Let’s Talk about Ms. Marvel Episodes 1-3!

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Marvel since I saw the first comic and I’m just so elated that we finally get to see this wonderful and relatable character on our screens and on her way to the MCU!

What I love most about Kamala’s character is that she has never been afraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if it means going against her heroes (For example, in Civil War II when she goes against Captain Marvel’s beliefs). I’m definitely excited to see her grow into herself in the show and learn to trust herself and her abilities, especially because this is a different take on her origin story.

EPISODE 1

I loved the first episode so much! From the first minute, I was sucked in with the fun animation that only set the tone for the episode but showed off Kamala’s fangirl side, which is relatable for every Marvel fan!

The last time we heard urdu in Marvel was in Iron Man when Tony was captured by terrorists so it was nice to see it being used in a much better context and with normal accents (I mean, even Bruno said Pakistan correctly!).

Iman Vellani does such an amazing job capturing all the different facets of Kamala’s identity. We get to see her nerdy cosplay Marvel obsessed side right away and I especially loved the scene where she and Bruno are discussing options to make her cosplay unique and we get to see the animation on the walls correlate with what they talked about!

I especially loved the texting scene (as did everyone)! The way the texts lined up with the surroundings was just so immersive and I really loved that style!

We also get to see her relationship with her family and friends. We got a small glimpse of her friendship with Nakia and I’m glad we got to see more of her in the next episode. And though I’m annoyed that they’re obviously pushing the Bruno and Kamala agenda, I do love their friendship a lot. I think it’s really sweet that Kamala’s parents care for him a lot and I know everyone who doesn’t like Bruno in the comics really likes his character so far now (and I agree). I REALLY hope they don’t try to have Bruno and Kamala get together because I hated that entire plotline in the comics and it really just fuels the Muslim girl white boy narrative that is way too prominent in the media already that nobody enjoys.

Now for Muneeba and Yusuf Khan. I love them so much! I used to relate a lot to Kamala’s struggles with being understood by her parents but as I grow older, I understand her parents a lot too. You can see them trying their best to trust their child while also trying to make sure she’s safe. That scene when they let Kamala go to the convention if she went with her dad and dressed and big and small hulk was absolutely adorable and honestly, I felt so sad for them when Kamala lashed out. You could see they were just trying to do what they felt was right while also wanting to let Kamala have fun!

Overall, the episode had so many tributes to Pakistani culture which I absolutely loved. The art was my favorite part of the episode and I feel that it really set the tone for the rest of the show!

EPISODE 2

This episode was made for the Muslim Americans I KNOW IT. I loved that this episode centered around Eid al Adha especially because it’s coming up soon!

One little tidbit I just really loved was when Kamala called this Eid the lesser Eid. It really shows the difference between the American vs Pakistani experience because in the US Eid al Fitr is considered the bigger more celebrated Eid because of the fact that everyone spent a whole month fasting together. With the other Eid, it doesn’t feel as big because most people haven’t gotten to witness Hajj and the whole sacrificing the animal thing isn’t really available for everyone especially in more crowded cities. As opposed to in Pakistan, Eid al Adha is the bigger Eid because the animals are available for everyone and it’s a full three day feast!

Anyway, I’m really glad we got more Nakia in this episode. I think it was a nice touch to add her talking about how her hijab makes her feel like herself. It was such a small simple thing to add and it meant a lot to see hijabi rep that wasn’t bashing on those that don’t wear hijab, or something about being forced to wear it or something. The entire masjid scene (from the accurate women’s section and the actually correct wudhu) was so heartwarming to see!

I loved the Eid scene when they talk about the different groups of Muslims (complete with the iconic illuminaunties)! It was so funny and pretty accurate! I feel like the show just did a really great job showing both the cultural and Islamic elements throughout the episode.

Of course, we have to talk about Kamran because is he evil? Is he not? I was really excited about the Kamran plotline because I just think it has a lot of potential (not for romance but for betrayal!). I loved the little Kingo reference slid in with all the normal Bollywood references. It was so seamless I almost didn’t catch the reference!

I wonder whether the Damage Control plot will uncover a larger MCU plot since it definitely tied to No Way Home. It gave me the vibes of the Outlawed plot from Champions!

I feel like the visions are really interesting, and the fact that Kamala saw Kamran’s mother after saving the little kid was such an interesting twist!

EPISODE 3

I’m not going to lie, I felt a bit let down by this episode solely because they brought in a random Djinn plotline. I feel that they had so much opportunity for something else but they brought in the one supernatural thing that’s always tied to Muslims. Kamala possibly being half djinn (and tonic) felt wrong to me but I really hope there’s more to the story than this. I had to look up the Clandestines after the episode and it was such a random reference that I definitely think we’re missing part of the story.

(The djinn are actually mentioned in the ClanDestine comics so at least it’s not like they were trying to reach for something “exotic” as the villains for the show)

I did love the mehndi and wedding scenes a lot though! We get Sheikh Abdullah with the most iconic quote from the comics, plus the amazing food and outfits! I kind of do wish we got the scene in the comics where Tyesha wears the desi clothes and Aamir wears the boubou because I think it was just a really sweet moment, but overall, it was a really cute scene! I’m so glad we got the 3 I do’s and takbirs!

I really did not expect Nakia to find out about Kamala’s powers. I wonder how they’ll do that relationship now, especially because we didn’t get to see Nakia go against Ms. Marvel while not knowing it was her best friend.

But I AM excited for Kamala going to Karachi because that means we’re getting some Red Dagger and I LOVE THAT PLOT. I know there’s going to be some changes, but I’m so excited. Despite feeling a bit hesitant about the villains in the show, the story is different and fun and I’m excited to see how it grows!

Overall, I’m just really loving the vibes and appreciation for our culture and religion! And I especially love the small snippets that are straight from the comics. It’s a good mix of new and old and I’m really excited to see what’s next!

If you want to hear my more chaotic thoughts about the show, check out my instagram!

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