Revealed: Here’s Who The Hippo Goddess Was In Moon Knight Episode 4

We encountered several of the MCU’s ancient Egyptian gods in Moon Knight episode three. In a way, that’s true. Khonshu is the only Egyptian god

By Akshay Sharma
April 23,2022
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We encountered several of the MCU’s ancient Egyptian gods in Moon Knight episode three. In a way, that’s true. Khonshu is the only Egyptian god we’ve seen in his true form thus far. However, the most recent episode of Moon Knight surprised everyone. Marvel’s rendition of the ancient Egyptian Goddess Taweret comes to life on our screens in Moon Knight episode four. Taweret is frequently depicted in mythology as a woman with a hippo head. And now the MCU has given the goddess all her hippo goddess beauty, including Taweret’s human hair detail. But who is Taweret, and what role will she play in Moon Knight’s story?

Taweret was the goddess of fertility and motherhood in ancient Egyptian mythology. Taweret was a goddess who guarded mothers and children. She was originally represented as a fierce goddess, which explains her affinity with animals like the hippo. Taweret is frequently represented with a hippo’s head, as previously stated. Although she is associated with the lion and the crocodile in legend. She preserves her human hair, which is unusual.

Taweret, on the other hand, came to be known for a distinct kind of ferocity. The goddess’s later incarnations are more focused on her motherly ferocity, the kind that comes from a mother protecting her children. Taweret was later represented in Egyptian mythology as a nurturing force, the kind of nurse who warded off evil spirits intent on harming mothers.

Tawaret’s Personality Will Be Explored

Moon Knight's Hippopotamus Explained_ Taweret's MCU Connections Revealed
Moon Knight’s Hippopotamus Explained Taweret’s MCU Connections Revealed

The goddess’s dualism is captured in Moon Knight episode four. Though Taweret’s MCU appearance appears frightening at first, frightening both Marc Spector and Steven Grant, her high-pitched, even timid “Hi!” contradicts that first impression. Moon Knight’s Taweret, like her ancient Egyptian counterpart, appears to be more of an assist than an enemy. The ancient Egyptian hippo goddess was tied to the afterlife, according to the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. “Taweret guarded the pathways to the underworld’s mountains in the west, and he could also utilise magic to assist the deceased in securely passing through that perilous and frightening area.” Given the MCU’s proclivity for expanding the Multiverse, Tawaret’s appearance in the Marvel show could imply that the realm of the underworld or afterlife is on the horizon.

Jeremy Slater, Head Writer/Executive Producer, explained how the Moon Knight’s concept of the MCU Taweret came to be.

He writes, “Marvel provided us with a tons of reference material on Egyptology, as well as ancient Egyptian gods and deities, right from the first week. One of those pieces of material was a laminated poster with cartoon pictures of all the gods, one of which was Taweret, drawn like a tiny kid. I stared at that for the entire first week of our writers’ room. Then, eventually, I couldn’t take it any longer. ‘Guys, we have something far more important to discuss, which is how do I get this hippo into the show?’ I said, interrupting whatever we were talking about.

No, I’m taking this extremely seriously. We’re going to put her on the show. That, I believe, was the first time everyone recognized, well, we’re allowed to be odd here. We’ve been given licenses to do things that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to do if you weren’t working for Marvel Studios. This was the source of our strange swing. Most importantly, it allowed my favorite hippo to appear on the show. We adore a hippo goddess, and we adore Moon Knight’s eccentric behavior. We can’t help but think of the plush hippopotamus from Moon Knight’s first episode. The hints to the MCU’s Taweret had been there all along. Antonia Salib portrays Taweret in Moon Knight.

What does it imply for Marvel’s universe and Moon Knight now that Taweret has made her grand appearance in all her hippopotamus glory?

Taweret: Friend Or Foe?

Tawaret is introduced as the Goddess of Healing at the end of Episode 4 in Moon Knight
Tawaret is introduced as the Goddess of Healing at the end of Episode 4 in Moon Knight.

Despite the fact that Moon Knight does not appear to feature any moms or children; the show has previously presented the Goddess Hathor. Hathor is the goddess of women and love, and she also appears to be the goddess of women and children. Hathor also appears to have a history with the MCU’s version of Khonshu. So, in some way, Taweret’s Moon Knight appearance is linked to Hathor. We also know that Arthur Harrow shot Marc Spector in Moon Knight. He also falls through water when he enters his dream world. Another cause for Taweret’s look could be this. If our Moon Knight is on the verge of death, he may cross paths with Taweret, a realm guardian, on his way to the afterlife.

In addition, Taweret is the Egyptian goddess of childbirth, according to Marvel. She becomes a cohort to Sobek, the god of rivers, while married to Bes, the god of luck and probability. In Moon Knight’s closing credits, we also glimpse the Nile River as though we are in it. Perhaps the river represents a type of limbo zone in the MCU, leading us to the underworld proper in this case. We wouldn’t be astonished if we ran into Sobek, the crocodile god. After all, Sobek is a river’s mythological representation.

Given the importance of the afterlife in ancient Egyptian mythology, its inclusion in the MCU makes perfect sense. And the introduction of the hippo goddess Taweret into Marvel’s reality by Moon Knight appears to be one step closer to this new multiverse area.