's Ending Has a Hippopotamus (Recap)
Warning - the rest of the article contains spoilers for Moon Knight Episode 4.
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Moon Knight Episode 4 had a crazy ending.
After Marc Spector was shot by Arthur Harrow, he woke up inside a mental asylum, suggesting that the events of the first three episodes didn't happen. It was revealed that Harrow is actually Spector's therapist, with May Calamawy's Layla being another patient inside the facility.
However, things went from crazy to intriguing as it was unveiled that Steven Grant was also present in the institute, leading to the first unexpected meeting between him and Spector.
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At the tail-end of the episode, however, the pair's meeting is cut short by the arrival of Taweret (played by Antonia Salib), an Egyptian goddess with the body of a... hippopotamus? In mythological tales, Taweret is the goddess of childbirth and fertility, acting as a protector of mothers and children.
What's Next for Taweret? MCU Future Explained
Taweret's appearance at the ending of Moon Knight Episode 4 essentially served as the character's Marvel debut, mainly due to the fact that the Egyptian goddess has no prior history in the comics.
Antonia Salib, the actress who portrayed Taweret, previously revealed in an interview that she was "given license" by Moon Knight director Mohamed Diab and the crew to "create" her character. Salib also cited that it was a "collaborative process" from the start:
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"I think with having the time with a series, you're really able to explore all these different characters and the emotional journey that Steven and Marc (Isaac) are going through and you really flesh it out. Personally, it felt like such a collaborative process, which was brilliant for such a big organization. From the moment when I read the scenes when I was auditioning to when I started working with the director Mohamed Diab and the costume team to VFX, it felt like I was given license to create my character and everyone was on board together."
Salib's reveal indicates that there could be more appearances of Taweret in the final episodes. The Egyptian hippopotamus goddess' inclusion in the mental asylum is the first clear sign that the facility is potentially not real, and this could be one of Arthur Harrow's tricks to confuse Marc Spector.
Without Khonshu, Harrow is clearly aware that Spector is defenseless, so the cult leader could be taking advantage of Marc's 'broken mind.' This gives him the freedom to include a plethora of illusions in the asylum that he created for Spector, and one of them could be Taweret. Alternatively, the hippo goddess may have infiltrated this possible illusion, in order to snap Marc back to reality.
The fact that Taweret has no history in Marvel Comics allows many story opportunities for Moon Knight.
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Given Taweret's sweet and calming demeanor, it's possible that she could be the key to saving Spector and Grant inside whatever world Harrow created. On the flip side, she could also serve as one of Harrow or even Ammit's minions to trick Spector inside the mental institute.
Despite not having any Marvel history, one of Moon Knight's comic runs could hold the answer about Taweret's MCU future.
The mental asylum concept of the episode is inspired by Jeff Lemire’s 2016 Moon Knight run. In this story, Spector wakes up in an asylum with memories of being a hero, but he has no actual powers. Ultimately, it was revealed that Ammit is one of Marc's doctors, thus proving that the asylum is fake.
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Aside from seeing both personalities of Spector in the flesh, Taweret's appearance could be the additional confirmation that the asylum is indeed fake, thus having a similar twist to Lemire's Moon Knight run.
There's a strong chance that Moon Knight's final two episodes will explain Taweret's history, but this could be overshadowed by the fact that the goddess could be a villain instead of an ally. Taweret could be under the influence of Harrow and Ammit, with the mental asylum serving as its prison. That said, a potential showdown between Spector and Taweret could be on the cards.
However, it's also reasonable to assume that Taweret is not evil, and she could simply be there as an illusion or Marc's savior. Whatever the case, Spector and Grant will need all the help that they can get to escape this mental prison, and Taweret could be their only hope.
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Moon Knight's first four episodes are now streaming on Disney+.
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