Time and Again is the shortest episode of Ms. Marvel so far when it should have been the longest of the series.
In Seeing Red‘s climactic scene, Kamala was sent to 1940s India during the time of Partition. Time and Again makes a bold decision to focus on Kamala’s great-grandmother, Aisha for most of the episode.
Time and Again is less about the bangle’s origins and more about the love story between Kamala’s great-grandparents. Mehwish Hayat and Fawad Khan are fantastic as Aisha and Hasan. There’s never a moment during their scenes together when I wanted the story to revert back to Kamala in the present day.
Unfortunately, Time and Again eventually cuts to the present-day story again. There’s nothing bad about the present-day storyline in Time and Again. However, the shift back to the present happens too close to the end of the episode.
Everything in the present-day timeline is rushed. The fate of the Najma is sealed, Kamran gets powers and another person close to Kamala finds out about her powers. All of these events take place in around the last 10 minutes. Very few scenes are given time to breathe near the end.
As much as I enjoyed the love story between Aisha and Hasan, there should have been a better balance between both storylines. Perhaps a longer runtime or more episodes would have helped. Time and Again is a good episode, but it could have been so much more.
With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood in Time and Again There may be some minor spoilers. Ms. Marvel is available to stream on Disney Plus.
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Back to Partition
Time and Again shows what happened to Aisha after she parted ways with Najma during Partition. Aisha, still struggling to comprehend this new dimension, stumbles into a political protest led by Hasan. Kamala’s great-grandfather gives a great speech in opposition to the British.
However, it’s not the man, but his home and his rose garden in particular that draws Aisha’s eye. She just needs a place to rest and finds the garden peaceful. Hasan finds Aisha sleeping and gently wakes her. She’s combative at first and threatens to chop off Hasan’s leg. Hasan plays off Aisha’s barb. He says she’ll have to take his other leg since he’s sporting a heavy limp and a DIY cane.
Hasan offers Aisha a warm meal and a place to sleep. Aisha gradually warms up to Hasan. She even makes him a better cane that will actually help him walk better. Their undeniable chemistry eventually leads to a romance and a daughter, Sana.
Najma lied to Kamala. She did see Aisha after their initial split. She catches up to Aisha and asks Aisha if she’s still committed to returning to the Noor dimension. Aisha says she is, but everything about her demeanor shows she’s chosen Earth as her home.
Aisha realizes Najma will track her down in India. She makes a plan with Hasan to board the train with Hasan and young Sana to another country. While at the train station, Najma catches up to Aisha and kills her.
Meanwhile, Hasan loses Sana in the crowd. A glowing light caused by Kamala, Sana’s future granddaughter, leads to Sana’s rescue. Everything about the 1940s scenes was terrific with the exception of Kamala’s involvement. There’s no explanation as to how Kamala transcended time.
Kamala is a hero Time and Again
Back in the present, Muneeba finally finds out about her daughter’s abilities. Throughout the episode, Muneeba and Sana are looking for Kamala. They can’t reach Kamala on her phone, but Muneeba is able to track her daughter’s phone using an app.
Muneeba walks in near the end of the fight and see’s Kamala’s Noor powers. She doesn’t scold Kamala or show any disappointment. In fact, there’s nothing but pride for her daughter and relief at finally understanding what’s going on with Kamala.
Muneeba apologizes to Sana for dismissing her stories. The performances in these scenes are terrific, but they just happen too fast. There’s barely any time to comprehend what’s going on with the Clan Destines before shifting to these multigenerational mother-daughter scenes.
A longer runtime would have allowed these scenes to breathe a bit. The impact of Kamala’s mom finding out her daughter’s secret should leave a big impact, but it’s just lacking in spite of the terrific performance by Zenobia Shroff as Muneeba.
An Inhuman Condition?
After Kamala rescues her grandmother in the past, Time and Again springs back to the present. The fight between Kamala and Red Dagger against the Clan Destines continues at the same fast pace as in Seeing Red and ends just as abruptly as Waleed’s demise in the same episode.
The Clan Destines are able to open what appears to be a portal to their world. One of the Clan Destines’ tries to end the portal. She is trapped in a tar-like substance that hardens into a cacoon. The cacoon shatters and kills the woman. Najma and Kamala see what happens. Najma begins to head toward the portal.
Kamala warns that Najma will die and leave Kamran an orphan. Najma is undeterred, enters the portal and dies. A pulse of energy spreads throughout the world and hit Kamran. He begins to glow and asks Bruno to help to end the episode. But not before accidentally blowing up Bruno’s home.
The death of Najma and the Clan Destines is abrupt. The cacoon and how people die in the cacoon look similar to the Terrigenesis process used to make Inhumans in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was previously fine with Kamala not being an Inhuman, but based on this outcome, it would be a weird red herring for Kamala’s origin to not involve Inhumans in some way.
These sequences in a vacuum are great but are rushed overall. I wanted more out of the Najma story and I didn’t get that here.
Time and Again Final Thoughts
The penultimate episode has some great moments, but some rushed sequences in the present-day storyline keep Time and Again from being a marvelous package.
The Review
Time and Again
PROS
- The flashback sequences in India were terrific, especially the love story between Kamala's great-grandparents.
- Muneeba's reaction to Kamala's gift is beautiful.
- The search for Kamala was a fun subplot for Muneeba and Sana.
CONS
- All of the present day sequences feel rushed.
- Kamala saving her grandmother in the past isn't explained very well.
- The end of the Clan Destines wasn't satisfying.
