‘Ms Marvel’ Episode 5 Review: Fawad Khan Was The Highlight Of The Episode But Where Is Kamala’s Story Going?
All of us Ms Marvel fans have been holding our breaths and waiting for the release of episode 5 of the series and it’s here. While Fawad Khan’s appearance in the episode has been most talked about, this episode gives us a deeper insight into Kamala Khan and her family secrets and her lineage. Created by Bisha K. Ali for Disney+ Hotstar and produced by Marvel Studios, the series stars Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Fawad Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Saagar Shaikh, Nimra Bucha, Laurel Marsden, Azhar Usman, Rish Shah, Arian Moayed, Laith Nakli, Travina Springer, Adaku Ononogbo, Alysia Reiner, Samina Ahmad, Mehwish Hayat, and Aramis Knight. It follows the story of 16-year-old Avengers fangirl Kamala Khan who gains powers after she discovers an ancient bracelet.
Episode 5 of Ms Marvel titled ‘Time And Again’ (contains spoilers) picks up right where episode 4 left off after Kamala Khan was thrown back in time during her fight with Najma and the other Djinn. It delves into the pre-independence era of India when Kamala’s great-grandmother Aisha came into this dimension and the origin of Ms Marvel’s story. It showcases the time of the India-Pakistan partition. The episode begins in 1942 when Aisha met Kamala’s great-grandfather Hasan played by Fawad Khan and they fall in love and have a daughter (Kamala’s grandmother) Sana.
The episode then continues to go deeper into the time of conflict in India in 1947 during the India-Pakistan partition. We must talk about how the makers of the series portrayed the truth about the night of the partition at the train station and showcase the pain, deaths and separations that happened that night. IMHO, it’s pleasantly surprising that the makers managed to portray the pain and emotions of the night of the partition in the way that they did. In simple words, the series depicted it accurately without straying from the storyline. Episode 5 of Ms Marvel also shows exactly how Sana reunited with her father Hasan that night at the train station and why Aisha disappeared as well as Najma’s role in it.
Also Read: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Episodes 1-2 Review: MCU’s First Muslim Superhero Gets A Culturally Rich Origin Story, Fangirl Iman Vellani Is A Perfect Kamala Khan
Speaking of Hasan, played by Fawad Khan, it truly was a pleasure to see the Pakistani actor on our screen once again. Unlike Farhan Akhtar’s limited screen time, Fawad had ample screen time and his acting was impressive. He beautifully portrays a man taking part in the freedom struggle while starting a family of his own with love and compassion. But it did seem surprising that he only discovered his wife’s truth (not the complete truth though) just when they got separated at the train station. The scene where Aisha tells Hasan about her magic seems incomplete and half-baked. It has left me with questions about how did Hasan know about Sana having Djinn origin since Aisha never told him about it. Having said that, it was interesting to see Kamala Khan time travelling to save her grandmother. But again we’ve got more questions. Is this exactly how things happened? Because Sana never spoke about any woman helping her find her father.
Coming to Najma, once Sana reunites with Hasan, Kamala is thrown back in time and finds herself with the veil open, which means that there is a slit in the two dimensions but the Djinn cannot seem to go through the slit and end up freezing and turning into rubble. While Kamala asks Najma to help her close the veil and suggests she go back to Kamran and give him a family, Najma does something very out of character and sacrifices herself to close the veil only there seems to be something wrong. It seems out of character but I have a feeling that she played a bigger game with her evil intentions intact because now Kamran seems to have powers and as he finds Bruno to seek help, the show ends with a cliffhanger. But with the villains gone, what’s really going to happen next?
Also Read: Twitter Can’t And Won’t Stop Gushing About The Charm Fawad Khan Brings To ‘Ms Marvel’ In Ep. 5
The main cast has continued to maintain their streak of good acting and Fawad Khan got a lot more on the table with his acting skills. While episode 5 of Ms Marvel had promised to show the truth behind the veil, the truth continues to remain unknown and if anything, we’re really confused about where this is going next. With no villain and no info about what is going on, how will Ms Marvel really end? Will the upcoming finale have more in store for us or will it leave us with a bigger cliffhanger and unanswered questions? This episode may have answered our questions about Kamala’s family origins and about the bangle, the romantic sub-plot did not help us much in understanding Kamala’s powers or about the veil. This information-packed episode may have pushed the story forward but it did very little in terms of helping us understand where it’s going. FYI, Kamala’s family now knows about her superpowers. But what’s coming next? Because we don’t fancy watching Ms Marvel fight the Department of Damage Control. Well, looks like we’ll just have to hold onto hopes and wait for the Ms Marvel finale which is all set to air on July 13 on Disney+ Hotstar.
