On Ms. Marvel, Kamala tests her powers
The episode also deftly balances inherited trauma and humor
TV Reviews Kamala
If Ms. Marvel’s season opener introduced Kamala the individual, episode two shines a light on the communities and units in which she operates, from her friendships to her mosque to her family. Oh, and it also presents hottie Kamran (Rish Shah). But first: When we left Kamala, she’d just gained her powers, the ability to beam out light rays that solidify if she needs them to. In this episode, she learns more about what she can do, with the help of Bruno (Matt Lintz), during a cute, funny training montage that’s reminiscent of Scott Lang trying to come to grips with the suit in Ant-Man. (Will there be an Ant-Man callout in every episode?)
We also see how Kamala’s powers manifest compared to the source material. In the comic books, she can physically lengthen her arms and legs, growing or shrinking as needed. Here, she can’t extend her arm, but she can grow a beam of light in the shape of her arm that’s 20-feet long. What’s more, we discover that Kamala’s powers come from inside her rather than from the cuff itself.
That may seem like a rushed assessment of some key points. But that’s because, for me, where Kamala’s powers come from is more fascinating right now than what she can do, especially as the exploration of her superhero powers connects with the exploration of her family’s story. That story goes back to one of the most devastating and disruptive periods of South Asian history: Partition. Partition is still in living memory, and Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs still carry the inherited trauma of being ousted from their homes and having friends turn to enemies in an instant. For decades, stories about Partition have been really difficult to come across because there was a silence caused by trauma (and because, as Nakia [Yasmeen Fletcher] says, history is “written by the oppressors”). It’s only in recent years that people have started to share what they saw and heard and went through. Unfortunately, it’s almost too late: Those who remember Partition or know the stories of the time are now few and far between, because age and health comes for us all.
All this to say, the show is perhaps looking at Partition and inherited trauma to tell the story of the Khans. That inherited trauma is clear in Muneeba’s (Zenobia Shroff) body language when Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) tells Aamir’s fiancé Tyesha a bit of family lore. As Yusuf explains that Muneeba’s mother Sana was just a child at the time of Partition, Muneeba stands on the outskirts of the scene, partly in the darkness, radiating how uncomfortable she is. Sana was separated from her family and assumed to be lost, but just as the last train was about to depart India for Pakistan she reappeared. Sana, we’re told, “always said she followed a trail of stars back to her father”.
As Yusuf’s story finishes, Kamala, who is still wearing her grandmother’s cuff, has the first of two visions in this episode. They show a woman reaching out, wearing what looks to be a white shalwar kameez, and she’s lit up. Based on a phone call Kamala makes to her grandmother, could the woman be Sana’s mother (Kamala’s great grandmother) Ayesha, the original owner of the cuff? Is the trail of stars Yusuf mentioned linked to the light Kamala can emit, the light she sees in her visions surrounding the woman? Does her mother know something that could help Kamala? Almost certainly, but Muneeba isn’t ready to talk. To me, this episode shows that her keeping closed off and dismissing Kamala’s love of superpowered humans doesn’t, at the moment, seem to be just a “strict Asian mom” thing, but maybe something that stems from a deeper inherited trauma.
The heaviness of Partition is balanced out deftly, however, with lighter moments, many of them in scenes that introduce us properly to the Muslim community of Jersey City. We meet that community when Kamala and Nakia rush to the mosque, hurriedly doing wudu before joining the congregation for prayers. This gave me a lump in my throat. I’ve occasionally seen people praying on TV and in films before, but I’ve never seen wudu onscreen until now. Showing the whole ritual, from the washing through to the prayer and then the lecture, was so moving, and felt so important.
But these scenes are not overly earnest, and the humor in them really work. The girls who are taking selfies instead of listening? Spot on. The auntie disturbing everyone with her vocal disapproval of the kids not paying attention? We’ve all seen her in mosque. And the comedy in Kamala’s exchange with the Sheikh was lovely to see. I think he likes that she challenges him.
And I love that the show is engaging with the discourse around women’s prayer spaces. For years, women have been complaining about mosques that provide men with chandeliers and state-of-the-art washing facilities, while giving women a few square feet of ratty carpet on which to pray. This plot point gave Nakia the chance to shine; for me, she was the MVP of the episode. I adored her outrage at the mosque board and her decision to run. Her subtle manipulation of Yusuf, making him feel that a vote for his best friend instead of her was a betrayal of Kamala, was hilarious. I loved her offering Kamala a tampon and saying that she also has “pads…I know your mom gets weird about tampons,” because many Pakistani moms have been and continue to be wary of them.
But most of all, I loved the scene in the bathroom where Nakia talks about wearing the hijab. So often in pop culture (and in the news and in remarks by politicians), the hijab is positioned as a tool of oppression for women. Or it’s seen as something Muslim women will tear off at the first sign a white boy is interested in them. So to hear Nakia talking about her journey with the hijab (which wasn’t straightforward) and how it’s something just for her is pretty extraordinary. And to see it as part of all the many things Nakia is—friend, activist, student—emphasizes that women who wear hijabs are individuals. (Yes, this shouldn’t need to be said, but look at our world.)
Nakia may not care what other people think of her, but she still wants new guy Kamran (with his way too flashy car) to like her, at least until she realizes he has his sights set on Kamala. K Squared, to the dismay of Bruno, bond over Bollywood (their Shah Rukh Khan debate is sure to cause ructions in our world), and their interactions are filled with good humor, not to mention good chemistry. But what are Kamran’s intentions? With his “rescue” of Kamala at the end (more on that in a moment), Kamran definitely isn’t just here to flirt with a cute girl. (An aside: if Kamala has to find romance, I’d love to see her do so with a Pakistani boy, instead of, as is so often the case in western narratives, with a white boy. Sorry Bruno.)
