Ms. Marvel season 1 episode 1 recap & review: Generation Why

Ms. Marvel is the latest addition to the MCU and traces the life of a young teenage girl, Kamala Khan, who goes on to become the titular hero. The episode is now streaming on Disney+.

Recap

Kamala Khan is a young girl from New Jersey with a flair for art and a deep appreciation for the Avengers, especially Captain Marvel. She belongs to a slightly orthodox Pakistani family which means that life isn’t always fair for her.

She has plans to go to AvengerCon along with her best friend, Bruno, and take part in the Captain Marvel cosplay contest but after failing her driving test, her chances of going significantly reduced.

Bruno suggests Kamala just ask her mother to take them but Kamala knows that her mother is too strict and will never agree to let her go for some convention.

Kamala trudges home, wondering how she’ll be able to convince her parents when her mother lays a box of old stuff on the table. She opens it up and finds some old knick-knacks and an old bangle but when she questions her mother about it, her mother says it’s junk and needs to go to the attic.

Kamala goes out with her mother to run errands for her brother’s wedding. When they get back home, Kamala tries asking her parents for permission to go to the convention but her mother flat out refuses. Her brother offers to put in a good word for her though.

The next day while she’s trying out her Captain Marve costume, her mother walks in and tells her that she can go for AvengerCon but under certain conditions. She would have to attend it along with her father, and she’d have to wear a gaudy Hulk costume that her mother made.

When Kamala refuses to go along because it would be humiliating for her, her parents feel hurt and tell her that she will not be going now. Bruno meets up with her on a building rooftop to comfort her and tells her that she’s got no reason to be sad.

Kamala heads back home and when her dad brings up one of Bruno’s gadgets, she gets an idea. She tells Bruno that she’ll sneak out to go to AvengerCon and use his tech expertise to fool her parents into thinking she was home all night.

The only thing left was to find something personal to complement her costume which was a criterion for the competition. She decides to fish out the old bangle that belonged to her grandmother and take it along.

They barely make it to the convention and have a gala of a time throughout till it’s time for the competition. Kamala changes into her outfit but forgets to put on the pair of “photon” gloves that Bruno had made so she makes do with the bangle instead.

As soon as she puts on the bangle a wave of energy envelops her and she is briefly transported to another plane of existence before coming back and being ushered onstage.

As she goes up, she finds herself overwhelmed by all the flashing lights and sounds that she lets out cosmic blasts from her hands that everyone else assumes are special effects. She knocks down a giant prop that causes havoc within the hall.

She and Bruno make it out of there but not before she saves the life of another girl who she knew from school, Zoey. As they reach back home, Kamala tells Bruno that she actually has powers now and makes him promise not to tell anyone, a promise he agrees to keep.

Kamala sneaks in through the window and finds her mother waiting for her. Her mother says that she doesn’t recognise her and gives her a lecture about being a dreamer and rebel and not abiding by the rules set by her parents.

She tells her that she has a real choice to make, being a good, respectable young woman or being some kind of free bird with its head in the clouds. Kamala is hurt by this lecture but soon is left enamoured by this newfound power that is coursing through her body.

Review

  • The series starts really strong. It’s a wonderful blend of cultures and styles be it the locations, the costumes, the sound, all serves as this melting pot to create something magnificent.
  • The depiction of an orthodox Asian Muslim family within a western society is pretty on point and deserves credit for how well it has been portrayed. Viewers can learn what it’s like living that life while members of the community will have something to relate to.
  • The art style is extremely eye-catching, from the comics coming to life and the messages just popping up in the air and giving them that extra kick. The episode was visually quite stunning.
  • The shot of Bruno and Kamala cycling around while deciding on how to modify her Captain Marvel costume deserves special mention for how amazing the animation and effects looked.

Rating: 4/5


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