Ms. Marvel episode 4 review: Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan goes back to her roots for an anticlimactic meet with Farhan Akhtar

In Ms. Marvel's fourth episode, Seeing Red Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) looks for information about her great-grandmother Aisha. But as new characters and subplots are introduced, we are unsure of the direction the show will follow.

Iman Vellani in and as Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel

Story:

Sana is reunited with Kamala and Muneeba in Karachi. Later, Sana tells Kamala that the bangle is attempting to send a message via the train's appearance. The following day, Kamala visits the railway station to look into things but is attacked by an unidentified vigilante brandishing crimson daggers who thinks she is one of the Clandestines. Later, Kamala is brought back to the Red Daggers' lair by the vigilante Kareem, where she meets their commander, Waleed, and discovers that the Clandestines are attempting to breach the Veil of Noor, which separates the Djinns' dimension from the human world, in order to enlarge and seize control.

Review:

Marvel has taken up the challenge of wiping away the mid-week blues with their latest series, Ms. Marvel. As the show progresses, it just gets better and better. The fourth episode, titled "Seeing Red," takes Kamala Khan back to her roots, which are in Karachi, Pakistan. In the previous episode, we were introduced to the Clandestines, aka Djinn, who managed to show their reality of becoming the bad guys of the series.

In the latest episode, Kamala travels to Karachi to visit her grandmother, only to realize, "What the hell is happening with her and why?" The series does a stupendous job of making Kamala the viewpoint, and along with her, we are also discovering the shocking revelations about the superhero.

Just as we are prepared to see Farhan Akhtar finally make his Marvel debut with this series, the makers also drop a major hint about another heartthrob from South Asia. Yes, we are talking about Fawad Khan, who plays Hasan. Well, let's leave it just there about him.

Although the mystery surrounding the mystical and powerful bangle is not entirely solved, we are inching towards it slowly and steadily. But that doesn't describe the speed of this episode.

In quick succession, the fast-paced episode gives us a tour of yet another multiverse in which Aisha, Kamala's great-grandmother, was a resident. Every generation carries their own baggage, but it just went from Sana to Kamala by skipping Muneeba. We wonder why!

But the puzzle pieces are brought together, especially about the Karachi train station. Kamala pays a visit wherein she stops in front of an Ant-Man mural which reads, "You can start small and still be larger than life," when suddenly a dagger flies up from nowhere and narrowly misses her. That's yet another Ant-Man mention in the show. Are they leading somewhere with this? I hope they do.

Aramis Knight makes a stupendous appearance as Kareem, aka Red Dagger. Yet another secret society, we must say. As we anticipate, along comes Farhan Akhtar, who plays Waleed, a man who knows too much about Aisha and her powers.

Although his Marvel appearance was much-anticipated, it was quite underwhelming overall. The actor's mystical character was built with high expectations, and his presence truly felt like home. However, it was quite disappointing how the character that showed potential met its fate in one single episode appearance as a guest star.

After seeking "education" about her ancestors, Kamala is driven to know more about the realm where Aisha belongs to. But hey, don't worry, the episode is not just dialogues and dialogues.

We see Kamala in action, and this time her superpowers are explored well, as she excels by packing a strong punch. Moreover, this episode features a fan-favourite chase sequence amid the narrow roads of Karachi (shot in Bangkok), and it has been shot fantastically.

But, for a 45-minute long episode, the episode was stuffed with a lot of information that you can't make out where the series is even going. Ms. Marvel began with the hope that it would not be stranded, unlike many shows about how to move the plot forward.

Although the latest episode was better than the third one, the cliffhanger once again talks about the gut-wrenching Partition of India back in 1947. The last shot is hauntingly beautiful, and it leaves us in deep thoughts of "now what?".

Directed by Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the episode is quite different from the previous ones in terms of narrative, visuals, locations, everything. Adding to it is the story by Sabir Pirzada, while A. C. Bradley and Matthew Chauncey penned the screenplay with him. 

As for the songs for this episode, Ms. Marvel has kept up with the trend by adding Pasoori (by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill) in the background, which has been a favourite on Instagram for quite some time now. 

Verdict:

Seeing Red, the fourth episode of Ms. Marvel, sees Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) seeking more about her great-grandmother Aisha. But, with more characters and sub-plots being added, we wonder where the show will take us. And I hope the route is far more beautiful and mystical than they are hinting at it. 

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