The episode culminates with an Eid party scene, although (and this may just be me) I found myself confused as to which Eid was being celebrated. Kamala mentions it’s “lesser Eid,” which would be Eid-ul-Fitr, coming at the end of Ramadan. However, we’ve seen no mention of fasting. I like to think this is a deliberate nod to the fact that so many Muslim communities actually do parties way after actual Eid. (There was an Eid party in the town next to mine this past weekend, even though Eid itself was six weeks ago.)
Regardless of the confusion, it’s a joyous scene, full of color and laughter (again showing Muslims in a light they’re rarely seen in on television). And so, it’s also the perfect place for Kamala to perform her first “official” rescue, of a boy who falls out of a window while trying to get the perfect selfie (believable). The rescue goes well until it doesn’t, although Kamala manages to save the day just in time to protect the boy from harm, have a vision and then give a bunch of government agents the slip.
Seeing Kamala’s powers actually work was brilliant, but where the show falls down slightly is in the way the MCU is built into her world. The scenes with the United States Department of Damage Control feel like a different (and more boring) show. Whenever we’re with them, I wish we were back with Kamala. And positioning Agents Cleary and Deaver as the baddies feels tired and like a red herring that you can smell a mile off.
The lack of a big bad up to now means it’s difficult to see what the show is building towards. I’d be happy to spend six episodes getting to know Kamala and watching her come into her powers, but people less personally invested in her need a deeper arc. And we mustn’t forget that as unique as Kamala and her story are, she does still have to fit into the MCU somewhere, somehow, for that is the nature of the Marvel beast.
Is Kamran’s mom, who is in the back seat of his car when he pulls up to save Kamala from being taken by the government, the key to moving the story along? I’m not sure if I’m getting good vibes from her, but is she, like the government, also too obvious as a baddie? I guess we’ll have to wait for Kamran to drive us somewhere to find out.
Stray observations
- That clique scene was inspired by Mean Girls’ cafeteria scene, right? And for those who didn’t get the cliques down, they are: Mosque Bros, Pious Boys, Sunday School Teachers, Insta Clique, Converts (Technically the Reverts), Mini Harami Girls, and the Illuminaunties.
- Nice nod from the show to “Jalebi Baby,” the song that every South Asian person on TikTok has used at least once on a video.
- Nightlight! What a terrible name for a superhero. But also, names are really important (and thank goodness Kamala finally corrects her gym teacher), and it feels like the show will take its time getting to Kamala finally owning the Ms. Marvel title, maybe even waiting until the end of the series.
- Speaking of names, it might not be relevant, but Ayesha means “she who lives” or “alive.” Is it possible that Ayesha is in some way living on in Kamala through passing her powers down? Am I reading too much into this?
- An incomplete list of Very Pakistani Things: Muneeba appears to be using surma instead of eyeliner on Kamala; it’s feasible to have so many relatives who you don’t know that some rando could definitely be your cousin; and Kamala and Nakia on Pakistani time (read: late) for prayers.
- How cute are Aamir and Tyesha?
- For the uninitiated, DDLJ is Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, an absolutely iconic ’90s film starring Shah Rukh Khan. Kamala and Kamran may not think it’s his best film, but it definitely has the best soundtrack.
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– “Crushed” Let’s see how that relates to this episode. Will Bruno have his crush crushed? Will Kamala get a crush? Both?
– Kamala has some confidence.
– Hey, it’s a lesbian couple.
– Why is their cafeteria so small? Is there like only 100 people in their school?
– “Like an idea come to life.” What an amazing way to describe something.
– Love Nakia’s shoes. (I did not know that Versace made tennis shoes.)
– Does Kamala’s mom not notice that she’s wearing the bangle?
– Was expecting a Bollywood number.
– Theory: When Kamala put on the bangle, Kamran knew about it. He knows it’s her. Their meeting isn’t by happenstance. (Well, that was born out rather quickly.)
– Was her father eating Turkish Delight?
– Like Zoe’s jacket.
– “Yo! It’s Nightmon-er….Nightlight!”
– Thought that those drones were Kree.
– We still haven’t seen Zoe as the mean girl from the trailers.
“Like an idea come to life” made me think that Kamala’s powers work like the Green Lantern’s over in the DC universe.
“- Was her father eating Turkish Delight?”South Asian deserts, not Turkish Delight. More fudge-like, where Turkish Delight is more like a jelly. Many have nut bases, like cashew. Someone actually more knowledgeable weight in?
…and also weigh in on the food at the Eid party, maybe?(Mainly wondering what was on Kamala’s dad’s plate when Nakia started talking to him about his vote.)
It’s called BarfiIts made from dairy and very sweet and I can’t for the life of me tell you what’s in it. Can be colored and made into different shapes. Sorry wish I could tell you more other than try it. Plain version before flavors
That name does not translate well.
Ahh actually I just realised my mistake, I spelled it I English without thinking of it phonetically.Actually it’s correct phoenitic spelling is better “Burr-fi”
I didn’t recognize them. I’m NOT South Asian but have lived there off and on since 98 in every country. I thought they were some kind of American carnival food. They looked like some variation of jelly babies to me. I’m specifically talking about the ones that looked like mini-fruits.
