by Miller C. Lashbrook
There is a lot to unpack here with this finale, especially some of the bombshells dropped at the end of the episode, but overall I do think this finale sticks the landing for the story that the series has been telling. This show has been quite the ride, I wish that all of my thoughts were positive, but unfortunately, they are not. I think if you are an MCU or Marvel fan this is a fun watch and will definitely get you excited for The Marvels.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Okay, let’s get into the spoiler part of this review. First I want to talk about my favorite things about the finale. I love every scene with Kamala’s family. It just put such a smile on my face to see Kamala come out as a superhero to her family and have them support her so much. It very much reminded me of an LGBTQ+ coming out scene. I also really enjoyed Kamala working with her friends in this finale to thwart the DODC.
Speaking of the DODC, I like how this plot wrapped up with one agent being fired and the other trying to get a handle on how the public views DODC. I am interested to see how they further explore the DODC’s presence in the post-Endgame world in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law next month.
I think overall the show struggled with balancing the story of the ClanDestine and the DODC. In the end the local Jersey City stuff and the DODC was more compelling to me and that is what I think the show should have focused on with this season. The stuff with her history and Karachi was interesting, but it felt like it pulled us away from the Jersey City story. And wow! The scene with her dad on the roof where he tells her that in Urdu her name means “Marvel”, what a great, organic way for her to get her name as Ms. Marvel.
Now, let’s talk about the big reveal in the episode. Kamala’s friend Bruno reveals as he leaves that something, a “mutation” in her DNA makes her different from her family. As he says this the X-Men: The Animated Series theme plays. I love the X-Men. I love Ms. Marvel. But, Kamala is not a mutant. She should either be an inhuman or be something new. But mutants should not need a bangle to awaken anything in them. I just do not know how to feel about Kamala being the MCU’s first mutant. I think this reveal could have worked if her powers had come about differently, but it just makes the powers muddy. Her powers and backstory are something that I hope a season 2 can explore a lot more and clear up. I am also hoping that maybe Kevin Feige can clear up the confusion next week at ComicCon.
Lastly, let’s talk about the end-credits scene. Ms. Marvel’s bangle glows purple, she is sucked into a portal or wormhole, and then Carol Danvers smashes into her closet. Many fans have assumed that she is shapeshifting into Carol, but the official description of the episode seems to suggest that they swap places in a teleport. Maybe the Noor dimension acts as an in-between place, or maybe the bangle grants a wish of Kamala’s. There are a lot of ways this could unfold, but I think it is an interesting way to get Kamala involved in the plot of The Marvels. I can imagine Carol and Monica fighting some aliens when all of a sudden Kamala is there instead of Carol and Monica thinks she is a Skrull or something.
I am going to continue to unpack this finale and show over the next few days and will talk more about the show on the podcast this week.
4/5 Hard Light Constructs ⚡️
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