Even as Ms Marvel has passed the half way point, I am still finding the series to be intriguing. While it wasn’t perfect, I really enjoyed Episode 4, titled Seeing Red, especially from an Asian American point of view (more on that below). Some major spoilers after the jump.
After being called to Karachi in the previous episode, Kamala and her mother go to Pakistan. I really loved this part, as it reminded me of my own Asian American experience of going to the Asian country of your parents for the first time and being almost overwhelmed by the sights and sounds after leaving the airport. Kamala walked into a big crowd of people with relatives waiting – that definitely brought back memories. When Kamala’s cousins called her an ABCD (American-born Confused Desi – a South Asian version of ABC), that struck a chord, as being differentiated because of been born and raised in the US.
The intra-family relationships in this show continues to be interesting. Again, going back to the Asian country of your parent often reveals family dynamics that you never knew about. In this Ms Marvel episode, Kamala learns more about her Grandmother and mother’s relationship and about how her own relationship with her mother echoes theirs.
I do wish that the show did more with Waleed character, played by Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar. I didn’t know who he was an actor, but I thought he was dynamic and interesting, so it was sad to see him get dispatched so quickly.
The episode concludes with Kamala apparently transported to the time of the Partition. The Wife and I are looking forward to seeing what happens next. Episode 5 of Ms Marvel will be available on Wednesday July 6 of Disney+.