In the comics, Kamran is also an Inhuman and does get close to Kamala on purpose to recruit her to the baddie Inhuman side. Not looking forward to the comic’s meaning of Crushed, which is Kamala getting her heart bruised by the revelation.
Kamron obviously knows dude, he was working her from the start.
The drones were the same ones from Spider-Man: Far From Home. Presumably repurposed once Mysterio’s scheme fell apart.
I only know about Partition because Doctor Who did an episode on it.
I know just a little bit about it from Gandhi.
For me it was The Rolling Stones “Sympathy For The Devil”:
“And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached Bombay”
It’s interesting history. Not EVERY South Asian family has a partition story but that’s certainly true for certain South Asian ethnicities, notably Panjabis, Bengalis, Sindhis, etc. Lots and lots of deaths, displacement and/or family fortunes lost. It’s still a defining aspect of Bangladeshi and Pakistani culture and society if not also Indian. India’s really big and ethnically diverse so not every region was as dramatically affected by Partition.
My wife’s family doesn’t have many stories about the partition because no one is alive still from that time and from what my father-in-law said his mother and father never wanted to talk about what they saw during it. He has personal stories about dodging mortar fire coming home from school during the Bangladesh Liberation War which many South Asians consider Partition part 2
I was vaguely aware of it before I read Midnight’s Children and got the gist there. But there is so much I don’t know. Actually since the story in the book is metaphorically tied to India’s history, more knowledge of 20th century Indian history would have been useful.
The 1999 movie “Earth” is set in that period and is really good. Not sure where to find it!
The “trail of stars” has to be light from the bangle powers.
Ya think??
But can I hold out a little hope for an America Chavez cameo?
Kingo mention, baby!
I laughed at how dismissive they were about Kingo Senior, although they could certainly see the appeal of Kingo Junior.
The sheer audacity of Kingo. Kingo Senior. Kingo Junior. Did he just keep that going? Kingo the third. Kingo the fourth, esquire.
Like in Hollywood, Bollywood stars often have stage names for various reasons. So it kinda works that a family of actors would keep adopting their successful fathers stage name.
So, somewhat more than that — but when Kamala said her mom was “weirdly obsessed” with Kingo “for some reason” — I’m wondering if that’s where the conflict comes from:She knows the Eternals are real, she was approached by Kingo who knew her grandmother (Ayesha) as the bangle is possibly of Eternal-origin, and decided to choose family and realism over “head in the clouds” — unlike Ayesha.
I was impressed with myself for remembering who Kingo was.
That clique scene was inspired by Mean Girls’ cafeteria scene, right?
Maybe I’m showing my age, but Clueless sprang to mind for me (which Mean Girls must have slightly ripped off, right?).
Anyhoo another great episode following last week’s opener. I’m glad this week I chose to watch Ms Marvel first over Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Honestly, the whole clique trope is standard in any teen movie nowadays.
This is the first time that a live-action SW series and a new Marvel show are both coming out, which is in itself an interesting schedule decision, and beyond that I’m really surprised they’ve decided to release their two biggest originals on the same day of the week.
I think Disney has always acknowledged that the amount of content they have in the pipeline meant that at some points they’d have Marvel and Star Wars shows crossing over with the schedules. I just wish they would give Marvel one night of the week and Star Wars another.
I’d bet they do it on purpose to gather data.
AV Club used to get 1000s of comments on their reviews but then they decided they wanted to turn into a shit website that covers shitty disney bullshit.
I really loved this one. Kamala testing her powers and getting pretty good at them, only to find herself having to rely on instinct and it working out much more smoothly was a real joy to watch. And I’m really enjoying the bewilderment of her powers just going off randomly working alongside that.I was also interested in the fact that Kamran seemed to gravitate toward “cute” Kamala instead of “pretty” Nakia as I assumed was going to happen. Nice to see love triangles becoming a lot less of a default in media over the past few years, even if I’ll still probably reflexively brace myself for them for the rest of my life. Although I still had a few cascading aha moments as Kamran pulled up at the end (Why is he even there?) and is not even surprised in the least to find her suited up (Oh, that’s why he was interested in her).One thing I’m not so clear on is whether Zoe knows it’s Kamala after all. I thought she probably realized it last week, but this episode starts with her not even winking an acknowledgement about it while she’s holding court in the cafeteria. Then during her interrogation (Real sloppy by the way, Zoe. Don’t say anything to the cops, even if they’re not cops and even if they pretend you’re some big influencer) she knows that whoever saved her is South Asian? That must mean she knows, right? That seems like a bad precedent for maintaining a secret identity when an episode triples the amount of people clued in, and that’s not counting a best friend who’s almost certainly going to find out next week. That’s some Spider-Man shit there.
Zoe knows. She saw Bruno running away with “Night Light,” but Bruno ONLY hangs out with Kamala, so… But her focus is her own popularity and Insta likes. There are a couple of motivations here for Zoe to not reach out, but the prime one at the moment is not sharing the spotlight. But she also thinks protecting Kamala by keeping the focus on herself rather than let people look in other directions (i.e. Kamala). Not that it worked…
She saw Bruno running away with “Night Light,” but Bruno ONLY hangs out with KamalaThis is fine real world logic, and I’m not saying it’s not true, but it doesn’t have to be true in comic book logic. Modern writers are generally a lot more savvy than “Nobody recognizes Clark Kent because he wears glasses” but characters still often miss what’s in plain sight. It wasn’t too long ago that Spider-Man, a known New Yorker, showed up in Washington D.C. and saved a bunch of Peter Parker’s classmates while Parker was mysteriously indisposed, and maybe like two people put two and two together.
