Why Marc Didn't Want Steven To See His Childhood

Throughout Moon Knight, Marc takes many measures to protect Steven, and the difficult memory confrontations in the afterlife are no exception. Looking into his childhood, particularly the memory when he hides from his mom in his bedroom, Marc's protective instincts continue to take hold of Steven - yet this isn't entirely for Steven's sake. As his bedroom memory shows, Steven protects Marc from his traumatic childhood. In doing so, he's oblivious to his mother's abusive behavior, and Marc wants to keep it that way. Looking at Marc's Moon Knight identities, Steven is perhaps the least traumatized one because of Marc's measures to conceal his difficult past from him.

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Marc wants to keep Steven from the abusive memory for two reasons. First, he simply doesn't want to relive that trauma. Second, he wants to protect Steven from learning that he is an alter of Marc's, or, as Steven says, a "made-up" construct who exists as a kind of security blanket for Marc. Confirming Marc's fears, Steven experiences these feelings anyway because of the memory and has a moment of crisis as a result. While the reasons to protect Steven from his childhood trauma are equally for Marc's benefit as they are for Steven's, Marc cares about Steven and doesn't want him to be hurt.

Why Did The Scales Even Out When Steven Left?

Reaching Osiris's Gate, the scales don't balance until Steven falls out of the boat. Before Marc fully comprehends this, he is standing in the Field of Reeds with the afterlife-themed song "Más Allá Del Sol" ending Moon Knight episode 5. It seems odd that Steven ends up being the obstacle stopping the balancing scales, considering that he has considerably less debt on his soul than Marc. He's not one to kill people, he doesn't hate anyone, and he doesn't wish to hurt others. If anything, he's a helpful, good-natured, and easily excitable person. It would reasonably seem that his heart would then be purer than Marc's.

However, the Egyptian Feather of Truth doesn't weigh a heart simply based on how many bad deeds someone committed in life. Egyptians believed strongly in harmony and gratitude for the life they lived. Marc could only through Osiris' Gate without Steven's protective hand existing to shield him from the uglier, more shameful aspects of his life. Therefore, with Marc being fully able to face both the good and bad, and thus able to begin the process of forgiving himself, the scales are balanced.

Does Time Differently In The Egyptian Underworld?

Moon Knight preempts a potential afterlife problem when Taweret confirms that Marc and Steven are in an afterlife, one of many in the MCU. But there remain questions about the laws of space-time in the Duat. When Taweret remarks that "unbalanced souls are being judged or condemned to the sands before their time," Marc realizes that this undertaking could only be the result of Harrow already releasing Ammit, who's now casting judgment en masse. It's unclear how long Marc and Steven feel like they've been dead, whether it has felt like days to them or only hours, especially with their memory-jumping and stints in Dr. Harrow's office. It's also unknown how long after Marc's death that Arthur was able to awaken Ammit, and how frequently in the living realm that souls are being condemned. Still, it appears that time moves differently in the Egyptian underworld than it does in the living realm. How differently it moves remains unclear.

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Will Steven Return? Is He Gone For Good?

With Steven now unable to protect Marc from his tragic Moon Knight family backstory after falling into the Duat's sands and being turned into sand himself, his death seems absolute. However, the MCU is not against regenerating characters that not only die but fall out of existence entirely, and Steven may be one such example. After turning to stone, Steven remains statuesque and doesn't dissipate into the sand, which is promising. Whether or not he actually comes back into existence, however, depends on how Marc will be brought back to the upper world and whether Steven can him. Steven is a crucial character in Moon Knight for his extensive knowledge and was useful many times throughout the show, despite his bumbling mannerisms seeming to suggest otherwise. If he's needed in Moon Knight's future, surely he will be brought back to life.

How Will Marc Leave The Field of Reeds (Is He Really There)?

The arising cliffhanger of s episode 5 ending shows Marc in the Field of Reeds after Steven falls into the Duat's sands. However, upon seeing the onslaught of souls falling into the Duat before their time, Taweret says that Osiris' Gate "is the only path back" to the upper world, and she agrees to help take Marc and Steven there to help them stop Arthur and Ammit. Only upon the balancing of the scales, however, can anyone through the gate, whether it be for staying in paradise or getting to the upper world.