Ms. Marvel
If you're a comics fan, you know that Kamala Khan has been going through it. She was killed in "Amazing Spider-Man," which is wild, but in comics death is never the end. She was revived on the mutant island nation of Krakoa, finally becoming the mutant she was always destined to be. And it keeps her in line with her MCU counterpart. But, we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. Let's jump in to these final two episodes.
"Time and Again"
Sana: "You know, Magnum got lost once, I had him microchipped."
Muneeba Khan: "Okay, Ammi, Magnum is a dog. Kamala is a girl. Okay? Trust me, if it was legal, I would do it."
We travel back in time to learn more about what happened to Aisha, Kamala's great-grandmother. In 1942, she meets Hasan and they fall in love, having a daughter named, Sana. They live happily, but things start to press in on them. It is becoming less and less safe for Muslims in India. Najma finds Aisha looking for the bangle. Aisha convinces Hasan they must flee with Sana and they head for the trains. But what does all this have to do with Kamala?
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| An adorable family. |
We are treated to a flashback in this penultimate episode that features they mysterious Aisha. Muneeba sees her as a flighty woman who abandoned her family on a whim after filling her daughter's head with fantastical nonsense. As always, the truth of the matter is a bit more complicated and a bit more simpler than all that.
I have to say, "Ms. Marvel" has really enjoyed a visual language all its own and this episode continues that trend. I loved the shifting of the Marvel Studios logo to the sepia tones and the morphing into the old fashioned newsreel. The newsreel is for sure an exposition dump. But it is an entertaining one. A lot of viewers are not going to know a ton about Partition and India and the formation of Pakistan. It gives you just enough knowledge to understand the story the episode is telling and hopefully encourages you to go and learn more on your own.
A flashback episode focusing on characters that we don't know super well and haven't spent any time of this late in the game could have been a disaster. I think flashback episodes, in general, can be super hit or miss. But this one works for the most part. Mehwish Hayat and Fawad Khan, who play Aisha and Hasan respectively, have really great chemistry right from the start. They have the dictionary definition of a meet cute when Hasan finds her sleeping in the fields. You are rooting from them right from the start. It's these small moments that really work in this episode and everything comes together in these scenes. It's a fantastic demonstration of everything working in harmony from the acting to the script by Fatima Asghar and the direction of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Time passes quickly in this episode and I like how they don't do a lot of like captions for this. The reveal that Aisha is extremely pregnant is a great way to show that it's been a while between the scene of them in Hasan's cottage to this scene where she is presenting him with a new cane. And it again fits into the visual language that has become a signature of "Ms. Marvel" in these five episodes.
I don't think I've talked enough about Nimra Bucha's, Najma. I wish she had more to do in this series, but she is a really good villain and we all know the MCU struggles creating compelling villains. I definitely think that Najma is under written, but Bucha brings so much to her portrayal of Najama. She fills in the gaps that the writing leaves. Whether it's the facial expressions of the way that she walks. Bucha injects Najma with this quiet malice that is always right under the surface of even her most genial interactions. It makes total sense why Aisha is so unnerved by their interaction and the way that Najma just coldheartedly stabs Aisha is unnerving to say the least.
I think we all knew as soon as we heard Sana talking about the purple stars that led her back to Hasan that Kamala was going to be responsible for them. And she is. I don't even care that it was so predictable because it was such a nice moment. So much of "Ms. Marvel" is about reconciling your past for a better future that I think this moment is a lot more impactful than it has any right to be.
So much of "Ms. Marvel" is really about generational trauma, particularly the generational trauma passed down from mothers to daughters and a lot of that comes to a head in this episode. It's really heartwarming to see Muneeba, Sana and Kamala finally really connecting and listening to one another. Muneeba finally acknowledging her own teenage rebellions and how they maybe aren't that much different than her daughters. Kamala realizing that that she could have trusted her mother and talked to her about her secret from the beginning. It's great because these types of moments don't always feel earned in the MCU and I think this one definitely does.
My only main issue with this episode is the pacing. I think the flashback portion of the episode is paced really well, but once they are back in the present it feels like things are moving at super speed. Kamala has her final confrontation with the Clandestine. The Veil has been pierced but when the Clandestine try to go though they are basically turned to dust. Najma sacrifices herself to close the veil and gifts her djinn powers to Kamran who cannot handle them. Kamala has a cute goodbye with Kareem aka Red Dagger. Kamran goes to Bruno for help but he's been followed by a Damage Control drone. When Kamran lashes out with his new powers, the drone goes out of control and fires a missile that destroys the Circle Q.
This is all a lot and it happens extremely quickly. I think if the episode had maybe like ten more minutes it would be basically perfect because all these things would have been given more space to breathe. It doesn't break the episode but it is a blemish that doesn't need to be there.
Grade: B+
"No Normal"
Agent Deever: "Please, stop stalling. Don't you see this kid could put you all at risk? If you're abetting a potential suspect, no one will be on your side, Sheikh."
