The following contains spoilers for Moon Knight Episode 3, "The Friendly Type," now streaming on Disney+.
Moon Knight Episode 3 dropped a name that many fans might have not picked up. "The Friendly Type" makes a subtle connection to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier by referencing that show's hub of criminal activity. The episode reveals that archeologist Layla El-Faouly was involved in some shady business in Madripoor, most likely on the subject of ancient artifacts being stolen.
Moon Knight's venture into Egyptian archeology has been cautiously sensitive, especially after the mishandling of Egypt in past films such as Wonder Woman 1984. The newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe relies on Egypt's culture and history to tell its story of gods. So far, Moon Knight has done a fairly good job of avoiding "orientalist" tropes, and lets the plot speak for itself by having Arthur Harrow, Marc Spector, Steven Grant and Layla explore different Egyptian artifacts as puzzle pieces related to the wider mystery of the Egyptian god Ammit's tomb. However, the MCU has also established that finding these ancient artifacts comes at an expensive price.
The center of the black market lies on the fictional island of Madripoor, located just south of Singapore. Madripoor made its MCU debut in Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1, Episode 3, "Power Broker," as a lawless nation dominated by the criminal underworld which operates on cryptocurrency. Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes and Helmut Zemo visited the island after getting a tip that the Power Broker (who was revealed to be Sharon Carter) funded the re-creation of the Super Soldier Serum. The island was originally inhabited by pirates, which explains its lack of laws and admiration of riches and stolen artifacts.
In Moon Knight, the Egyptian gods deny Khonshu's call for action against Arthur, who is close to digging up Ammit's tomb. But Hathor's avatar Yatzil tells Marc that there is another way to find Arthur's digging site. A medjay named Senfu was tasked with recording the location of the tomb, just in case the gods ever decided to resurrect Ammit. If Marc finds Senfu's sarcophagus, then he'll be able to identify Ammit's tomb. The easiest way to locate the sarcophagus is to start with the black market.
Luckily for Marc, Layla knows a person or two in Madripoor. While the two don't actually visit Madripoor in Moon Knight, they do travel to the residence of someone she did business with while in the city of riches: Anton Mogart, Moon Knight's Midnight Man. Mogart reeks of Madripoor's influence and wealth; he has his own arena where he takes private javelin lessons and owns Senfu's sarcophagus, which is displayed in his backyard. To top that off, his personal bodyguards are willing to kill both Marc and Layla to protect the sarcophagus.
Moon Knight has been careful with how many MCU references the show is dropping, especially considering executive producer Grant Curtis claiming that the show has "no attachment to the current MCU." There have been small Easter eggs here and there, such as a bus advert for the Global Repatriation Council (also introduced in Falcon and the Winter Soldier) and a subtle glimpse at Marc's passport that indicates he survived Thanos' snap in Avengers: Infinity War. There are also subtle details that reference Black Panther's Bast, who created the Spirit World where the spirits of the Black Panthers live eternally. With yet another clue in "The Friendly Type," it wouldn't be surprising if Moon Knight threw out some other MCU lore in future episodes.
New episodes of Moon Knight stream Wednesdays on Disney+.