Fair enough, but I just thought of an additional indicator that Zoe knows. She flinched when Damage Control ID’d “Night Light” as South Asian. The bangle (really more a wrist cuff – bangles are different) was not that obvious.Side note – I REALLY liked Zoe’s costume. Very well done.
Zoe’s costume was almost certainly store-bought. 😉
Damn. That’s some Pete Ross stuff right there!
Then during her interrogation (Real sloppy by the way, Zoe. Don’t say
anything to the cops, even if they’re not cops and even if they pretend
you’re some big influencer) she knows that whoever saved her is South
Asian? That must mean she knows, right?
I don’t think Zoe knows it’s Kamala specifically, but anyone with eyes can tell “Night Light” isn’t a white girl, the same way anyone can know Batman’s a white dude. Only full face masks give true anonymity.
Electro: “I thought you were black.”
Spider-Man: “Oh. I’m sorry.”
I am really finding this show fascinating. I love that Marvel is taking serious time and care to tell a proper cultural story in the middle of their superhero canon without falling back on tropes or cliches.Also, I hope Bruno goes to California and stays there.
Or even better, Wakanda like in the comics. There are some choice jokes in the comics about Bruno’s Wakandan friends coming back with him to visit and treating Jersey the same way white voluntourists treat African countries. It’s so primitive! Get a pic of me helping these underprivileged Americans!
I would love this. (Also Bruno seems to adapt and respect other cultures Be nice to see him in Wakanda.)
Bruno is much less awkward in the comics and his relationship with Kamala transcends his crush. Here it’s just very uncomfortable. He’s a teenage boy (played by an adult-looking man) whose affections for his best girl friend aren’t returned. She’s a teenage girl (who actually looks like a teenage girl) who is oblivious because she’s a teenage girl and he’s a big part of her life, but doesn’t return his affections and is not obligated to. I was in Kamala’s position in high school, and it sucks for both sides. It really hits too close to home for me to enjoy Bruno at all.
This. All of this.
He is 2 years older (he is 21 ,she is 19) than her IRL it is just Iman looks young
Indeed!!!
This was an amazing episode where the powers/Marvel parts were actually the least compelling. All the other facets of the kids’ personalities and Pakistani-American life were easily the best elements of the show.
The focus on the Partition is huge and the kind of presence that is in South Asian culture is long overdue.
If you’re curious about this horrible, disruptive event in South Asian life, check out the film, “Earth: 1947″ by Deepa Mehta. It stars the other major Bollywood star, Amir Khan, in a serious heel turn. Note: It’s not really well available streaming and, based on the number of views, the YouTube link below is not authorized. So, watch it soon before it’s taken down.
10/10! “Ms.Marvel” is the best MCU/D+ show so far by a mile (sorry, “Loki” and “WandaVision”)! It’s not just Iman Vellani being absurdly charismatic and talented: everybody else in the cast is bringing their “A” game!Also, Disney deserves recognition to the great handling of representation and portrayal of South Asian and Muslim cultures, considering the constrictions of also having to make the show part of the large MCU. In fact this has been one of the best aspects of the show for me: how much I have learnt about those cultures that so far were unknown to me. As a Brazilian, SA history and culture is something we absolute doesn’t study is school. Which is weird, since we have a relatively large Muslim population in Brazil, and we are in the BRICS along India. In fact, Nakia nailed it with “history is written by the oppressors”: Brazilians learn much more about Ancient Roma and The American/French Revolutions than about South Asia (or Asia in general), although the relevance of both for us should be pretty much the same.A great example is the approach to the Partition: before today I didn’t even know what that was, despite being one of the most important episodes of world history from the last century, with huge consequences for today’s world. Seems like the Partition got the same treatment the “Tulsa Massacre”, and Disney did for the former the same “Watchmen” did for the later (bringing it into the mainstream).Finally:Second episode and already striking poses and nailing the hero landing? Our Girl Kamala is ON FIRE!!!
The show is sort of the Marvel version of Superman & Lois, in that I would just watch a show of these characters living their lives without a superhero angle.
(An aside: if Kamala has to find romance, I’d love to see her do so with a Pakistani boy, instead of, as is so often the case in western narratives, with a white boy. Sorry Bruno.) I understand wanting to see more healthy representations of minority couples, but as a mixed-race person, I chafe every time I read or hear sentiments like this. If it wasn’t for the diverse populations that the west offered (and continues to offer) people like my parents, I wouldn’t be here, and neither would my mixed-race daughter.
It’s a super sticky topic of conversation, and one I’ve seen in come up in several different communities in regards to real life romances. There’s definitely merit to the idea that cross culture relationships dilute the culture to some extent, especially when introducing any form of whiteness to the equation. The show even has an example of this in Nakia, who apparently was white passing (I assume she’s mixed, but her whole family could be white passing and apparently already somewhat removed from the culture) before she decided to wear the hajib and be active at her mosque. She might come out with a greater appreciation for the community than the rest of her family, but it’s much easier for people to fall the other way. I know quite a few mixed race families, and many of them have a blended culture environment. It’s not a bad thing, but I understand why those who value the legacy of their culture want to do everything they can to preserve it.
