Disney+ Ms. Marvel (Marvel Cinematic Universe) (1 Viewer)

[NeilO]

I'd agree with most of those observations. Seeing the costume coming together bit by bit is fun. When she landed in the past, I also instantly thought she must be the one who creates the trail of stars. I'm looking forward to seeing that.

It seemed that the Clandestine arrived in Karachi a bit quicker than I would have expected if their escape happened when we saw it in relation to the other events. Of course, they may have their own special modes of transportation which would explain that.

We and Kamala now know just what the stakes are. The Red Dagger folk have been looking into this for a long time. Their technology was a lot more sophisticated than I expected to see right there.

I am guessing that most of the next episode is in the past and she returns to the present time only at the end of the episode. Then she will have learned more and perhaps will be more up to facing the Clandestine in the finale.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I was kind of surprised that Kamala was able to get to everyone to go to Pakistan without having to what is going on to her mom. But otherwise, this is a great episode.

This show is peak MCU for me. It is also demonstrating the strength of the TV series format because there is no way we would be able to get this story in a two-hour format without sacrificing a lot of it, which would likely be the cultural and character development moments by necessity. I really hope they can stick the landing. Although I have really enjoyed all of the MCU series to date, all of them haven't quite managed the conclusion as well as they managed the setup.

I can't wait to see what happens next week.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It seemed that the Clandestine arrived in Karachi a bit quicker than I would have expected if their escape happened when we saw it in relation to the other events. Of course, they may have their own special modes of transportation which would explain that.

Yeah, the timeline with that felt a bit shaky. I'm also not entirely sure how much time was supposed to have transpired between Kamala and her mom landing in Karachi and Kamala getting sucked into the past. Definitely at least two days, but I'm thinking it might have been longer with some little time jumps in the mix.

I was kind of surprised that Kamala was able to get to everyone to go to Pakistan without having to what is going on to her mom. But otherwise, this is a great episode.

I don't think Kamala did any convincing. Her grandmother told her mother that she wanted her daughter and granddaughter to visit, and that was that. Despite the estrangement between them, it would be unthinkable for Kamala's mother to disobey her own mother so directly.

This show is peak MCU for me.

What I love about this and what I loved about Shang-Chi is how fresh they feel, and how much of a beginning they are.

I've enjoyed a lot of Phase Four, but most of it has felt like postscripts rather than new adventures:

• "WandaVision" was a creative triumph, and a bold bit of creative experimentation. But it was about mourning a character who had died in Infinity War on one hand, and setting up the events of the Doctor Strange sequel on the other hand.
• "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" was a fun buddy comedy, but it was primarily centered around the fallout from Steve Rogers's decision to stay in the past and give up the mantle of Captain America. Both of the title characters already had a lot of baggage in the MCU that they were dealing with, and a lot of the supporting characters did too. The most exciting new character didn't survive the season, and the other main new ongoing character is a reprehensible villain.
• "Loki" had a lot of interesting ideas, but it was built around an alternate version of a dead villain-turned-antihero and dealt with a lot of different timelines that ceased to exist by the end of the season. It doesn't help that time travel in the MCU, and its interplay with the idea of a multiverse, have gotten so muddled.
• Black Widow is basically one long flashback centered around a character who died in Endgame. Really the only the post-credits scene moved the overarching story forward in any meaningful way.
• "Hawkeye" was a blast, and the introductions of Hailee Steinfeld as the next Hawkeye Kate Bishop, and Alaqua Cox as Deaf Native American antihero Echo were both very successful. But the plot is driven by the fallout of what the OG Hawkeye was up to during the Blip. The reintroduction of Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin was fun too, but it inevitably led to a lot of looking backward to see how the Netflix shows fit (or don't fit) into the MCU.
• No Way Home was a blast, but a lot of its power is derived from audiences' two-decade long investment in Spider-Man on the big screen. And even within this iteration of Spider-Man, it was the end of a trilogy -- wrapping up one phase of Peter Parker's life rather than focusing on the beginning of what comes next.
• "Moon Knight" was peculiar as an origin story, because the story picks up in medias res. Moon Knight has been operating for quite some time when the show begins, and the focus is more on a psychological journey than establishing a new hero.
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is basically impenetrable if you haven't been keeping at least casual tabs on the MCU and Marvel at large. It directly picks up from both "WandaVision" and No Way Home, with the plot driven by the fallout of those stories to greater and less degrees.

This show doesn't ignore everything that's come before, but it's not dependent on it. You could strip out the MCU references and connections, and the show would still totally work. And it's a real origin story: We see Kamala discover her powers, and we're seeing her both learn how to use them and develop her superhero persona.

