‘Moon Knight’ is a new Disney+ series that shows exactly how trauma works and how our Inner Child needs to be held and integrated before we move on with our lives, stronger and mature.
Steven is Marc’s Inner Child. He was created as a survival mechanism to help him cope with his childhood trauma. And for a long time it was all working perfectly, before Steven started to get into his way. That is always the case. Dr. Gabor Maté talks about it and others too. This week I watched another summit about relationships, this time organized by Terry Rice, and he was explaining how we can take care of our Inner Child as adults and internalize them. Marc does just that with Steven. Only after he integrates Steven, he can become whole again. They merge into one warrior that utilizes the strengths of both of them.
But before that happens we see how disconnected Marc is from his emotions. Like any typical male brought up in Western society he was told to be strong. Vulnerability was perceived as a weakness so he had to learn how to hide his real feelings from Layla and now he just shuts off when she is trying to confront him. And all she really wants is to connect with him. ‘Everytime I learn something new about you I think “That’s it. There can’t possibly be any secrets left between us.” And then something else pops up, and it’s like I’ve not known you at all’ – she says at some point. And he replies: – ‘Yeah, you haven’t. You don’t.’ Even when he puts his guard down for a second, he then quickly shuts down again, admitting he is not a talker.
Steven on the other hand is immature, acting like a little boy, but unlike Marc – he has a big heart. When Layle tells him her father is dead, Steven says he is sorry. He is more empathetic than Marc. He also explains to Layla why Marc is pushing her away. But their hearts aren’t full and feel incomplete until Marc has a talk with Steven who tells him that he is not responsible for what happened in his childhood. They do not give up on each other but start to cooperate and that’s the only way forward. And their hearts are what apparently really matters in the Afterlife. ‘The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the sign of who you really were in life’ – explains Steven to Marc. But their scales only balance when Steven’s heart is absorbed by Marc.
‘I can’t save anyone who won’t save themselves.’ – Harrow tells Marc. – ‘I can’t help you if you don’t help yourself.’ And he is right. We cannot help people who do not want our help, no matter how much we want to and try. Only they can heal themselves, and only when they are ready.