I don’t necessarily know that Western narratives more often than not result with the exotic foreign character ending up with the milquetoast white one, especially in the specific context of Pakistani stories. I would trust the Sarah has seen more of them than I have though, and can accurately speak to it. I would say that as all in as Bruno appears to be (and it’s really quite a thing, I think, for a teenager to find himself so thoroughly adopted into a culture not his own, even for a girl he likes) Kamala is clearly not interested in him the same way he’s into her. And though I would love to see more mixed race couples highlighted in media overall, I’m not feeling it alongside the lovelorn neighbor boy trope here.
I think Nakia is Persian (Iranian). Some Persians can look as “white” as southern Europeans. There are also plenty of Muslim Europeans (Bosnians for example) who look as white as any German.
Oh yes, the Western gaze as it was taught to us in Eastern Europe. Missing tons of nuance in that phrase but the point kinda remains. Popular media and entertainment having always been Colonial-white-centric has done this to the majority of the world, sitting on top of thousands of years of rape and pillage. Tropes be troping?On a “nobody cares” note, as somebody who’s descended from the original habitants of their land and living with generational trauma of war, famine and executions in the family, but “just white” in the super binary Anglo-ruled world, it’s fucked to be put in the same box as any colonialist, but hey, I guess understandable. Poking at hate and differences will always be their tool… Narrow mindedness knows no borders. He says sitting thousands of miles away from home, har har har.
Yeah, it’s weird and gross – and it smacks of the whole “practicing the values of the old country” that (some) immigrants do – even though the ‘old country’ changes over time, just like everywhereAlso, maybe “well she gets with the hot guy, duh” isn’t exactly a Good thing (not necessarily a bad thing, just not something to be like, “I hope This happens!”)
It’s not just that it’s a mixed race couple. That’d be fine without context, but there’s also the Hollywood racist trope of the white guy getting it on with the exotic woman from a faraway land. It’s rarely the opposite, unless it’s an explicit romance story of some rich white woman in a retreat to find herself in some faraway land and gets it on with either a poor local worker who is young and hot, or something like a rich prince.
I first noticed this when I saw Kiss of the Dragon, in any other action movie like that, the protagonist and the woman get romantically involved. Not that I was rooting for Jet Li to get it on with Bridget Fonda in particular, but it was something that jumped at me in the context of every other action movie with a hot guy and a hot girl.
Kamala is from the far away land of, and let me check this, New Jersey. But I get your point. In Hollywood interracial marriages are heavily white guys with non-white wives. But I’m okay with it if the romance is done well but I’m a white guy in a interracial marriage so I’m probably bias.
miscegenation— so yucky!
“I think the South Asian girl should end up with the South Asian guy, instead of dating a white guy.”-Sarah Shaffi (and also Richard Spencer)
As a Black woman in interracial relationships with white men, I welcome shows depicting interracial relationships that isn’t white boy with PoC. It is overdone, it is the default for interracial relationships depiction on screen. It is why I appreciate that Kamala’s brother is engaged to a Black woman. They did not make a big deal of it but it was a big deal to me. I actually don’t want to see Kamala have a romantic relationship with Bruno because we’ve already seen interracial relationships between teenagers in the MCU that is white boy/POC girl (Peter and MJ), Eternals has Druig/Makkari (not sure how old they are but they skew young). I understand that you want to see representation that resonates with you but it already is the overwhelming representation of IR relationships. I want them to have a PoC lead that doesn’t have to be paired with a white person and if they are to date someone of a different ethnic background, there are lots to pick from that isn’t white. There is also a trend in western pop culture that whenever the PoC is the lead, they have to have a white best friend or love interest to make it relatable to white ppl, to make them invested in it. Then we have to have explanatory commas for the white audience to know whats going on. They end up being centered in the narrative anyway. So yeah, I want to see more loving depictions of PoCs dating someone from the same ethnic background and if they are in IR relationships, do something more than white person/PoC.
Kamala’s brother’s fiance seems to be African Muslim, which I was neat in a “here she is, no big deal” kinda way.
Plenty of people wouldn’t be born if their same-race parents didn’t get together. Are you saying I shouldn’t have been born? What have I done to you? You see what you did there? You’re being needlessly manipulative. HBO’s Barry literally did the same thing last week where Barry, a mass murderer, is let go by someone whose life he saved a long time ago because if he didn’t save the guy’s life, his daughter wouldn’t have been born. I am liberal-leaning for sure, but sometimes liberals forget that other countries don’t have the same baggage as America. Not every country has kidnapped and enslaved Black people and marginalized them. Many haven’t even ever met a black guy in their country. And the whole “love who you love” is at least partially a response those those injustices. But if you start telling immigrants that they should marry people outside of their race or otherwise they are backwards and racists, then now, you’re the one telling people who they should be with. You’ve gone so hard on liberalism, that you’ve basically become the other guys.
Loving this show (and hey, thanks, Ms. Shaffi, for the informed reviews, I like the little Pakistani and Muslim trivia bits). Did anyone mention the name-drop of Kingo (I think Kingo Senior) from Eternals? That was fun.What we’ve gotten so far about Kamala’s powers and the origin of them… I like that it’s different from the comics. Because it’s not much different, and still fits in the MCU without a steep Inhuman learning curve (but unfortunately with no Lockjaw…).I don’t recall if “Illuminaunties” is from the comic, but it’s hilarious.
Continue loving this show, although I did groan a bit how hard they are leaning on the ‘In love with his best friend’ trope, but I guess some things can’t be avoided. Still a ton of fun and brightness, even the mother felt a lot more likable here instead of being a harsh stereotype.Something I’m hopeful of is that final scene will give this show a bit of direction as while this episode was really good, I could see this kind of meandering focus grow a bit frustrating if it the series continues like this.