I really hope they can stick the landing. Although I have really enjoyed all of the MCU series to date, all of them haven't quite managed the conclusion as well as they managed the setup.

Same. I'll be really bummed if this is yet another Disney+ MCU show that devolves into a lot of punching and visual effects pyrotechnics to resolve the story.

I also really hope we get a Season 2 after The Marvels.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I also really hope we get a Season 2 after The Marvels.

I think that any potential second season depends on where The Marvels leaves Kamala and her journey. I think that we are going to see Kamala again, but I don't think they will announce their plans for her future until after we see that movie.

Carol made very clear in Endgame that she considers herself to be a cosmic hero rather than an Earthbound one, and Far From Home left Nick Fury in space too. So I have been operating under the assumption that most of The Marvels will take place in space. But if Kamala's parents wouldn't even let her go to AvengerCon independently, I would imagine letting her go to other planets to help Carol is going to be an even tougher sell.

I'm happy to see as much of Iman Vellani in this role as she wants to do, whether it is on the big screen or the small one. She really is as strong of a match to this part as anybody Marvel has ever cast has been to theirs and I hope she has a long future in the MCU. But reconciling the cosmic elements of Captain Marvel with Kamala's family, which is very much anchored to Earth, is going to be a big challenge. For now, I'm willing to assume that Kevin Feige and his team have a plan for how to accomplish this.

 

[Joe Wong]

Agree with many of Adam's and Jake's comments.

The pacing in this has been smoother than most of the other MCU TV shows. It's been a very good mix of discovery, exposition, and action. (Though I wonder how the Clandestines located Kamala so easily?) Many of the other MCU shows had a mad rush in the final episode which tried to resolve some stuff but left me feeling less than 100% satisfied.

The peek into Pakistani and Islamic culture has been refreshing. It informs by not only showing the differences with "western" culture, but the similarities as well, because ultimately we all have human traits.

Looking forward to the final 2 episodes.

 

[Joe Wong]

The following is the Marvel "show" that's available on the Disney Wish cruise ship.



It features Kamala in her "final" costume before it's even revealed in the TV show! Maybe this is not necessarily canon per se, but still, a fun and interesting watch.

 

[Jake Lipson]

It features Kamala in her "final" costume before it's even revealed in the TV show!

Thanks for posting this. But that being the case, I'd rather wait and see that a couple weeks from now after the season is over.

 

[Sam Favate]

Loved the latest episode. This show itself has more character than any other Marvel show, except perhaps WandaVision.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Though I wonder how the Clandestines located Kamala so easily?

They probably sensed the noor.

 

[Jake Lipson]

It seems pretty clear that Kamala grew up in a world that had already been impacted by the actions she is about to take. So while her experience of time is nonlinear, it doesn't appear to be a branching of the multiverse.

Spoiler: Episode 5

So, Kamala did exactly what we all thought she was going to do as soon as the previous episode left her in the past. I think it's a testament to the writing and direction and performances here that even though this turn of events was entirely predictable, it was still so exciting and emotional to watch unfold.

 

[Jason_V]

This episode, and this entire series, is a great way for me to start my Wednesday. Get up, walk the dog, grab some coffee and then settle in for a nice little adventure with Kamala and the crew.

More than the tights and powers and fights story-which, let's be real, most of us come for in an MCU show or movie-the story I am most interested in is the family story. I am loving how Kamala and her mother are evolving their relationship and the scene where

Spoiler

Kamala's mother sees her powers

was amazingly magical.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

S01E05 - Time And Again
The opening newsreel, providing the broad strokes of the final years of the British occupation of India, immediately made it clear that this wouldn't be a normal episode.

The sepia footage of the newsreel seemed to be a combination of real historical footage from the time, along with newly created footage designed to look old. Every time the MCU gives us a history lesson, I'm fascinated to see the degree to which the MCU's history aligns with our own. By 1947, after all, there were already important differences: Captain America had helped the Allies defeat Hitler. Wakanda had successfully resisted colonization during the Scramble for Africa.

What we get here captures the upheaval of Partition, but steers away from the violence. While the episode makes it clear that it has become uncomfortable to be a Muslim family on the Hindu side of the partition line, that's not really why they fled. They fled to try and stay ahead of the other jinn.

Still, it's a beautifully told episode, and Mehwish Hayat is stunningly beautiful as Kamala's great-grandmother Aisha. Her makeup, hair, and costumes all come together to make Aisha feel otherworldly.

My one concern is that we appear to be headed for another finale centered around VFX pyrotechnics; Najma has set something in motion with Kamran, and the Department of Damage Control are closing in on both Kamran and Kamala. I'll be bummed if Kamala has to punch her way to a solution to the conflicts of the season.

