Sloth Baby Productions Presents: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Episode 4

What you seek is seeking you.

Do the rules of grounding stretch to international waters? Kamala Khan is asking for a friend (the friend is her). She and Muneeba are 30,000 feet in the air traveling to Karachi and it’s safe to say that the international fight has been tense. The poor unsuspecting passenger in the middle seat between them has no idea the world of trouble Kamala has recently caused her family, but hearing things like “ruined your brother's wedding” certainly cues him in — Muneeba is still pretty upset with her daughter. It also doesn’t help that Kamala has been texting Nakia non-stop and hasn’t received a single reply.

Finally, on the ground, Kamala is overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the bustling city around her. Waiting at the airport are her cousins who have come to greet them, and one very special guest: Sana, Muneeba’s mom and Kamala’s grandmother. Sana is elated to see her granddaughter, bringing her in for a hug and a kiss and immediately offering up the jewelry on her wrists; as for her reunion with Muneeba, it’s a little cooler as she wonders if her daughter is on another weird diet.

The three women pile into the car and head off for Sana’s house, a sprawling estate in the city chock full of family history, knickknacks, and Sana’s artwork. As she tells Kamala, so much of her family’s history was lost during Partition so she wanted to record some of it as best she could — art seems to be the perfect medium. Sana shows Kamala a painting she did of her mother, Aisha, done off memory since she can barely remember what the woman looked like all those years ago.

For Kamala, this is a great segue way into asking about the bangle…why did Nani send it to Kamala in the first place? “Am I a djinn?” Kamala asks, hesitantly.

“Of course!” Sana replies, “At least that’s what my father told me.” With this, Kamala freaks out, wondering how her grandmother can be so calm about this, but Sana doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. “It’s just genetics!”

This is all neither here nor there, as Sana wants Kamala to focus on the important things: The last time the bangle was used, it saved her life during Partition. She once again retells the story of how she was separated from her father on the train platform, but somehow found her way back to him via a “trail of stars.” And now that Kamala is here in Pakistan, they can all figure out what the train vision means together.

Kamala’s still confused, though. She doesn’t understand what’s going on, and she feels like she’s breaking more than she can fix right now. Sana isn’t fazed by her granddaughter panicking; she knows that eventually, she’ll see some beauty in all of this. It might just take some time.

Retreating to bed, Kamala has dreams about everything that’s happened the past few days — the fight with the Clandestines, the train, Bruno getting hurt…she’s shaken awake by her cousins who are eager to get a jump on the day and head out to lunch. Unfortunately, no one told Kamala that “jeans and an AvengerCon t-shirt” were not suitable for lunch in Karachi, and she’s feeling the heat from both her whole family, the weather, and the spicy food. Her first day in the city is a struggle.

After lunch, her cousins take her on a heritage walk but she’s not too enthusiastic about seeing the sights. When her cousins suggest meeting other friends for coffee, Kamala sends them along without her — she wants to go check out the train station instead.

Karachi Station is bustling with people, but it’s the fenced-off side, which is closed for renovations, that catches Kamala’s eye. She slips past the barricade and on the other side puts on the blue mask that Bruno gave her. Kamala stops in front of a mural of Ant-Man (“You can start small and still be larger than life”) when out of nowhere a dagger appears on the wall, barely missing her.

Startled, Kamala turns around to find a masked man opposite her, and before she can fully process what’s happening the two are tussling back and forth. When Kamala asks if he’s been following her, he answers that he sensed the Noor as the two trade blows (and teenage insults) back and forth. During a lull in the fight, the masked man realizes that Kamala isn’t a Clandestine, and asks how she got the bangle from Aisha. “How do you know about Aisha??” Kamala asks back as security guards at the train station finally spot them.

Realizing neither is a threat to the other, the masked man — Kareem — takes Kamala to a secret hideout (!!) for the Red Daggers, a group of warriors who tend to stick to the shadows. There, Kamala meets Waleed, the leader of the Red Daggers, who offers up an ominous message, “When you’re ready, we have much to discuss.”

To start, the Red Daggers protect people from the threats of the unseen — which Kamala immediately suggests might be…the djinn? But not so fast, as Waleed explains, if Thor landed in the Himalayan Mountains, he took would have been considered a djinn. For the Red Daggers, that word is simply used to explain anything out of the ordinary for this world. Now as for the Clandestines that have been following Kamala, it’s easiest to show Kamala, and it’s probably better if Waleed explains it. As he tells her:

“The Clandestines and Aisha are from another realm. There are many dimensions around us that we cannot see, and this is just one of them — and this is Aisha's home. It’s connected to our world, but hidden. Behind a veil of Noor that separates our world from them…”

If the Clandestines use the bangle to tear down the veil, they’ll unleash their world onto ours and well, to quote Bruno, things go boom. And that is why it is important to keep the bangle safe.

