Ms. Marvel season 1, episode 2 recap – “Crushed”

This recap of the Disney MCU series Ms. Marvel season 1, episode 2, “Crushed,” contains spoilers.

Read the recap of the previous episode.

There’s no doubt that Ms. Marvel has promise. After the introductory episode, the series needed to up the gears; episode 2 certainly does that.

Ms. Marvel season 1, episode 2 recap

Episode 2 opens up with Kamala strutting around school, buzzing from learning that she has superpowers. However, no one in the school knows she saved Zoe Zimmer at Avengercon. Zoe has gotten famous for being saved by a new superhero. After school, Kamala and Bruno analyze the newfound powers to understand where they come from. Their focus is on the bangles.

Kamala decides to go to Zoe’s house party with her friends. Her crush, Kamran, is there, and she’s smitten with him. However, the party is quickly broken up by the police, so she and her friends join Kamran in his car. Kamala is over-the-moon to have the opportunity to connect with him. The next day, Kamala spends more time with Kamran after school. However, Kamala hides behind her menu at a café when she sees her brother and fiance. Unfortunately, her brother sees her, so she has to painstakingly partake in small talk while Kamran nervously navigates the conversation.

At home, Kamala collapses, so her family helps her recover. Later in the evening, Kamala video calls her nana about her bangles. Her nana says the bangles belonged to her grandmother Aisha who disappeared. They have no idea what happened to her. Kamala tries to get her nana to give her more information, but then she’s interrupted by her father. Kamala asks her mother about Aisha. Her mother tells her that Aisha shamed the family and she’s best to move on.

Zoe Zimmer is interrogated by some authority about the superhero that saved her life. She’s accused of trying to get “likes.” Zoe gives away Kamala’s ethnicity, so the interrogators decide to check out a few areas, including mosques. Meanwhile, at an Eid festival, a boy needs help as he hangs off the ledge of a high building. Kamala puts on her outfit. She manages to save him and is met by applause from the crowd below.

However, it turns out the boy was possessed by a woman who tried to get the bangles off her. The boy falls, but Kamala still manages to stop him from getting seriously hurt.

The ending

As the episode ends, drones descend on Kamala, and she has to run away. Deever, one of the interrogators from earlier, tells Kamala to “freeze,” but then Kamran shows up in his car and saves her. At the back of the car is the woman who tried to take her bangles off. It’s Kamran’s mother. Ouch, this got awkward.

Kamala’s story feels genuinely launched in episode 2, as she learns more about her powers, and a potential villain comes to the fray.

Additional points

• Nakia wants to run for the Muslim Board at the mosque. She twists her uncle’s arm to try and get considered.
• Bruno gets accepted to a programme at Caltech, which will all be paid for, but he’s hesitant to accept it.

You can stream Ms. Marvel exclusively on Disney+.