I found the longing boy-friend bit annoying as well but, when I stepped back, I realized that this story is for those yet to become so jaded. Not that teenagers can’t recognize a trope, but that dynamic may resonate more when it speaks to your current experience. I dunno, I’m just trying to judge this on its execution of the classics as much as the new ideas it brings. Seems pretty balanced so far.
The subtitles spell Nani’s name as “Sana”, not “Sunnah”. I figured she was named after Sana Amanat, the Marvel editor who co-created Kamala.Agent Cleary is at least a bad guy, though not the bad guy. He’s not evil, but he’s a corrupt authority figure, a la Thunderbolt Ross. He’s also the one who went after all of Spider-Man’s friends in No Way Home.I’ll set your mind at ease: Kamala & Bruno do not end up together.
No Way Home, the DODC just absolutely open FIRE on Spider-Man. They haven’t really been introduced in a proper way, but between NWH and this, there is a different kind of agenda happening re: supers in the MCU……
Yeah they were rightly introduced in Homecoming as a governmental super hero clean-up crew… now suddenly they just act like the FBI.
In Homecoming they weren’t just a cleanup crew, they rocked up to Toomes’s work site behaving like the FBI and all fully armed. Not to mention that their heavy-handedness directly led to Toomes’s side career as the Vulture in the first place. The MCU has a long history of government agents and agencies being incompetent, corrupt or otherwise untrustworthy; it helps sell the premise of superheroes operating on their own authority if there’s no decent oversight group that can step in and support them. It’s super rare for any government-affiliated character (aside from former SHIELD agents) to be good guys in this universe – Everett Ross is a notable exception.
There hasn’t been enough foundation laid for pretty much anybody in the MCU to be born with/have innate powers activated. No mutants/no inhumans/the only logical explanation for it would be she was somehow descended from an eternal. It would seem to require a level of game changing/world building that they don’t seem overly enthused about doing on TV.
Since Eternals don’t seem to be able to reproduce, I don’t think it’s it. I personally think they are gonna go in a Inhumans-esque route and have Kamala be part Kree rather than a Kree experiment.I really don’t think we’re gonna get Inhumans and terragenesis in the 616 MCU because, well, Disney doesn’t need them now they have the Mutants again, so I think it might be more likely that “inhumans” will be tied more directly to the kree and space, occupying more of that “human/alien” hybrid niche.
Kree don’t really have powers though, they’re just blue (and not even all the kree are blue based on captain marvel) and stronger than the average human. Maybe they’ll be able to explain the hybridization gives Khan her powers, but it probably would have just been easier to give her the Nega Bands that gave comics OG Captain Marvel his powers. Also, nerd pet peeve, but them calling the movie universe the 616 grinds my gears. The 616 is the comics continuity, has been since the early 80s. They could have gone with any number
The new Dr. Strange confirms Inhumans and terragenesis exist in the MCU. At least in one Multiverse anyway. Objects that contain mist to activate an Inhuman’s powers exist in the comics as well. It certainly looked like a mist flowed over Kamala when she put the bangle on. Now, I’m not saying I necessarily think they are going to go with the Inhuman route in the show. I doubt it actually. Just saying that Marvel recently un-distanced itself from Inhumans.
Also it might have cleared up some of the Darkhold inconsistency from Agents of Shield. Last time we saw it in the show, Ghost Rider was taking it to a snowy mountain area.
In that episode (set in spring 2017), Ghost Rider was stashing it in another dimension so nobody would use it. Then the last season of Runaways (set in early-to-mid 2018) revealed that Morgan Le Fay found it in that dimension & brought it back to Earth when she tricked Nico into releasing her, then was separated from it when she got sealed away again. Agatha had 5 years to get it on Earth & study it for herself.
Ah, still have Runaways on my backlog. I’d assume that is why it looks different too.
Runaways actually reused the prop from AoS, but after that it was auctioned off. AoS had established, though, that the book could change appearance, showing 2 different covers on that show alone, so I never stressed about the prop being new in WandaVision.If you’re heading into Runaways, I’ll give you some advance warnings: The cast & production value are great, but the scripting is unfathomably lazy. Season 1 is slow as molasses. And the series finale is a nonsensical mess that you can mostly just ignore.
(Also, I recommend watching both seasons of Cloak & Dagger before you reach season 3 of Runaways. Mostly just because C&D is a drastically better show, but also because there’s a connection between them.)
She’s an Inhuman in the comic.
The word is they stuck Black Bolt into the movie on reshoots, so I don’t think his presence should be taken as a sign of long-term intentions for the main universe canon.
Wasn’t the takeaway from WandaVision that Wanda had innate powers that were activated by the mind stone?
Wanda is a mutant though, and showed early since she’s more powerful than most. I don’t know if they have confirmed that, but just assuming since they have the x-men rights now.
Wanda isn’t a mutant though. She’s magical, and retconning the Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver out of being mutants has been now like a decade plus long process, to the point Wanda was the person most hated by mutant kind for wiping out 98% of the mutants in the world from like 2005 until like last year
so she’s not a magic mutant? so she is inherently magical or she got the magic somewhere yet to be confirmed?
In the MCU, she seems just like a witch the same as harkness. In the comics, there’s been a lot of retconning to make her essentially be a magic being whose genes got messed around with when she and Pietro were kids and that enhanced their power sets, but no x genes, no mutants.
Wanda’s got magic powers that the Soul Stone allowed her to tap into more directly, at least that was my read of it. If I remember correctly the first spell she cast reflexively was the one that saved her and Pietro from the bomb that killed her parents.
