'Ms. Marvel' Episode 5: "Time and Again" Recap and Review
WARNING: THIS RECAP CONTAINS SPOILERS
When we last left Kamala Khan in episode four of Ms. Marvel, she appeared to be transported back in time. While it could have been a dream or another vision projected by the bangle, this episode confirms that the bangle actually sent her back to 1940s India. More specifically, it sent Kamala to the night her grandmother had to flee the country and come to America with her father. But the episode doesn’t exactly pick up from the previous cliffhanger. Instead, it begins from the perspective of Kamala’s great-grandmother Aisha.
The last time we saw Aisha she split up from Najma and the rest of the ClanDestine in an effort to protect the bangle. In this episode we follow her as she eventually finds a small Indian village to seek refuge in. At first, she is an untrusting outsider. That is until she meets a man named Hasan. He teaches her how to drop her guard. Although she was originally awaiting the return of Najma and the other ClanDestine so that they could all use the bangle to go home, Aisha falls in love with Hasan.
Time passes and Aisha becomes pregnant. We fast forward another few years and, after giving birth, she’s now raising Kamala’s grandmother (Sana) and living a happy life alongside Hasan. Everything seems perfect until Najma appears at Aisha’s doorstep one day. Although she is happy to see Aisha still alive, Najma questions whether or not she’s lost sight of their original goal to go home. Despite seeing Aisha and her family, Najma also questions her loyalty to the ClanDestine. Aisha lies and tells Najma that she still wants to go home. When asked where the bangle is, Aisha says that she hid it and, in an effort to buy more time with her own family, says she will need some time to find it again. Najma gives her less than a day to find it.
This prompts Aisha to try and convince Hasan to flee the country with her and Sana. Hasan is reluctant at first. He’s never left the country before. It is the only home he has ever known. In a cool yet probably coincidental callback to Thor: Ragnorak, Aisha tells him that home isn’t a place. Instead, it’s wherever they make it. The two decide to leave and head for the train station - the same train station Kamala got transported at the end of the last episode.
Although Hasan is still onboard with leaving the country he asks Aisha why she wants to leave so badly. It’s at this point that Aisha finally comes clean and tells him about her powers. Feeling Najma’s presence nearby, she pulls out the bangle and gives it to little Sana to hold. She urges Hasan to get Sana to the train and to make sure the two of them leave, even if it’s without her. Hasan reluctantly agrees, and Aisha turns back to try and hold Najma off. When she finally does confront Najma again, Najma stabs her in the heart. Shortly after, Hasan and Sana are separated at the chaotic and crowded train station. With the family entirely separated, all hope seems lost. But then Kamala appears.
Initially Kamala doesn’t know where she’s at. But when she stumbles upon a dying Aisha, she sadly realizes that she has to find the younger version of her grandmother and ensure she makes it to America. In a somewhat anticlimactic sequence Kamala searches the crowd, eventually finds Sana, and helps her reunite with Hasan. The two board the train and leave the country, while Kamala comes to the mind blowing realization that she saved her own family and ensured her own existence in the future. She doesn’t have too much time to take in her time traveling experience though, as she is immediately transported back to the present in the aftermath of her previous fight with Najma.
Upon returning, however, she sees a giant rift right in front of Najma. One of the last remaining ClanDestine approaches it thinking that it’s the doorway for them to go home. When they try to enter it, however, they disintegrate and die. Seeing how dangerous the rift is, Kamala tells Najma to leave. Najma refuses, insisting that she knows how to close the rift and can do so while also leaving Earth for good. As Najma stands in front of it, Kamala begs her not to leave Kamran behind. She tells Najma that just because she broke apart one family (Aisha’s) doesn’t mean she has to break apart her own. Najma insists that she won’t be leaving Kamran behind though, and utters his name before entering the rift and disintegrating.
Just as the rift disappears, Kamala’s mother and grandmother appear. It’s revealed that after Kamala went missing, they tracked her phone. While they don’t get to see the full extent of her abilities, they do witness Kamala using the bangle. Kamala tries to explain, but her grandmother already knows the truth. While initially shocked, Kamala’s mom realizes why she has been acting so strange lately and also understands.
Before leaving, Kamala finds Kareem and asks if he’ll be okay without Waleed. He tells her he’ll be fine, and that he’s only one call away if she ever needs help. The two part ways and Kamala prepares to head back to America.
The episode ends back in America, as we see Kamran find Bruno. Kamran has just escaped from the Department of Damage Control, but has nowhere else to go. Knowing Kamran and his good intentions, Bruno agrees to help him hide. When a DoDC drone appears floating outside of Bruno’s apartment window, however, Kamran blows it up. To both Bruno and the audience’s surprise, Kamran now has powers. It’s implied that Najma may have given them to him, or activated them inside him, right before she entered the rift.
While I really did enjoy the first few episodes of the season, I have to admit that the series has lost its momentum. The 6-episode format and seemingly rushed pacing aside, I just have no idea where the show is going. Now, I still think the performances in this episode were good. The action - while underwhelming - was also good. Admittedly, the worst thing about the episode is its last 10 seconds, particularly the awkward editing of that explosion and the timing of Bruno screaming, “You have powers too?!”. The most painful thing, however, is that feeling you get when you realize that the show has become a directionless mess.
The season/series finale is next week, yet this week’s cliffhanger set up a number of questions that I’m not sure just one episode could answer. Although Aisha’s story seemed important initially, I don’t know if it was worth wasting half of an episode on, and I don’t know what the real point was for Kamala to go back in time. The concept that her bangle can transcend both space AND time is cool, I suppose, but what does it really mean? I’m fighting the urge to say, “We’ll just have to wait and see next week,” but the show genuinely feels like its run out of story to tell.