Time to push on with my Phase Four overview – there's not much left of it, so I'll probably do a roundup post about Thor: Love and Thunder (which I still haven't seen), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sometime in the autumn or winter after they've all aired. But for now, here are my thoughts on the three most recent Marvel TV series. For my impression of the other Phase Four TV series and general reflections about the Phase Four TV shows, see my previous post. For my thoughts on the movies so far (excluding Love and Thunder), check the post before that.
Hawkeye
Series set-up: All Clint Barton aka Hawkeye wants to do is to spend a nice, quiet Christmas with the family he thought he'd lost forever. However, during a visit to New York, he gets involved with the troubles of his number-one fan Kate Bishop. As Kate is in danger largely because she was filmed wearing Clint's old "Ronin" vigilante costume, he feels responsible for her. The two first-class archers have to fight a whole array of suspicious characters, who may or may not include Kate's own mother, and ideally wrap things up before Christmas Day.
Additional genres (apart from the super-hero genre) channelled: Buddy-cop movie (yes, again), action comedy.
Overall impression: I really enjoyed this series. Granted, it's a bit unfocused, with plot points which are set up as important but then get a rushed conclusion or none at all. But I like the gruff no-nonsense Clint, who one feels has had a hard time of it as the only non-superpowered Avenger besides the now deceased Natasha. Kate is engaging, too, and I appreciate that she's not questioning Clint and scoffing in an anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better way: she genuinely admires him. This series has a zing and a light touch which The Falcon and the Winter Soldier lacked, and therefore I prefer it.
Any interesting villains in the "array of suspicious characters"? This series actually has a Big Bad who turns up at the end in the form of Kingpin, who from what I can make out is a famous foe of especially Spider-Man and Daredevil. He has weight, to be sure, but for someone like me, who hasn't read the comics or watched the Daredevil series (formerly on Netflix, now on Disney +), there isn't much here to go on when it comes to discovering what kind of villain he is. I guess we'll see in future projects. The gangsters for hire, the Tracksuit Mafia, are mostly comedic and remind me fondly of the Beagle Boys. There's a fun red herring among the sus characters of whom I would like to see more.
Moon Knight
Series set-up: The shy and bullied Londoner museum employee Steven Grant has a rather wretched existence. He keeps blacking out, waking up in awkward situations and places he can't remember and missing large chunks of his life. After a couple of days where things have been madder than usual he finds out that he might actually be the tough American mercenary Marc Spector. The upside? Marc leads an exciting life visiting places Steven has always wanted to see, has a charming wife and can summon superpowers and a cool-looking suit. The downside? He's pursued by nutters, possessed by the not very amiable Egyptian god Khonshu and has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Which means that either Steven has a severe mental affliction, or is part of one.
Additional genres channelled: Psychological thriller, psychological drama, Indiana Jones-style adventure.
Overall impression: To watch Oscar Isaac acting his socks off for six episodes is by no means a hardship. His hapless Steven is especially endearing, but you feel for Marc too. May Calamawy is charismatic as the (of course) feisty Leyla, Marc's puzzled wife. F. Murray Abraham's (known to villain-lovers as Salieri in Amadeus) voicing of the tetchy Khonshu is a delight. Tonally, though, this show is all over the place. I had fun with the adventurous high-jinks in episode four and was impressed by the handling of Marc's ultra-traumatic back story in episode five, but how well do these elements gel with each other? To put it in MasterChef terms, I enjoyed a lot of the ingredients on the plate, but it doesn't quite come together as a dish.
Also, the series creators have been so keen to be respectful about DID (formerly known as multiple personality disorder, but I guess that sounded too cool) that they risk falling into the old Poor Miss Finch trap of claiming their protagonist is better off with their severe affliction and should not look for a cure. I'm not sure how helpful this attitude is to real DID sufferers: it smacks of being respectful all the way to the asylum. Not that I usually care about that sort of thing, and as a drama the treatment of Marc's/Steven's mental troubles works well: quite apart from what's best for the hero, we as the audience want neither Marc nor Steven gone (especially not Steven). Only, this show should not give itself airs or pretend to be any better ethically than other fiction which has used DID/multiple personality disorder for thriller-like purposes.
Any interesting villains in this largely enjoyable mess, then? I've already mentioned Khonshu, who's a sort of villain – at least he exploits his "avatar" Marc/Steven without scruple. The head villain, though, is cult leader Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke. It's an excellent performance: Harrow is utterly convinced that he's on the side of good, and you can see how his earnestness could convince others, even if worshipping Ancient Egyptian Underworld helper Ammit (not Osiris or Anubis? OK) must be a tough sell. Not the kind of villain I appreciate the most, but all the same, good show.
Ms Marvel
Series set-up: Kamala Khan is a teenager in Jersey City with a Pakistani background who loves the Avengers, Captain Marvel especially. When she uses a bangle sent by her grandmother while cosplaying as Captain Marvel, she unleashes real superpowers. The neighbourhood wants to know more about its very own superhero, a government agency wants to apprehend and question the mysterious girl and a seemingly friendly group with similar powers makes contact with the overwhelmed Kamala.
Additional genres channelled: Coming-of-age story, Bend it Like Beckham-type comedy, period drama (briefly).
Overall impression: I didn't have high hopes for this series – even with a basis in the comics, it seemed like worthiness overload (comics can be worthy too). Kamala sounded like she was an inclusiveness project first and a character second. But I was willing to give the series a chance (after all, I really liked Bend it Like Beckham). Admittedly, I was not in the best of moods when watching the first episode, but I thought it felt pretty flat, and the second one too. The third episode had funnier dialogue and something close to a twist, which was welcome in this otherwise psychologically black-and-white show. Then Kamala goes to Pakistan for two episodes, and among other things, her family's memories of the Partition are explored. A surprising lot of shade is thrown at the British, seeing as it wasn't them who did the actual killing (it's not a good sign when a Doctor Who episode from the Chibnall era offers a more nuanced picture of the Partition than your show). Then we jet back to Jersey and a showdown where the principal villains are lacking.
I'm used to disjointed Marvel TV shows by now, but this time I didn't like the separate ingredients as much as I did in Hawkeye and Moon Knight. Kamala herself is sweet and her family is charming and lovable (her dad especially, but I also like her brother whose piety doesn't stand in the way of him having his sister's back). But the local community good-government agents bad setup felt very simplistic. All the same, I enjoyed the Jersey City bits more than the "let's remember the Partition" segment. If you have fewer hang-ups about being lectured than me, enjoy coming-of-age stories with an ethnic flavour and don't mind some sugar-coating, chances are you'll like this series: like most Marvel products it's competently put together.
OK, but are there any interesting villains? A yummy British one maybe? Nope. I liked the introduction of the Clandestines as an oh-so-friendly group who then suddenly turn nasty quickly when they get impatient (perhaps too quickly: if they'd held their fire, Kamala would probably have helped them). But even the most prominent among them, Kamala's crush Kamran's mother Najma, has presence but is under-characterised. As for the government agents... pity Agent Deever, who is such a caricature she signals her cultural insensitivity by clomping into a mosque with her shoes on – twice. I would have respected the show if it had let her exude menace and authority at her second visit – all after having dutifully removed her shoes. That's the kind of style a villain needs.
