The penultimate episode of MCU’s Ms Marvel took the viewers back to the events of the Partition through Hasan (Fawad Khan) and Aisha (Mehwish Hayat) and unveiled the mystery of Kamala Khan’s power and her family. The fifth episode begins with old news clips from the time India got her independence in 1947 and the formation of Pakistan. We are reminded of the riots that the Partition caused and the mass migration it triggered. It then moves back to 1942 and introduces two vital characters- Kamala’s great-grandparents, played by Fawad Khan and Mehwish Hayat.
While running from someone, Aisha (Mehwish) finds Hasan (Fawad) who is addressing a bunch of people and talking to them about freedom. He says how the people of India, irrespective of religion, want freedom from British rule without riots. He raises slogans of ‘Aazadi (freedom) but the meeting is interrupted by Britishers. Later, Hasan finds Aisha lying on the ground and that’s how they meet. Though the makers did not give too much screen time to their love story, we soon see a couple of years have passed and Aisha has given birth to Hasan’s child, Sana, who is Kamala’s grandmother.
The three find happiness in each other but the horrors of Partition follow them. After the creation of Pakistan, the Muslims in India are shown to have a hard time amid prejudice and riots. In one of the scenes, Hasan tells his Hindu friend that people have stopped buying flowers from him and are refusing to give his wife milk for their baby because he is Muslim.
They then decide to flee their ancestral home and migrate to Pakistan. However, the decision is not just the result of the riots. The leader of the Clandestine, Najma, finds Aisha and demands she finds the bracelet that can get them home to their realm. Understanding that it will pose a threat to her family and will separate her from them, she decides to run away.
However, Najma catches up with her and finds her at the train station. To save her family, she gives the bracelet to her daughter and requests Hasan to get on the train with Sana at any cost. This is the same train station that Kamala had been seeing in her vision for so long. Before dying, Aisha calls Kamala who helps a lost Sana find her father. At this moment, Kamala realises that the story she had been hearing about her grandmother magically finding her way back to her father was actually true, and it was she who made that happen. With that, the story comes to a full circle.
Back in the present, they open the veil that can get the Najma and the other Clandestines back home. However, its power kills them. Najma steps into the veil of Noor and sacrifices her life to close the portal. In doing so, she transfers her powers to her son Kamran, whom she left behind for supporting Kamala. After her death, Sana, Kamala’s mother Muneeba and Kamala have a reunion and Muneeba finally discovers the truth about her daughter.
Meanwhile, in the USA, Kamran escapes from prison with the help of his new powers and finds Bruno. While they have an awkward exchange, Kamran realises that he is still being pursued and tries to escape with Bruno and the episode ends their abruptly.
While Partition and Hasan-Aisha’s story served as a major highlight of the penultimate episode, it was too rushed and was in a hurry to wrap up. The Clandestines never served as a strong opposition or remarkable villains in the series, and Najma’s ultimate sacrifice made no impact whatsoever. However, what continues to make an impact is the maker’s boldness in showing the sensitive yet politicised event of Partition without sugarcoating it. Be it the riots or the prejudice against Muslims in India, Ms Marvel doesn’t play with the authenticity.
With only one episode left, the series has a lot of questions to answer and we just hope it doesn’t have a rushed ending like the penultimate episode.
Ms Marvel, starring Iman Vellani, Mohan Kapur, Zenobia Shroff, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Farhan Akthar, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Fawad Khan and Mehwish Hayat, is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
