Welcome to our coverage of part two of Disney+’s Night Light Ms. Marvel:
“Crushed”
Written by Kate Gritmon
Directed by Meera Menon
Kamala studies and learns to harness her new “hard light” powers with Bruno’s help, and starts looking into the history of her family after experiencing a vision from her bracelet; she also falls for Kamran (Rish Shah), a handsome British transfer student.
1. Uh Oh, Love Triangle
Kamran is athletic, British (so exotic in an unproblematic way), and drives a car: he’s everything a girl like Kamala would want, so Bruno unsurprisingly feels quite envious, although it’s possible he doesn’t realize he has feelings for her yet, and that he’s just worried she will accidentally reveal her powers to a stranger. Frankly, it was pretty stupid of Kamala to go to the cafe with Kamran when her hormones were causing her powers to randomly flare up, but she’s a teenager who thinks she’s in love — complete with the Ronettes playing in her head — so what can you do except go tsk?
2. Nakia May Be as Inspirational as Kamala
I didn’t mention Kamala’s other best friend, Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher) in our recap of the first episode, since she didn’t have much screentime; here she receives a true introduction, as we see her and Kamala at Friday prayer, and her decision to run for the mosque’s board of directors after becoming fed up with the neglect of the women’s rooms, which are plagued with brittle plaster, mold, and a mysterious thief who’s stealing the shoes. It feels like Ilhan Omar was a big influence on the show’s version of Nakia (especially with her diverse array of hijabs), and it’s nice girls may be in turn inspired by her ambition.
The scene where Nakia talks about why she started wearing a hijab regularly was also really relatable as a mixed race person (Fletcher is mixed race, and so is her portrayal it seems). Personally speaking, often you don’t feel like you belong to either of your cultural heritages, meaning at some point it becomes about embracing them wholeheartedly, otherwise you risk letting those parts of you wither away, or allow others to decide whether you belong or not — and I’m quite sure Nakia belongs on her mosque’s board of directors.
3. Ghosts of Partition
This episode also introduces Aamir’s fiancée, Tyesha (Travina Springer), whose primary function here is to be someone the Khans retell the story of their family’s experience during the partition of India to. It’s a great moment, where the gravitas and impact it had on their family is conveyed incredibly well by what they don’t say. We learn here that as a child, Muneeba’s mother, Sana, got separated from her family before the last train for Karachi was about to depart, but “she followed a trail of stars, right back to her father” — sadly, no one knows what happened to Sana’s mother, Aisha. Reading between the lines, it’s clear Aisha gave the bracelet to her daughter so she would find her way back to her father, but that still leaves the question: where did the bracelet come from?
4. This Must Hit Hard
The Department of Damage Control questions Zoe Zimmer for the identity of her savior, and despite Zoe’s attempts to protect her, the DODC deduces the person they’re hunting is South Asian, prompting them to do a sweep of every temple, community center, and mosque in the tri-state area. It’s an eerie parallel made explicit by Agent Cleary (Arian Moayed, reprising his role from Spider-Man: No Way Home) asking Deever (Alysia Reiner) to be gentle, since the FBI already surveils those communities, an effective reminder that the Marvel Universe will always, for better or worse, resemble our world, with just a bit more visual effects. It was also really striking to see the Stark Industry Drones from Far From Home be deployed against Kamala: even in death, Tony Stark’s attempts to redeem his violent past are still backfiring.
5. Well This is Awkward
Kamala’s second outing as a superhero goes awry, accidentally breaking the ankle of the boy she saves when she loses her concentration as a result of another vision, before being forced to run for her life when the DODC shows up guns blazing. Kamala makes it to safety when Kamran shows up in his car, where he introduces her to his mother (Nimra Bucha)… who is the woman in her visions. So, is she’s Kamala’s (apparently immortal) great-grandmother? Because that would make her and Kamran… bleurgh, talk about being “crushed.” Well, at least they didn’t kiss, otherwise they’d be like those siblings in that other major Disney franchise.
Continued belowBonus Thoughts:
– Since I brought it up last time, I should note the episode confirms the bracelet was just a catalyst for Kamala’s powers very early on, and thank goodness for that. Speaking of her powers, I find it amusingly appropriate she generates literal stepping stones as stepping stones to her eventual ability to stretch her legs.
– Look closely, and you’ll realize the boy who falls from the minaret is the shoe thief. I’m sure Kamala will be annoyed if she finds out, but that’s the true mark of a hero: you save everyone, not just those you like.
– I’m not surprised the Khans love Bon Jovi since they’re from Jersey, but I do think it’s realistic they’d be more into them than Bruce Springsteen.
– I didn’t know Eid al-Fitr (the one during the end of Ramadan) is considered the lesser Eid, so that was cool.
– Between this and Turning Red, Disney is doing a lot to normalize tampons this year.
See you all next week for episode 3, and remember: no Snapchat or Instagram in the masjid!
