Moon Knight Perfectly Answered Oscar Isaac's Casting Controversy
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Moon Knight episode 5, «Asylum,» and The Believer
Moon Knight episode 5, «Asylum,» centered around a stunning double performance from Oscar Isaac – justifying his casting a hundred times over – and introduced an element not yet openly seen in the MCU: A character's Jewish background. As a Jewish Marvel fan, I've been eagerly anticipating Moon Knight's arrival in the MCU, and when the religious traditions started becoming apparent in Moon Knight episode 5, I audibly reacted. However, there has been some discussion around whether a Jewish actor should have portrayed Spector instead, given that it's such a significant moment for the representation of Judaism in the MCU. Works like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Golda came under fire for using similarly non-Jewish actors to tell intrinsically Jewish stories, so what makes Oscar Isaac's casting any different?
«Asylum» sees Marc Spector and Steven Grant facing the consequences of a well-placed bullet to the chest courtesy of Arthur Harrow; it seems both alters are well and truly dead. Their version of the afterlife takes the form of a boat/psychological facility, and hippo-goddess Taweret's scales – the alters' ticket to a peaceful afterlife and avoiding eternal petrification in sand – keep teetering back and forth, signaling that the worst outcome is likely unless they «balance their souls» and get to the truth about their lives. What follows is an absolute tour-de-force of writing, acting, and editing, as both alters are whisked through Moon Knight's traumatic past that Steven builds his defense mechanism around. At the two most grievous times, the deaths of his brother and mother, a Shiva is taking place – the closest thing in Judaism to a
Read more on screenrant.com
