Spoilers

Part of Kamala’s destiny is revealed…

There’s almost no stand alone superhero stuff this week. I did not miss it. What we got instead was the culmination of several generations of women from the same family all coming together and understanding one another.

This is primarily accomplished via the use of the good old bootstrap paradox in which Kamala saves her grandmother in the past who then, decades later, gives her the means to save her in the past. It’s clearly circular with no real point of entry that doesn’t lead to someone somewhere getting their chronological knickers in a twist.

Normally I really dislike this device.

Not in this case. The more I’ve thought about it the more I can see how starting and ending within this circle makes sense. To start at the beginning of Kamala’s story makes for a wonderful symmetry built around the women in her family. To start before Partition, to explore the way the British divided and conquered and then, deliberately, sowed the seeds of division as they left – helping create the political devastation we’ve seen in the decades since. Whooo.

For those who don’t know this history, or perhaps aren’t connected to it in any way, this may just be more people on screen talking but for me it feels radical and political and exciting.

Like one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes – Demons of the Punjab – this succeeds because we’re experiencing these events for the people who were at the raw end of the situation. Not the powerful or the rich or the influential. Not the decision makers but those who face the consequences of other people’s actions. It’s not that this robs them of agency but we get to see the situation in a way which lays out its impact right there in front of us.

The show allows its women to do something so many of us never get the chance to do – untangle the confusions, mysteries and jagged lines that lead us from one generation to the next. By the end of the episode it feels like they have created a straight line through the generations, having opened their hearts to one another in a way that would not have been possible unless their individual lives were laid out so clearly.

There’s a scene towards the end when three generations of Kamala’s family are sitting looking at photos from across the decades. I remember doing exactly the same with my grandmother and it took me right back to seeing pictures of my grandparents in their twenties and the astonishing stories of their lives.

Muneeba continues to get the best lines and Zenobia Shroff delivers them with a wry resignation that makes me laugh before she even speaks.

Ms Marvel could have concluded the season here.

However, it still has another episode to go and I don’t really care what’s going to be in it because I don’t see how it furthers the story we’ve been able to enjoy to this point.

Kamala’s story has been one of discovering her past, the history of those people who made her – for immigrants and their children such insight is so often missing. Our roots are mythologised but the facts elude us. It’s been magical to see that kind of story on the screen and the wish fulfilment of actually knowing where we come from is a rare fantasy to see explored

So what is to come? Set up for The Marvels (the next big screen outing for Captain Marvel), a clash with the Department of Damage Control and perhaps even a reckoning with Kamran. Weirdly I’m not sure what to expect because in large part I don’t care. With the resolution of Kamala’s drama I worry we will land in standard superhero land.

I really hope not and honestly, I’m going to cut them some slack because so far they haven’t lost sight of who Kamala is and what she’s about.

In the meantime I’m trying not to tell my kids that the old ‘find my phone’ trick most definitely works…

Rating? 8 love stories out of 10.

Stewart Hotston