So, Kamala did exactly what we all thought she was going to do as soon as the previous episode left her in the past. I think it's a testament to the writing and direction and performances here that even though this turn of events was entirely predictable, it was still so exciting and emotional to watch unfold.

There were still a few surprises. I thought it would be revealed that Aisha disappeared because she came back to the present with Kamala. But no, Sana never saw her mother again because Najma had murdered her.

This helps explain why the jinn took such drastic measures so quickly after Kamala expressed reservations about helping them. From their perspective, Aisha was a traitor, and so Kamala must be the fruit of the same poisonous tree. The jinn ran out of patience in 1947, and they've been stewing for the past three quarters of a century.

Kamala used her powers help help reunite her grandmother with her great-grandfather. But she didn't actually create the trail of stars; her grandmother did, wearing the bangle in the past.

And Kamala didn't end up back there because the bangle misfired when Najma's knife hit it. She was summoned by her great-grandmother, whose dying wish was that her husband and daughter would be safe.

More than the tights and powers and fights story-which, let's be real, most of us come for in an MCU show or movie-the story I am most interested in is the family story. I am loving how Kamala and her mother are evolving their relationship and the scene where

Spoiler

Kamala's mother sees her powers

was amazingly magical.

Most superhero shows depict having special abilities as an isolating burden; how many times has the responsibility of being Spider-Man ruined Peter Parker's life? What's especially beautiful to me about this season is that Kamala's emerging abilities are forcing this family to have conversations that have been needed for a long time now. Kamala is finally starting to be seen by her mother as a young woman instead of a little girl, and Kamala's mother and Kamala's grandmother are bridging their own divides.

 

[Sam Favate]

Thumbs up for me too on episode 5. I thought the history of the partition and Aisha were both so well done.

Now, as for this, I don’t have an explanation other than people suck (and are racist):

‘Ms. Marvel’ Review-Bombed Into Being The MCU’s Lowest-Scoring Show On IMDB

Ms. Marvel is currently not only the best-reviewed MCU series on Disney Plus, but at a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, that’s even above Black Panther’s 96% score, meaning it’s the best-reviewed MCU thing…ever, at th...

www.forbes.com

 

[Josh Dial]

Mehwish Hayat is stunningly beautiful as Kamala's great-grandmother Aisha.

She was almost distractingly gorgeous.

I'm really really enjoying Ms. Marvel. As I wrote in my post #84, Iman Vellani is a total star. She should 100% be the centre piece for this phase (or the next, at the very least). Whatever re-writes are necessary, do 'em. Her, Simu Liu, and Paul Rudd could just "charming" all the villains to death.

My only problem with the series--and in particular episodes 3 and 4--is that it's clear the creative team realized a tad too late that they only had 6 episodes to work with. The pacing in episodes 1, 2, and 5 are near perfect (episode 1 might be perfect). Episodes 1 and 2 are prime examples of how to introduce a new character/series, and then follow it up with a stellar second piece of the same pie.

But episodes 3 and 4 had some jarring story compression. Like a full 10 minutes was trimmed from each episode, or like three episodes were cut down into two. Don't get me wrong: episodes 3 and 4 were still quite good. But I could see the seams. The Clandestines' heel turn (and their assault on the wedding), their subsequent arrest by DDOC (fun to see them again), Kamala's return home, and the Clandestines' escape and then the fight with the Red Daggers all happened a bit too fast.

I've really enjoyed all of MCU Disney+ shows (WandaVision is still my favourite--I think it's a masterpiece). I don't want to pre-judge She-Hulk, but it gets 9 episodes and they couldn't spare just one more itsy bitsy episode for the wonderful, charming, phenomenal show that is Ms. Marvel?

 

[Jake Lipson]

I've really enjoyed all of MCU Disney+ shows (WandaVision is still my favourite--I think it's a masterpiece). I don't want to pre-judge She-Hulk, but it gets 9 episodes and they couldn't spare just one more itsy bitsy episode for the wonderful, charming, phenomenal show that is Ms. Marvel?

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that She-Hulk is more of a sitcom and therefore might be shorter every week than a drama such as this. So it having nine episodes and Ms. Marvel having six aren't like-for-like comparisons. They're just dividing it up differently. This was also the case with WandaVision, which had nine episodes, some of which were shorter length because they were working within the sitcom format.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

My only problem with the series--and in particular episodes 3 and 4--is that it's clear the creative team realized a tad too late that they only had 6 episodes to work with.

I think this same criticism could be leveled against all of the self-contained hourlong Marvel series to date. I appreciate that this show at least built the story compression in at a couple different places throughout the season instead of cramming it all into the last two episode.

(WandaVision is still my favourite--I think it's a masterpiece).

