Disney's Ms. Marvel Episode 3 Impressions

 

We're at the halfway point of the first season of Ms. Marvel Season 1. I think I've come to peace with the...style...this show is going for. I realize that Marvel is trying to bring a new superhero into the MCU, so they trying to cram her origin story and make her develop into a real character so that she can be involved in other MCU affairs. Yet, other shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones (I know, they are Netflix shows) were able to provide a compelling story in their inception shows. 

In this weeks episode, Kamala is now dealing with the fallout from her mistakes when saving the boy at the mosque minaret. A video of her goes viral, the Damage Control starts snooping around her mosque, and Bruno might be leaving for caltech. Not to mention that she is befriended by people known as the Clandestines (or Djinn?)that know who she and her great grandmother are. They have a simple request: To use Kamala's power to get back home. Kamala finds out that its dangerous and the Clandestines flip on her and attack her while she is at her brother's wedding. She fends them off but then Nakia, the friend who ran for the mosque board and won, finds out Kamala's secret. Kamala then gets a call from her Nani and tells her to come to Karachi. 

I still find it fascinating how I feel like so much happens but so little matters in terms of building any character on the show. I am trying to imagine Kamala's personal journey. She gets some good advice during the episode from her imam about how it's not about being a good person, it's just about doing good things. It's nice to see an Iman portrayed as guiding figure (which is something I wanted in the beginning of the season). But these conversations and moments are short and don't really last more than a minute or two. 

This problem makes the Clandestines so...meh. We don't get an arc, we get a straight line with their story. They come in as friends and then turn to enemies because Kamala took more than a day to give them an answer. Also they are shown as Djinn but don't really have super powers? I mean one dude has a spear or something. Kamran apparently has...a necklace he fights with? I laughed when he whipped it out against the guy who uses a belt to fight because it looked so ridiculous. But they were considered Djinn and were from another dimension. 

The overarching plot thread of her great grandmother is great because it's a nice little trail of bread crumbs to lead you on to the next episode. However, because of the pace of the show, everything feels like breadcrumbs. So these larger plot points are not really as interesting as they could be. 

I think this is an example were the comics have the ability to give more life to characters than a TV show. Aamir has a lot more interactions with Kamala in the comics and it makes him a more likable older brother than just the religious dude. In these first three episodes, I think he has like ten lines? And none of them are delivered very well. His jokes are supposed to sound awkward but they don't sound funny to me. The way he's been written also ruins a lot of the emotional impact he is supposed to provide. He has a scene with his father about how he is basically broke and he's marrying a women. In Islam, the wife's money is her own and the male traditionally provides for the both of them. It's a big issue for him but it just sort of gets thrown out as an aside. The conversation isn't about Aamir, it's about Kamala over hearing them and learning about how family is always important and what not. 

Anyways, I think I'm okay with the show now. I know what it's not but I know what it's supposed to be. So maybe with the baseline established, I can get into the show. We'll see what happens in the latter half of the season.