That’s when Waleed sees something on the bangle — he didn’t realize there was an inscription on it. Kamala asks what it says, and he reads aloud: “What you seek is seeking you.” Kamala wonders if that’s an important message or something…? Even Waleed doesn’t know, but it must have been important to someone.

Meanwhile, halfway around the world, the Clandestines are being held at a Damage Control supermax prison. But, even added security isn’t going to stop Najma and the rest of the Clandestines (including Kamran) from breaking out. After a fight in one of the transportation hallways, the group is free and ready to head out on the run — except for Kamran. He’s injured in the fight and as he’s helped of the prison to safety Najma announced that her son is not coming with them. “He made his choice, now he has to live with it,” Najma says, and takes one last look back at her son before heading off to go find the bangle.

Back at Nani’s house, Kamala heads outside to talk to her grandmother, who asks if she’s found what she’s looking for. Kamala isn’t exactly sure yet, but either way, it’s been an “education.” Sana might be exactly the person to calm Kamala down, as she confesses to her granddaughter that even she’s still figuring her life out, and there’s no rush to even do it. That’s when Red Dagger texts her, asking if she’s free and wants to hang out, and Sana knows her granddaughter must go off and be a kid.

As for Sana’s own child, Muneeba is on a cleaning rampage through the house, bewildered as to why her mother needs to save all these things forever. And why are there so many toffee boxes everywhere! Sana explains that she knew Muneeba always liked toffee, so she kept some around just in case she ever came back home.

This opens the emotional floodgates for Muneeba, who explains to her mother that it was tough growing up because everyone shunned her due to her “crazy mother” (Muneeba’s words, not mine!). Sana tries to explain that she was just trying to share her stories with her daughter, but that’s not what Muneeba wanted; she just wanted her mother.

With night falling, Kareem takes Kamala to a bonfire to meet some of his friends, but Kamala needs a nickname. Call her “Sloth Baby.” When she’s offered food from the group, Kamala takes it hesitantly and wonders if it’s spicy, remembering the meal she had early. Taking a bit, she realizes that she likes it. Maybe being with Red Dagger and his friends is just the place she needed to be right now.

The next day, Kamala finds herself back at the Red Dagger hideout with Waleed and Kareem learning how to harness her power. Waleed seems to think that due to Kamala’s genetics, and the fact that she’s from this world, she can harness the Noor while also having it be unique to her. But training is suddenly cut short when Najma and the rest of the Clandestines crash through the ceiling to grab Kamala and get the bangle.

A fight breaks out, as Waleed holds everyone off long enough for Kamala and Kareem to get out of the building. Once outside, they jump into the back of a pedicab, and the chase is on. Racing through the streets of Karachi, Kamala manages to use enough hard light to save a family on a bike that won’t start while also stopping the Clandestines chasing them on a truck until they are thrown off the pedicab.

Now on foot, the Kamala and Kareem run through the streets as Waleed stays behind to hold the Clandestines off again. Hoping to hide, they turn through alleyways, dodging between people and things, and eventually, Waleed catches up to them — and so does Najma. High up on a balcony, Waleed confronts Najma. From his position, he notices that a Clandestine is close behind Kamala and Kareem. Waleed flings two fatal daggers, knocking out Kamala and Kareem’s pursuer, but this moment gives Najma the chance to stab him in the back. Kamala and Kareem turn the corner to find him lying on the ground in front of them.

Though Kamala wants to stay and help him, Kareem knows it’s too late and they’ve got to run. They turn into an open-air bazaar only to find that it’s a dead end and realize they’re going to have to fight their way out. While they easily stop the first two Clandestines that show up, Najma is another story. Furious that Kamala is still putting up a fight, she turns to face her screaming “ENOUGH.” With one swift blow, Najma slams her weapon into the bangle and Kamala goes flying backward…

And finds herself at a train station. Looking around, the place is familiar but completely different from anywhere she’s ever seen before. People hurry to try and get on a nearby waiting train and as she waves through the crowd, she realizes that so many people are saying goodbye. She climbs atop the train herself to get a better view of the surrounding area and realizes exactly, where, and when, she is: it’s 1947 and this is Partition.