[Practically a Finale] Ms. Marvel Episode 5 [Joining the Thunderbolts?]
Ms. Marvel episode 5 dropped on Wednesday 6 July — I’m going to write up a rundown of the episode plus the Thunderbolts and my predictions for the finale, along with the key points, the analysis, the Easter eggs and where all of this goes next.
In this post I’ll briefly write about the things that caught my eye on a first viewing and the Easter eggs, and then get into the analysis.
Spoilers ahead
For the episode-by-episode reviews of the shows that aired earlier, click the images below!
Contents
A recent hobby
I’ve started shooting all sorts of things for fun lately. The camera is an α7 IV — shoot in RAW, edit in Lightroom, that kind of thing.
This time I shot Hakone.
Episode 5, “Time and Again”
The black-and-white treatment
It’s a 1940s story, so the opening goes black and white too — loved that!!
Aisha’s romance, and the photograph
Half of episode 5 was the story of how Aisha’s romance began. Only a dozen-odd minutes, and yet the moment that photograph of the three of them gets handed over in the present day moved me enormously…
Time travel
So Kamala travelled through time because Aisha wished for it! And the one who reunited grandmother Sana with Sana’s father turns out to be her granddaughter Kamala — what a thrilling turn!! Lovely as well that Sana finally got people to see she’d been telling the truth.
The Noor Dimension out of control
The portal to the Noor Dimension does open, but who would have guessed it goes out of control and strips every living thing it touches down to bone… That scene had me thinking of Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark lol
And that business wipes out the pure ClanDestine entirely.
Kamran awakens
With his mother Najma’s power having passed into him, Kamran seemed to be on the verge of doing the same things Kamala can! He was pulling out enough power to destroy a drone!
I’ll write my predictions for what happens to Ms. Marvel in the finale in the second half of this post!
Kamala’s red bandana
The red scarf is Ms. Marvel’s signature detail, but in this show she gets it from the Red Dagger! Ooh! Love that!
Ms. Marvel’s lightning bolt
Kamala’s accessory breaks and ends up in the shape of the lightning bolt that is Ms. Marvel’s trademark! But would that really be what makes her decide to take the bolt as her trademark? Looking forward to next week!
After finishing episode 5
The portal from the magic bangle
“What you seek is seeking you”
Aisha’s words send Kamala a full eighty years into the past. Down the line, when Kamala is in trouble, using the bangle’s power to summon the strongest hero going feels like a real possibility! Can’t wait!
How does the finale play out?
What’s still outstanding:
- What happens to Kamran
- Settling things with the Department of Damage Control
- Kamala’s path after school
- Captain Marvel showing up (wishful thinking)
That’s the lot. I thought Kamran getting caught in Kamala’s place and joining the Thunderbolts looked likely, but they’ve already worked out that the Light Girl is a girl… As for what Kamala does next, she’s made up with her mother, so she looks likely to head to California with Bruno.
For Captain Marvel, I want a quick glimpse of her from the neck down and nothing more, the way Superman turns up in the DC film Shazam!
The Thunderbolts
The Thunderbolts are an Avengers-style team made up of former villains and dark heroes. The DC equivalent would be the Suicide Squad, I suppose? Kamran has the same powers as Kamala, so him joining the Thunderbolts feels plausible!
