Moon Knight Episode 5: What is Duat and where does Marc find himself during the ending of Moon Knight Episode 5

Warning: spoilers ahead for Moon Knight Episode Five.

Episode Five of Moon Knight journeys deep into Egyptian mythology, with Marc and Steven learning that they are not in a hospital, but rather Duat. But what is the mysterious Egyptian afterlife – one of many, according to hippo goddess Tawaret – and what is awaiting them there?

Here’s a look at the Ancient Egyptian beliefs associated with Moon Knight Episode Five and what the fates of Marc and Steven at the end of the episode mean.

What is Duat?

Duat is the realm of the dead in Ancient Egyptian mythology, often represented in hieroglyphs as a star inside of a circle. Osiris is the lord of the underworld, referenced when Tawaret says his gate is the only way out of Duat.

Specifically, Duat is the place where people’s souls go for judgement. The dead need to surpass various demons and challenges in order to have their heart weighed.

Various other gods live in Duat alongside Osiris, often appearing to the dead as they journey through. Duat is thought to look much like the world the Egyptians knew, with rivers, islands, fields, deserts, and more, but also fantastical elements, such as lakes of fire, walls of iron, and trees of gemstones.

Tawaret guides Marc and Steven through the Egyptian afterlife, Duat. Photo: Disney / Marvel.

This is reflected in Moon Knight Episode Five, as much of the action takes place in a familiar desert, but a boat floats through the desert and Marc and Steven are propelled into various visions of the past.

Ending of Moon Knight Episode Five explained

Marc and Steven are in Duat to have their hearts weighed, but Tawaret notes that there is something incomplete about their hearts. The problem is only rectified when Steven is pulled from the boat and frozen in sand. The scales finally steady, despite Marc’s pleas for Steven to be rescued.

Marc and Steven meet two very different fates at the end of Moon Knight Episode 5. Photo: Disney / Marvel.

In a brief moment, Marc then finds himself standing in an endless field of golden crops, most likely the golden reeds that Steven and Tawaret described as Paradise. Does this mean that Marc is now fully dead and at rest without Steven there to unbalance him?

It seems unlikely that both Steven and Marc will not manage to return – and we can only hope that both alter egos make it to the land of the living in Moon Knight’s season finale.