SPOILERS

“Crushed“

I love this show. It was “very pleasing.”

After only the second episode of Ms. Marvel, I have truly enjoyed the introduction of Kamala Khan and the development of her character. The way the show seamlessly melds the Pakistani Muslim background of the character into the show without making it feel like it is out of place is masterful.

This week we got even more of the culture of Ms. Marvel and we got much more with Kamala’s friend, Nakia, while introducing us to Kamala’s crush, Kamran. Bruno received some good news about Cal-Tech, but he was unsure how to feel about it, because of his feelings for Kamala.

Perhaps my favorite scene was Kamala returning home from the party where she met Kamran for the first time, dancing to the song “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes.

The show started looking closer at the mystery behind Kamala’s great grandmother and what the bangle is. We learned in this episode that the powers Kamala has gained did not come from the bangle, but was inside her and was unlocked by the bangle.

I hope the fans are not going to be criticizing the show for the fact that we have not gotten a ton of action scenes or that we have not seen Kamala in her costume much. I heard a lot of the complaints during Moon Knight and this feels the same in that way. They are spending plenty of time working on the character outside of the super hero, which is certainly the Marvel way. Kamala Khan is a fantastic character and I am looking forward to seeing how the show continues to grow with her.

Oh, and Iman Vellani is so perfect in the role of Kamala Khan. Marvel has done a historically great job of casting, outside of a few kinks, but this one feels on that next level: like with RDJ as Tony Stark, Tom Holland as Peter Parker, Chris Hemsworth as Thor. I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role already.

I enjoyed the rescue the kid moment for Kamala, but the kid’s dialogue left something to be desired. Ice Cream Pizza? It did a nice job showing that Kamala has improved her skills with her powers (thanks to some Bruno training), but that she is not incredibly smooth with it yet. She got the job done, though it may not have been without a hiccup or two. She did get to pull out a “super hero landing” though.

We learned this week that Kamala’s parents owe their marriage to Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet.” I loved that little detail as well as Kamala’s brother’s response of “That’s gross.”

I do wonder how the Dept. of Damage Control can interrogate these children without their parents or a lawyer there. They did it in Spider-Man: No Way Home too. I also think that they were using some drones from Spider-Man: Far From Home when they were chasing Kamala.

I spend the entire show laughing and sitting with a big smile on my face. Nightlight? How funny was that? This is so well written and brings every character on the screen to life with details specific for every one of them. I feel as if I am meeting these real people and that I forget at times that this is a superhero show.

Keep it going Ms. Marvel.