That’s the official line but I’m wondering if Miss Marvel is going to setup an idea that inherent powers(mutant genes) are being unlocked by outside artifacts. Could be a way to make both her and the twins be mutants but keep their MCU origins.
There hasn’t been enough foundation laid for pretty much anybody in the MCU to be born with/have innate powers activated. No mutants/no inhumans/the only logical explanation for it would be she was somehow descended from an eternal. *sad agents of shield fan noises*
I feel you. There was a whole season on terrigenesis!
Well, we’ll see. I am glad that the powers are not strictly just from a magic charm. They’re Kamala’s. I expect by show’s end she won’t need the bangle to use them.
In fairness, Mutants were initially a secret in the Marvel Universe until the X-Men and The Brotherhood made them public. And they were a really rare occurrence to the point that (at the start of “The Dark Phoenix Saga”) Xavier is really shocked that Cerebro detects Dazzler and Kitty simultaneously. But – as X-Men became more and more popular – Marvel went full Oprah and decided, “You get a Mutant! You get a Mutant! Everyone gets a Mutant!” When it came to their titles which effectively completely retconned the previously established “Mutants are extremely rare.” If the MCU wants to establish that there’s only a handful of Mutants in existence, I’d be cool with that. I don’t think we need bottom of the barrel Mutants like Stacy X and Beak (I like Beak and I even like how they’ve rehabilitated Stacy X during the Krakoa era but I don’t think we need them in the films).
i won’t rest until we get a ‘doop’ show!
They mentioned Kingo. Maybe he knocked up Kamala’s great grandma and there’s some Eternal DNA floating around in the family tree?
There aren’t innately powered people in the MCU? wat
Agents of Shield is part of the MCU.
and because, as Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) says, history is “written by the oppressors”Small point of order, but wasn’t it Nakia who said that? She mumbles it angrily while she and Kamala are sitting in class (and Kamala has just noticed her nose is glowing) because certain periods of history are getting more focus in their textbooks than others.
You’re right, it was Nakia.
Ooooh! So that’s how you pronounce “Latinx”.
Hopefully that’s the last time we have to hear that nonsense term out loud though.
Iman Vellani remains an absolute treat. Her dancing around the house was incredible. 😀
Loved that bit! Iman is absolutely killing it. I can’t remember the last time I saw such a natural actor.Props to this show for throwing two of the best parties in the MCU in two consecutive weeks. Not only do I want to go to Avengercon, but now I also want to go celebrate Eid and stuff my face at a gyro truck.
truly one of the most charismatic performances I’ve seen in a long time.
Show seems leagues better than the other marvel tv offerings so far. It sucks they changed her powers just to save on the cgi budget though. Ambiguous energy beam powers guarantee that the action scenes will be rote and uninspired.
Speaking of names, it might not be relevant, but Ayesha means “she who
lives” or “alive.” Is it possible that Ayesha is in some way living on
in Kamala through passing her powers down? Am I reading too much into
this?
Possibly more importantly, Ayesha/Aisha (however you choose to spell it) is the prophet Muhammad’s 3rd wife, considered “Mother of the Believers”.
We watched this right after watching Obi-Wan Kenobi, and by gum after that train wreck was it nice to have a show with interesting, fun characters that I already cared about after one episode (and even more so after two), in a show that actually understands how to tell a coherent narrative. Whoever thought up “Illuminaunties” deserves a medal.
Re: Illuminaunties. Right?! I fell off the couch. I literally think every culture/family has Illuminaunties. Damn. This might end up being Tyler Perry next flick.
I’ll see your Illuminaunties and raise you a “Haram dot Kamran”.
(An aside: if Kamala has to find romance, I’d love to see her do so with a Pakistani boy, instead of, as is so often the case in western narratives, with a white boy. Sorry Bruno.)Personally, I’d quite like to see her realize she’s bi. I thought the first episode was going that way.
ILLUMIN-AUNTIESWhat stood out to me in episode 1, and this one, is that the show isn’t trying to be like a “white person’s cliff notes to muslim culture.” Episode 1 just presented arabic phrases, pakistani traditions, “as is.” You pick it up by context because —- shocker —- most of this stuff isn’t really that different.This episode in showing making wudu, prayers, a priest… then the different kinds of “cliques” within the community. Look. We’ve seen that shit done with churches and church cliques roughly 187 million times. It rings true to see teen girls being silly teen girls, taking selfies at inappropriate times. The Mosque bros.I watched this today with my 7th graders. What I really noted was that, most of the kids were into it. It’s a teen show. It doesn’t feel like a “marvel show” in a lot of ways (reviewer is right, the DODC stuff felt like “typical marvel). But the cultural stuff was all there. One of my students is similar to Nakia. A white-passing young woman who wears hijab. I can’t say exactly what her reaction to the show was, but she was watching… and I’m sure she hasn’t seen her life or self represented in a lot of popular media here in the west, y’know? I dunno.THIS SHOW ROCKSLFG
It was cool to see it on screen without much of a note or making a “big deal” out of any of it. My wife totally relates to the women’s area of the Masjid being a wreck. It’s not a universe but it’s, sadly, the norm in a lot of Masjids.
As a white person (although I have close South Asian friends of both Indian Hindu and Pakistani Muslim heritages, so I’ve had a lot of the food and a passing knowledge of at least some of the holidays, etc.), I’ve really, really enjoyed the causal depiction of Muslim culture we’ve seen so far, because we virtually never have seen that anywhere else. I wish we’d had this kind of stuff twenty years ago, because maybe certain people wouldn’t have gotten so batshit insane about Muslims if they’d seen that they’re regular people too.
