The Hippo Goddess Taweret Tease You Likely Missed In Moon Knight Episode 1

When we first meet Taweret in "Moon Knight," it isn't actually in her fully-realized humanoid form. In Episode 1 ("The Goldfish Problem"), Steven's boss, Donna (Lucy Thackeray), forces him to do inventory as punishment for arriving late to work. Among the items that Donna requests Steven unpack is a box full of hippopotamus plushies. Of course, since this is a museum gift shop largely focused on Egyptian gods, the plushies are of Taweret, a fact that Steven eagerly points out when Donna refers to them as mere hippos. 

Donna has no patience for Steven's love of Egyptian mythology and rudely shoos him away. In retrospect, however, fans will surely appreciate Steven's knowledge more. Of course, at the time this episode first aired, this probably seemed like a fairly unimportant detail to most viewers. Any Egyptian museum gift shop worth its salt would surely have plenty of merchandise related to the subject, after all. However, it's also notable that without Steven's knowledge, we wouldn't have much of an idea of the threat posed by the bubbly hippo in Episode 4 ("The Tomb"). 

Although Steven's knowledge didn't seem to quell his fears much, it's certainly comforting for audiences to know that "Moon Knight" writers have been planning this enormous twist from the very beginning of the series. Unfortunately, we still don't know exactly what Taweret truly has in store for Steven and Marc. She certainly seems friendly enough, but the gods of Egypt aren't always well understood (Exhibit A: Khonshu). It certainly seems possible that her cheerful attitude belies some antagonistic intentions.