Sheikh Abdullah: "I don't need anyone on my side. "I'm not even concerned if God is on my side as long as I am on His side. For God is always right."
Agent Deever: "I don't have time for Quranic quotes. Excuse me."
Sheikh Abdulla: "Actually, that was Abraham Lincoln."
Back in the present and with her secret no longer a secret from her family, Kamala takes her new costume and heads to aid Bruno and Kamran from the pursuing Damage Control agents. They head to their school to mount one last offensive to hopefully help Kamran escape the US with some help from Red Dagger. But can this new hero pull this all off?
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| This costume looks amazing!! |
So, I definitely wasn't expecting "Ms. Marvel" to deal pretty head on with police brutality, but here we are. I know this may sound cheesy, but I really do think that popular media can be really effective when it comes to changing people's minds about things. And I do hope that seeing the scenes of the Damage Control agents going after these children, particularly the brown children, will shake something in people who think that police brutality is being blown out of proportion.
I do think that some of this is a little heavy handed. I mean, that goes with the territory. But I also think its extremely effective. Watching these Damage Control agents go HAM on these children really makes my stomach turn. There is the scene of Bruno being like punched and slammed up against the glass. But its really them shooting at Kamran and then at Kamala that really makes your blood run cold. They don't even try really any sort of non violent methods before they just start shooting. Seeing Kamala holding up that shield while bullets just rain on it and then off on the ground. I mean, damn.
I wish Agent Deever felt like more of a fully fleshed out character than just this 2-D "bad cop." She's so thinly drawn that she's a caricature. I kind of get it. It's a thin line with these characters. You want them to be clearly in the wrong so people see it, even if they are dense. But I think you also want to sort of be able to see where they are coming from, but I don't think you ever really do with Agent Deever. It's so clear from the jump that she is on the wrong side here. I think making her a bit more realistic would have made this finale more compelling.
Overall, this is another paint-by-numbers MCU series finale. I think there are a lot of fun things. "Ms. Marvel" continues to be visually appealing and interesting like when Kamala is going over her plan on the chalkboard. I think that while this finale does follow the formula the setting and "Ms. Marvel" as a series do enough to change things up to make it more entertaining than some of the others. From the science room goo explosion to the softball machine attack, they really take advantage of where they are and these kids inexperience at doing what they are doing.
We need to talk about Kamala's powers in this finale. So, I'm sure you're all probably aware that in the comics, Kamala has stretchy powers and that she increases the size of her body and body parts by shouting "Embiggen!" I, for one, am glad she's not stretchy. I find live-action like elasticity powers really disconcerting visually. I'm not really looking forward to the MCU Reed Richards, if I'm being honest. I don't mind Kamala having the light powers and I think they do a great job of integrating her MCU powers with her comic powers. Is it pure fan service when she says "embiggen" and encases herself in giant light armor and uses them to make giant fists that she then uses to smash things? Certainly, but I'm here for it and I'm not mad about it.
I do think the climax is a little rushed. Kamala saves Kamran by making a hole in the ground for him to burrow out of. The people of Jersey City rally around Kamala allowing her to escape as Cleary calls Deever and has her stand down. It's all fine, but we've seen it before. And its a little disappointing to see "Ms. Marvel" kind of fall into these cliches that I feel like its avoided for the most part.
I am more interested in the stuff that happens in the epilogue. "Ms. Marvel" leans into the family themes here and I dig it. First, we get Muneeba presenting Kamala with her costume. Then, we have Yusuf telling her that her name in urdu translates to "marvel" and when he says that they called her their "ms. marvel" due to how long they tried for her it makes perfect narrative sense for Kamala to take this as her superhero moniker. Her being a Captain Marvel stan is just icing on the cake.
The biggest revelation here is from Bruno when he talks to her about what he found when he took a closer look at her DNA. Aamir was curious if he may develop powers but Bruno found that Kamala is different from the rest of her family and that her powers come from a mutation in her genes. And if this wasn't clear enough for you, the "X-Men: The Animated Series" theme plays when he announces this. That's right, Ms. Marvel is the MCU's first official mutant and I'm excited. But like, also, can we please get the X-Men in the MCU? PLEASE?!
Our post-credits scene is a snippet from the upcoming "The Marvels." Carol Danvers finally makes an appearance in this series, but not in the way you probably expected. Kamala is in her room when her bangle starts acting strangely. The next thing she knows she's gone and Captain Marvel has crashed into her closet door. Carol is understandably disconcerted when she looks around and sees her likeness everywhere.
Grade: B+
Series Grade: A-
Ms. Marvel will return in this November's "The Marvels," but next up we check back in with Thor and... Jane Foster? "Thor: Love and Thunder" is next up.
What did you all think of "Ms. Marvel?" I really would like it to get a second season. I think it make sense for "Ms. Marvel" to be a series more so than a movie franchise. Let me know in the comments.
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