The Ending Of Ms. Marvel Episode 4 Explained
Officially making it past the halfway mark is "Ms. Marvel," as the adventures of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) continue to deviate further from her comic book origins in the fourth episode, "Seeing Red." Following the ending of last week's episode, Kamala and her mother, Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff), fly to Pakistan, where the young hero learns more about her history. Bollywood stars, impressive fight sequences, and more potential multiverse talk continue to establish Kamala's place in MCU.
Traveling across time zones in more ways than one, Kamala encounters a minor culture shock, gets her first epic team-up moment, and ends up in a place fans of the Ms. Marvel comics would not have expected. It's a lot for a high school girl playing hero, and plenty of questions remain. Just what kind of power has the bangle unleashed on its unsuspecting wearer? Which one of Kamala's wild theories turned out to be slightly true, and what drastic change has made one of Ms. Marvel's comic book allies something much more important? Let's break everything down we learned about "Ms. Marvel" in "Seeing Red" this week.
Tensions arise on the trip to Pakistan
After wrecking a wedding last week to save her family, Kamala is still in her mother's bad books — even across international waters. This gives an extra layer of turbulence to the flight and is a real testament to the on-screen chemistry between the two, which Zenobia Shroff highlighted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "They have such a deeply committed relationship to each other, but it's also fraught with a lot of tension and a lot of push-pull — not only around raising a teenager, but also other things," Shroff explained. "There are other aspects that Muneeba is trying to protect her from."
Those aspects are first seen with the introduction of Kamala's grandmother, Sana (Samina Ahmad). While Sana welcomes her granddaughter with open arms, her interaction with Muneeba is far more reserved. There are clearly unspoken tensions between the two which Muneeba is reluctant to address. This is a shame, as acknowledging these problems could not only reinforce her connection with her mother but possibly do the same with her daughter.
Kamala's future could save Sana's past
Settled into her grandmother's home, Kamala comes across a room full of paintings that tell stories about her family's history. Sana explains that because of the turmoil her family encountered during the partition of Pakistan and India, "I thought the only way I could hold onto what we had lost was to create it myself." It's a beautiful but bittersweet perspective offered by one of Kamala's oldest relatives, who is trying to hang on to what came before. Given how the rest of "Seeing Red" plays out, this could be laying the groundwork for Kamala to become her grandmother's hero in more ways than one.
Setting aside the array of paintings, newspaper clippings, and maps on display, Sana shows Kamala the last remaining photo of her father. As far as Kamala knows, this is the only glimpse she'll ever have of her great grandfather. Of course, factoring in this week's cliffhanger ending, there's a high possibility that this could change — which could mean that Kamala is on track to be a bigger part of her family's history than she ever imagined. If she does find her way back to the present, here's hoping she can bring back some family mementos to add to her grandmother's collection. Perhaps another bangle while she's at it?
The Red Dagger gets revamped in Flag-Smasher fashion
After a heartfelt talk with her grandmother, Kamala gets a tour from her cousins Zainab (Vardah Aziz) and Owais (Asfandyar Khan), who quickly become the most disposable relatives in the MCU. Soon left to her own devices, Kamala decides to try on her new mask while investigating the Karachi train station. There she's surprised by a knife-throwing man who, in classic comic book fashion, fights Kamala before learning they're on the same side. The masked hero is the Red Dagger, a familiar favorite for fans of Ms. Marvel's comic book series who has received an interesting alteration.
First arriving in "Ms. Marvel" #12 and played by Aramis Knight, Red Dagger's real name is Kareem. In the comics, he was a lone Pakistani vigilante who lived with Kamala's grandmother. Here, though, Red Dagger is not just the name of a lone vigilante but also the title of a secret group that protects our dimension. It's an MCU trick that was similarly used in "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" when the name of the freedom fighter Flag-Smasher was used for a group rather than a single individual. However, this masked group happens to be led by a Bollywood star.
