Ms. Marvel: Episode 4

4. Seeing Red

Kamala and her mother hop on a plane to Pakistan at the behest of her grandma Sana (Samina Ahmad), Aisha’s daughter. She confirms that they are indeed Djinn, but doesn’t make a big fuss about it, dismissing it as simply genetics. Kamala is taken sightseeing by her cousins before she wanders alone to the train station to find answers. Instead, she is found by Kareem (Aramis Knight), a member of the bandana wearing and knife throwing vigilantes called the Red Daggers. He accompanies her to their leader Waleed (Farhan Akhtar) who explains to her that the Clandestines’ aim is to break the Veil of Noor which will signal that dimension’s incursion into the human world. The Clandestines break free from the DODC and find their way to Karachi, except for Kamran who is deemed a traitor and disowned by the group. They ambush the trio and kill Waleed in the process. As Kamala and Kareem face off with Najma and company, Najma accidentally stabs the bangle, sending Kamala back to the night her grandma got lost at the train station.

Why, thank you, Marvel, for taking me to countries I haven’t been to yet. I haven’t been to Egypt; Moon Knight took me to Cairo. I’ve never been to Pakistan; Ms. Marvel toured me around Karachi. I can get used to this. Traveling through streaming! Anyway, back to the MCU, will Kang really be the next big bad? Because if you analyze the common thread in Marvel’s latest additions, it seems to be all about realms and dimensions: Shang Chi’s Talo; Moon Knight’s real of Egyptian deities; and now Ms. Marvel’s Noor dimension. It’s easy if these dimensions are just considered as part of the multiverse, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Make up your mind, Feige. Multiverse and branched timeline or Dimensions that is more about a modern reimagining of religion and mythology? Or both? Now I want them to explore whatever links Kamala’s bangles to Shang-Chi’s ten rings, and I hope I don’t get disappointed along the way. Thrilling fight and chase scenes all around Karachi, by the way.

“There are many dimensions around us that we cannot see. This is just one of them.” –Waleed

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