Same. It's the only one so far that felt perfectly suited to its medium, and the only one that was able to effectively balance all its various elements.

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that She-Hulk is more of a sitcom and therefore might be shorter every week than a drama such as this. So it having nine episodes and Ms. Marvel having six aren't like-for-like comparisons.

Yeah, from what I understand, all of the MCU live-action shows will have roughly the same running time per season. Shows with more episodes have shorter episodes.

 

[Joe Wong]

Another good episode, though I agree there appeared to be "short cuts" taken for story purposes these last 2 episodes. Last week I asked how the Clandestines were able to locate Kamala so quick (inside a hidden location as well!). We just had to accept that they could and would.

I still find the pacing / flow of story to be smoothest out of all the D+ shows, even if paradoxically, given the extra time (4-5 hours of runtime) vs a film (<3 hours), the writers now have too much story!

 

[Jake Lipson]

Every time the MCU gives us a history lesson, I'm fascinated to see the degree to which the MCU's history aligns with our own. By 1947, after all, there were already important differences: Captain America had helped the Allies defeat Hitler. Wakanda had successfully resisted colonization during the Scramble for Africa.

I think this is deliberate. This show in particular has gone to such great lengths to portray a specific culture in an accurate way that to deviate from the actual historical context of Partition would be counterintuitive to their goals. However, you're also right that the MCU does have to reconcile with how the presence of their superpowers characters impact the world around them. I thought this episode in particular did a great job of showing enough impact of Partition to be right and also making Partition fit into the larger context of the show's fictional story in regards to Kamala's ancestors and the Jinn.

My one concern is that we appear to be headed for another finale centered around VFX pyrotechnics; Najma has set something in motion with Kamran, and the Department of Damage Control are closing in on both Kamran and Kamala. I'll be bummed if Kamala has to punch her way to a solution to the conflicts of the season.

I would be really surprised if the finale did not include some sort of action set piece, and to a degree, that's fine. It makes sense to have a final battle in these types of shows. The issue that I have had with some of the other shows is that the action set pieces tend to replace the character beats in the finale, rather than being additive to them. The previous shows have swung too far in one direction or the other. Moon Knight and WandaVision both had fifth episodes that were so personal and contemplative, only to go to the other extreme in their final battles. I hope that there is a way to balance the two so that they work together more seamlessly.

I think this same criticism could be leveled against all of the self-contained hourlong Marvel series to date.

I remember hearing somewhere (maybe in the making-of documentary) that all of the scripts for WandaVision were written and given to the actors before anything was shot. So Marvel is essentially making these shows as if they are movies, rather than a traditional network show where the writers are working through the season while the episodes are being shot. So while I agree that the MCU shows have had some issues with pacing due to the six-episode format, I don't feel bad for the writers here. Marvel should not have to "add" an extra episode to the order fo tie things up because everything should be planned ahead of time.

If the writers know they have six episodes, it is their responsibility to fit the story into six episodes. It is also important to note that the number of episodes is related to the budget. I'm sure Disney+ would love to have MCU series that run longer, but they would have to be less expensive to do that. A lot of the appeal of these shows is that they intersect with the films, and Marvel has been able to deliver productions with the same quality craftsmanship as the films. A show like Agents of SHIELD on ABC produced a ton more episodes but the production values were different than what is expected from an MCU film. So that's the other option. Personally, I would rather have six episodes of stuff with production values that are indistinguishable from a feature film than 22 low-budget episodes that don't maintain that consistency. We know that Kamala is going to jump to the big screen from here, so it Is important that the television world she comes from feels the same as the one she will inhabit In the movies.

 

[NeilO]

S01E05 - Time And Again
My one concern is that we appear to be headed for another finale centered around VFX pyrotechnics; Najma has set something in motion with Kamran, and the Department of Damage Control are closing in on both Kamran and Kamala. I'll be bummed if Kamala has to punch her way to a solution to the conflicts of the season.

While I am sure that there will be a big battle with Damage Control, she can't resolve that conflict purely by force. The government will keep on coming unless she and perhaps her family and friends can change minds.

More happened in this episode than I anticipated. I had thought that what we saw at the end of the episode was going to be in the next one. I was pleasantly surprised there.

 

[Joe Wong]

I’m still hoping that we see a cameo of Brie Larson in the final episode. It would seem natural since Kamala is a huge fan of Captain Marvel, and it would lead in to The Marvels.

Cap M: Hey kid… I’ve heard a lot about you.

K: Captain Marvel!

Cap M: Come with me. I need your help.

{Final shot: Pan-in to a close-up of Kamala's face, her eyes beginning to widen as she smiles...}

Music swells.

CUT.

Credits roll.