WARNING: The follow may contain potential spoilers for Moon Knight on Disney+.
Moon Knight's first trailer dropped January 18, and it's already drawing parallels to other Marvel shows just by the simple act of Steven Grant chaining himself to the bed. No, not WandaVision or Hawkeye, or any other canon Marvel Cinematic Universe show, but to the short-lived ABC show Agent Carter.
The Moon Knight trailer suggests that when Steven falls asleep, his body switches over to mercenary Marc Spector and his crimefighting life as Moon Knight, which he believes to be a sleep disorder. He is also seen falling asleep around the city, which may indicate that he is forcing himself to stay awake to avoid these "dreams." More than likely, he is triple-locking his door and chaining himself to the bed to prevent these mysterious blackouts from happening any further, which is a similar tactic to that which the Soviet spy program Leviathan used on young girls, including Dottie Underwood.
In one of Marvel's earliest spin-off shows, Agent Carter, Dottie is introduced as a product of the Leviathan program, which was a predecessor to the Red Room Academy, possibly making her one of the first Black Widows. Along with every girl from the program, Dottie was handcuffed to her bedpost by her superiors during bedtime. Even in adulthood, Dottie continued handcuffing herself to the bed. Dottie and Steven may have similar routines at night, but they have drastically different reasons for them.
Dottie handcuffing herself is a result of the damage the brainwashing did to her, as she can't fall asleep unless she follows the routine. Steven, on the other hand, knows that unusual things happen in his sleep and feels like he has no other choice to make sure he stays in his room at night. It's unclear if he is forcing himself to stay awake -- the "Staying Awake" program seems to suggest so -- or if he is an insomniac, which would explain why he seems so restless in the beginning of the trailer as he plays with a Rubik's cube. Or there's another answer: Marc is taking up all of Steven's energy when he is asleep by fighting his enemies.
But one thing's for sure -- Steven senses danger from these memories and feels the need to protect himself, and Dottie did as well. Dottie may have been a cold-blooded operative who faked emotions to deceive her enemies, but her traumatic childhood suggests that she was taught to have undying obedience, which led to not just paranoia but also the utmost discipline. Perhaps the creators behind Moon Knight, taking this into account, decided to take a page from Agent Carter to showcase Steven's frantic state of mind, and the efforts he puts into finding a solution.
It's unknown if this connection was intentional, but it's awfully coincidental that Steven and Dottie have a strikingly similar bedtime routine. Even if it's nothing more than a coincidence, recognizing this detail as a horrific effect of Steven's sleepless life does resurrect the underrated story of Dottie as an early victim of what would be the Red Room, which was never appreciated as much as it should have been. Their stories may overlap in this area, but are still widely different -- Dottie is an assassin at day, and Steven is a crimefighter at night.
To see how Steven handles his nightly adventures, stream Moon Knight, premiering on Disney+ on March 30.