I’m not gonna pretend this is old hat to me. It isn’t. It’s the past half decade I’ve really started to spend time with and develop closer relationships with folks of differing heritages. It is GREAT to see this stuff on screen but like you say we’ve seen it virtually nowhere else. It’s a big step forward; it’s sad that it’s such a novelty and so rare.
Realizing now that I typed “causal” when I meant “casual.” Damn it!
(and because, as Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) says, history is “written by the oppressors”).
Um, Nakia says that.
Thought it was weird her mother wouldn’t let her go to a hero convention because it sounded too much like a party but had no problem with her going to an actual party with alcohol and shirtless boys. Especially after some huge newsworthy incident took place at the convention.
I took it as mother and daughter having broken through a barrier about her over-protectiveness during the pain of the convention aftermath.
Fair but the mother was kinda proven right. Turns out the convention was super dangerous with hammers smacking people and ant-man heads rolling around like boulders. So I’m not sure why she would have changed her stance.
Ha yes, but only because of her own daughter though. Not that mom knows this yet.
They’re both taking small steps: Kamala is more open about what she wants to do, and her mother is loosening her grip a little because it’s the best way to stop her from doing it anyway without her permission. By saying “yes” to some things, it’s easier to say “no” to others.
Errr vision lady (certainly great grandma Ayesha, right?) and Kamran’s mom are for sure the same person right??
Calling it now: Kamron’s mom IS Ayesha. Not having aged obviously. Which in turn makes him a distant relative (great uncle?) Something foreshadowed in the coffee shop scene where Kamala comes up with a lie on the spot that he’s a “distant cousin”.
I said that and my wife accused me of saying all brown ladies look alike. I went back and the woman reaching out in the visions and the lady at the end are different people.
That’s not even why I’m predicting this… nothing to do with whoever was in the visions
we’re 2 eps in but this is already my favourite thing marvel has done out of all their disney+ shows. ofc that could come to bite me in the ass if they somehow mess it up in the next coming episodes but i have faith they won’t as long as the final ep doesn’t turn into a big cgi fight (please show do not do this). what i love this show is that the superhero stuff is cool but the more interesting and compelling stuff is just kamala and her everyday life. her dynamic with her friends and her family is so wonderful. i think the show could survive with iman’s charms alone because she is such a star but i love every secondary character too! it just feels like a show that you can tell was made with a lot of love and care and sometimes with these disney+ shows that doesn’t really often come through to me tbh.
I love this show but I gotta say after episode 2….. I hate Bruno as a character. Why did Kamran need to be evil at the end of the episode? tf. If this show ends up forcing her to settle for Bruno then just… what are we doing here? If she was interested in Bruno that would have happened by now. Dude’s a try-hard with his whole white-boy speaking urdu and texting her mom thing. It’s weird af.
This is a kinda weird read of the character. Isn’t he an orphan who is pretty much defacto adopted by her family? Kamala’s mom sends him home with food for himself and his grandma, who is implied to be his only family. It’s not weird he’s picked up a bit of their language and texts her.
Buuuutttt that also means he’s got the hots for what is functionally his adopted sister, sooooo.
I’ve known people who get pseudo adopted by a friends family and embrace the culture. Especially in their teens. I would not have learned to appreciate authentic Italian cooking if my very Polish mother didn’t get pseudo adopted by her best friends family, especially her grandma who taught my mom how to cook
Iman Vellani is insanely charming first of all omg.
Long story short: fuck Bruno, Kamala should go for Kamran.
So far, this show has been a damn delight. It’s real early, but I might have to slate this at the top of best MCU shows
Was I the only one who got very strong Superman: the Movie vibes from that rescue on the side of the building? From the shots of the pedestrians looking up to the shots of the curtain rods pulling out just like Lois’s helicopter slowly came loose…it all seemed very close. Which is a good thing!
yeah really enjoying this one so far. cream of the mcu-d+ crop. i’m not muslim, but i am mixed race and there’s just something about watching a little brown kid learning to be a superhero that hits me. felt the same way during the training stuff in aquaman (a movie i didn’t really like, but a scene i very much did.) it’s nice! the vibes are great! enjoying the references to the larger mcu without being super held back by them.
>>I’ve occasionally seen people praying on TV and in films before, but I’ve never seen wudu onscreen until now.<
I love that this show drops things like calling Muslim converts “reverts” without any explanation. Same with the wudu scene or explaining Eid.Worth noting that Eid Al Adha is the lesser Eid in a cultural and celebratory sense. Religiously it’s considered more significant but Eid Al Fitr happens after Ramadan so there is a month build up to it and it involved a lot more gift giving and parties. It’s actually very similar to how Christians view Christmas and Easter.
“But also, names are really important”Briiiaaan. Brian’s mad. Why is Brian mad?
I loved how Kamran made a point when leaving to call everyone by their name and got everyone’s name right except Bruno’s. Can’t tell if that was deliberate or not but it’s hilarious either way.
This show is so goddamn sweet.Also, I literally LOLed at “the Illumin-Aunties”.
How could this recap leave out the two best scenes?First, Kamala strutting through school at the start of the episode, still high on discovering that she’s a superhero. With everyone else unsure what is going on with her.And second, when she returns home after meeting Kamran and sings/lip-syncs to Be My Baby. As an adult male with a heart of stone I found this adorable.