Ms. Marvel (Disney +)

The producers of the series promised the penultimate episode of the season (series?) would be taking a huge risk, and they weren't kidding. The first half of the episode is essentially a decades earlier flashback with NONE of our main characters present. When Lost pulled a similar move in its third to last episode, it was similarly nuts (and poorly received by the fans, by the way). I think streaming has made audiences much more receptive to this kind of storytelling. Plus, it helps that unlike "Beyond The Sea", the main characters eventually DO show up, and it becomes the show again. It's a risk, but not as big or as polarizing a one as Carlton Cuse took.

I am both surprised and happy that Mrs. Khan took Kamala being Light Girl much better than I figured she would. When she's asking why she had never heard of spyware for parents before this, that was a bit more on-brand to me for that character.

Kamran genuinely thought Bruno's name was Brian. That is simultaneously embarrassing, pathetic, and endearing. Just knowing he wasn't doing it on purprose after all makes me like him more.

That was something for sure. I liked it. Risks are good, especially when they pay off (like here). ****.

Making Kamran a victim of his own powers feels like a cheap way to end the series. Did we really need that to be the final battle to elevate Kamala and make Kamran sympathetic? I kinda think that if it had just been a showdown between Kamala and Damage Control lady (I forget her name, she's basically the same character she played on Orange is the New Black) we could have still had the same feels.

 

Also, the community coming together in support of Kamala was nice, but very saccharine. I'd get it if it had been shot as a re-enactment from her journal, but to have it happen "live" just read very shallow and scripted.

 

Wasn't it already announced that they were making Kamala a mutant since they are "officially" introducing Inhumans yet? Why is everyone on social media acting as if it were some unforeseen shock twist ending?

 

And enter Carol Danvers to set up the movie. A bit boring for an end credits sequence, but exactly what was expected.

I LIKED it. But I am troubled. I am troubled that outside of Loki, Marvel Studios hasn't delivered a finale I've loved. Star Wars has given strong endings to The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even The Book Of Boba Fett, as polarizing as it was, had a great finale. This specific thing is not as elusive as Marvel Studios is making it seem.

I think my problems with the series boil down to the fact that it's a goofy fantastical premise, that the producers have severely hampered as far as goofiness and fantasy go. The tone feels more like one of the "Street" Netflix shows if there existed a version that wasn't appalling or depressing. I appreciate the necessity to ground things a bit for budgetary reasons. But outside of the fight in the school with the baseballs and exploding goo, this simply wasn't fun enough. And that's been a troubling problem for most of the Marvel shows. I think Marvel Studios is going through a period of crisis. The latest Doctor Strange movie was outright bad, and none of these shows, which are designed to be cross-promotional, really hype me for the big-screen stuff. Even Brie Larson in the cliffhanger tag is as out of place as that character feels.

Let's talk about the good things (and there were a few). I liked the solidarity the community showed Ms. Marvel at the end. The reasons for doing so will be addressed with my gripes.

I like that the team-up at the end isn't a superhero epic crossover, it's Kamala's friends and family. And I like that idea very much.

Now I have to talk about the things I didn't like.

The Mutation thing, complete with X-Men '97 Theme, is wrong. I am aware that Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. was an incompetently enough written show that it believed there was no difference between Inhumans and Mutants, but I'm upset Feige himself is blurring that line. Yes, the Inhumans as a premise suck butt, and yes, I would loathe to see the MCU do a legit adaptation with its MANY questionable and harmful tropes. But they aren't the same thing. At all.

Damage Control sucks too. And I understand that the show is lacking good villains. But making Damage Control an out-of-control law enforcement agency goes against the entire premise. It's called "Damage Control". Part of their shtick NEEDS to be PR. Comic fans can tell me if it is or not, but based on the name it damn well SHOULD be. Its leader shouldn't be repeatedly firing guns at a couple of teenagers in front of a crowd full of witnesses filming it and posting it online. Am I dumb for having to complain about that? The show obviously decided Clan Destine could NOT hold up a finale as adversaries, and scrambled to put Damage Control in the bad guy role instead. Big mistake.

I feel like a great Marvel Studios show is not asking the moon. Feige obviously doesn't really care too much about these projects, and clearly sees it as Supplemental stuff to promote and sell the films. That's ostensibly the role of the Star Wars TV shows too, you know. Those shows actually have producers who care enough about the material to make them good.

I am extremely disappointed in the fact that that was a good finale and a good series. I wanted a great one of both. ***1/2.

That mid-credit scene... the article above talks a bit about Rick Jones, Mar-Vell and the Nega-Bands.  In the comments below the article one of the posters says that the director confirmed that Kamala and Carol switched places (apparently comic Kamala has been known to shape-shift in some way into Carol form... I dunno...) so that does make it seem that the bangle is a Nega-Band and it sent Kamala to the Negative Zone and brought Carol from there.  Guess we'll find out for sure in February...