Kamala gets a Djinn breakdown from a Bollywood star
After the dust settles and Kareem realizes that Kamala doesn't pose a threat, he takes her to the hideout of the Red Daggers and introduces her to Waleed, played by Bollywood icon Farhan Akhtar. Akhtar boasts an array of impressive credits as an actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of Bollywood projects (via IMDb). He also absolutely kills every scene he's in for "Ms. Marvel."
Cool and charismatic, he explains that the Red Daggers are an organization of brave warriors who have protected this world from the Unseen for hundreds of years. When Kamala figures out that Unseen is an alternative name for the Djinn, Waleed explains that not all Djinn are bad. "If Thor had landed in the Himalayan mountains, he too would've been called a Djinn."
From here, he drops a major info dump — one with talk of dimensions and worlds that coincide with our own. It's another impressive effort by the MCU to fortify and present the elements we were introduced to in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Similar to how America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) can punch her way into other worlds, Kamala's powers are fueled by the energy from the Noor dimension that is separated by the Veil, which the Clandestines are bent on tearing down.
Kamran gets left behind
Back in the U.S., Kamran (Rish Shah), Najma (Nimra Bucha) and the rest of the Clandestines are being moved to the Department of Damage Control's supermax prison. While the guards restraining them are overpowered in an instant, Kamran takes a hit in the process. Lagging behind, Kamran takes an emotional shot to the gut when his mother makes the call to leave her son and carry on without him. "He made his choice, now he has to live with it."
Like so many other characters in this adaptation (including its lead), Kamran's path seems to be straying further away from the one he takes in the comics, leading to this dramatic decision. It's an exciting surprise for Marvel fans who may have presumed Kamran to stay as bad as he is in the comics. However, just because his journey is different, it doesn't necessarily mean that he won't reach the same destination. After being shunned by his mother, Kamran could take desperate measures to get back in her good books, and there'd be no better peace offering than Kamala's bangle — whether she's attached to it or not.
Some mothers know best and some choose to ignore
Following a heartbreaking conversation with her grandmother, Kamala heads off to hang with Kareem and his friends. While she's sampling local delicacies, we see an uncomfortable conversation between Sana and her daughter, which finally reveals that Muneeba might know more about her family heritage than we've been led to believe. A literal effort to release some tension from the room fails, and the conversation turns sour as they discuss Muneeba's reasons for moving to America. It's revealed that in her younger years, she decided to leave after being "continuously shunned by the neighbors because of my mother and her wild theories."
While hinted at in earlier episodes, this is the first time we've heard Muneeba address the aspects of her past she's chosen to deny and that her daughter is secretly embracing. Once again, it's a major tweak on the original story the series is based on, in which Muneeba reveals that she knew all along about Kamala's heroic activity (via Marvel). Chances are that whenever Kamala makes it back to the present, the truth will finally come out. The only question is, how will Muneeba handle it?
A race against time sends Kamala back through it
After finding another item that will make up Kamala's final outfit, the Red Daggers are invaded by the Clandestines. While the Clandestines chase Kamala and Kareem down Waheed is killed in action, sadly cutting another cool addition to the MCU short. Still, this makes for one of the most exciting sequences in "Ms. Marvel" so far, which comes to a climax when Kamala and Kareem strike a hero pose that screams "come get some." Unfortunately, Kamala is not at the peak of her powers just yet, and Najma gets the upper hand once again. When she accidentally stabs the bangle, it triggers and sends our hero to be thrown back in time, where she lands in front of a steam engine in 1947.
This twist could lead to the tying up of several interesting threads we've had dangled in front of us. What will Kamala's sudden leap back 75 years in the past mean for the visions she's had preceding this unexpected journey? Were the flashes of Aisha and the train not visions of another time but glimpses into a future that she has yet to have? If that was the case, does that mean Aisha, who also saw something when trying on a bangle, has caught a glimpse of a strange teenage girl she'll soon be bumping into? Hopefully, we'll get our answers when the penultimate episode of "Ms. Marvel" arrives next week.