The Following Recap/Review Contains Spoilers for Episode 6 of ‘Ms. Marvel’.
Ms. Marvel has had a few ups and downs over the past five episodes, with the superb quality of the first two episodes not necessarily carrying over into the middle part of the 6 episode event series. Kamala Khan’s story has been layered with rich subtext and history. However, all of that development is mixed in with rushed MCU worldbuilding and forceful exposition. While that hasn’t necessarily robbed the show of its most emotionally rewarding moments, it has undoubtedly dragged the series as a whole.
Going into this week’s sixth and final episode of Ms. Marvel, we get a complete Kamala. One who has made amends with both her past and her mother. However, Kamran and Bruno are in trouble back in Jersey, with Damage Control going after them. Episode 6 of Ms. Marvel has Kamala fully embracing her role as a hero, with some bumps along the way.
Beginning with Bruno and Kamran on the run, and cuts away to Kamala telling the truth about her powers to her family. It’s a subversion of expectations, with everyone in her family happy about discovering her powers. It’s an incredible moment that continues to show a positive, consistent throughline. Kamala’s family has been the best part of the show in every episode they are a more prominent aspect in. It all culminates in Kamala getting her costume from her mother as she goes to find and save Bruno.
Directors Adil & Bilall bring the charm and personality they had from the first episode. Seeing Kamala in her complete Ms. Marvel running through the streets of Jersey with her powers was a fun scene early in the episode. Kamran struggles with his powers, with Kamala contacting the red daggers to get him out of the city. The episode moves quickly, juggling all the loose plotlines from the series at this point. Nakia makes peace with Kamala. After being gone for 80% of the series, Zoe makes a sudden reappearance to help with Ms. Marvel’s plan while taking shelter in a high school surrounded by damage control.
Damage control makes for interesting season finale protagonists, with one specific female agent leading the charge whose villainy seems one-dimensional. Still, it gets Kamala and her friends on a collision course with Damage Control. In a mass call to aid from Zoe’s tik-tok (in keeping with current social media trends), Ms. Marvel manages to get Kamran out of the school but struggles to tell him what happened to his mother. Kamran’s mother’s death seemed abrupt initially but plays well into Kamran and Kamala’s struggle in this episode.
Kamala and Kamran eventually clash after he learns of his mother’s death. It’s an intense confrontation that turns into a three-way fight between Kamala, Kamran, and damage control.
Eventually, the confrontation gets more intense, and the phrase every Ms. Marvel fan has been waiting for is said: “Embiggen.” It’s a decisive moment that showcases Ms. Marvel’s powers in the most comic-accurate way yet, with an entire crowd seeing Ms. Marvel’s heroics. It’s a classic MCU trope with a hero at their best and the world watching. Kamran lets loose as well, endangering everyone while still having a heart-to-heart with Kamala about not being normal. It’s one of the less impactful character moments from the show’s final episode.
A montage of social media reactions following the chaotic night helps to show Ms. Marvel’s impact on her neighborhood. The cultural implications of Ms. Marvel have always been an essential part of the show, and the consistency in delivering what she means to more marginalized groups is no doubt a highlight of the show. The show’s finale about saving just one specific life also makes the final episode more impactful.
Ms. Marvel’s final heart-to-heart with her dad gives her the iconic comic book name, and it’s a lovely intimate moment to end the show. A time skip to a week later has an integral conversation with Kamala, in which he says her genetic makeup has a “mutation,” with the X-Men theme playing. It’s not an MCU show without one more tease about the bigger universe.
Finally, one last post-credits scene has the biggest reveal, with Kamala’s bracelet suddenly making her switch places with Carol Danvers, played by Brie Larson. It’s utterly unexplained in this show, obviously being a tease for their first meetup in The Marvels. Overall, Ms. Marvel, as a show and a season finale, manages to differentiate itself from other MCU shows, displaying real emotional vulnerability and authenticity from every creator involved. It dragged in exposition and is rushed in some aspects of the finale, showing that Marvel needs to possibly go beyond the 6 episode count they give their series. – Ernesto Valenzuela
Rating – 8/10
All episodes of Ms. Marvel are now streaming on Disney+
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