Has A Moon Knight Plot Twist Been Hiding In Plain Sight This Whole Time?
Warning: contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 4 of "Moon Knight"
It's not uncommon for shows to hide hints at what's to come in plain sight, only for fans to point at the screen and make excited noises like Donald Sutherland in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" upon realizing what they missed during a second watch. "The Boys" did it very subtly; after Agent Raynor's head exploded early in Season 2, the show immediately jump-cut to her (still then-unknown) murderer, Sen. Victoria Neuman, being interviewed on TV. "Peacemaker" foreshadowed the alien-possessed-gorilla attack in much the same way, as well as hinting from the beginning in the opening credits sequence that Peacemaker would shoot his father in the head and kill him (Cracked and Redditor u/WulfBli226 noticed, too). Examples of this trope are everywhere, from "BoJack Horseman" to "Gravity Falls" (thanks, Reddit) to many, many more examples than we don't have space to list here.
So what's the upcoming plot twist that's been hiding under people's noses this whole time? And where was that hint? It's an easy one to miss since unlike the "Peacemaker" example above, it was at the end of each episode, not the beginning. If you've already seen Episode 4, then you're probably aware that the big reveal of Steven Grant/Marc Spector's (Oscar Isaac) third personality, Jake Lockley, is imminent. Comic book fans probably knew about him already, but for fans who have only seen the show, hints of his existence have been around since the end of Episode 1.
The closing credits have been subtly preparing audiences for the big reveal since the beginning
If you don't believe us, go log into your Disney+ account, queue up Episode 1, and fast-forward to the end credits. Go ahead, we'll wait. When you press play, pay very close attention two to very important images: the footprints in the sand, and the triple side portrait of Oscar Isaac.
In the sand, there are two sets of footprints that emerge from the right, walk at least three-fourths of the way to the left, with a smaller set of footprints — presumably Layla's (May Calamawy) — veering down. The larger set of footprints above hers fork into two sets midway through their journey, most likely representing Marc, whose prints skew down toward hers, and Steven, whose walk toward the horizon. But shortly before Steven's footprints crest the nearest dune, if you squint and look really close, the prints fork again, possibly representing Jake Lockley.
The second hint comes a little bit later in the credits — and if you think about the context, it's about as subtle as a sledgehammer. At one point, a still profile shot of Isaac flashes on the screen where his face is cut from his head in a crescent shape with a glint of moonlight along the edge. But there are three copies of his face pasted back to back (or, rather, nose to cheek). This is arguably symbolic of the three separate identities that are currently living in his head.