Marvel Studios has gone to the small screen and it is being brought to you deliciously WandaVision.
Disney + released the first two episodes of Marvel Studios’ first TV series on Friday, which brings Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany back in their respective MCU roles – just this time, instead of fighting Ultron and Thanos, Wanda and Vision live a life straight Nick in the Nite series in the nineties, by way of their own sitcom.
Before you tell us what you thought WandaVision‘s debut, which officially launches Phase 4 of the MCU, let’s summarize what happened in these two episodes:
EPISODE 1 | The premiere of the series is largely imitated The Dick Van Dyke Show, Wanda and Vision find a beautiful little life in Westview: she can repair a broken plate with a swing of her hand! He may look like a classic sitcom guy, but he actually just disguises his robot face! How novel it is! But even if they try to hide their true powers from their neighbors and interfere with the rest of the suburbs, there is a streak here that something is a bit off. For example, when Wanda and Vision notice a small heart on their wall calendar for that day, neither of them can remember what it is supposed to mean … even though Vision is physically unable to forget any information.
At work, it may also seem as if Vision does not remember what it is its business do; it somehow involves forms of calculation, and whatever his work is, Vision is incredibly productive, yet it’s weird, no? Meanwhile, Wanda gets a visit from neighbor Agnes (the inimitable Kathryn Hahn) at home and lies that it is her and Vision’s anniversary. Yet she can not answer when Agnes asks how many years they have been together, and Wanda realizes that she is not even wearing a wedding ring.
Vision finally realizes, with some horror, that the heart on the calendar represents a dinner they had that evening with his boss, Mr. Heart, and his wife. But when he calls Wanda to let her know about the event, she interrupts him and says she has everything under control with Agnes’ help; she’s talking about their birthday dinner, of course, but he’s talking about the presentation of the Harts. Oh, these two!
(The show-in-the-show takes a breather here, this is when we see an old-fashioned ad for the Toast Mate 2000 toaster … by Stark Industries! “Forget the past – this is your future!”, Read the ad. Hmmm …)
Not surprisingly, the dinner with the Harts was initially quite disastrous, not least because Wanda accidentally for Mr. Heart greetings, and not Vision, while wearing a semi-outrageous (for the ’50s) outfit. Then there are Wanda’s unfortunate attempts to whip up a multiple meal in minutes – the rules of her powers seem a bit vague here – and Vision’s out of nowhere performances of “Yakety Yak” and “Old MacDonald,” all in ‘ an attempt to never allow the Harts to witness Wanda’s magic. Eventually, Wanda improvises a breakfast-for-dinner meal, just as Mrs. Hart begins to feel light-headed … even if it’s the strangest of all.
While they were eating, Mr. Hart Wanda and Vision with questions, such as when they got married and why they moved to this particular town. Wanda and Vision look at each other in amazement and can not find answers. Mr. Hart gets excited about their confusion, and suddenly he starts choking on a piece of food. There is a disturbing moment when Mr. Hart falls out of his chair and lies on the floor coughing: Mrs. Hart simply says, “Stop it!” over and over – at first laughing, but then a little desperately, with tears in her eyes – and Wanda and Vision look at each other anxiously, apparently knowing that they can use their powers here, but unsure if they should do so.
“Vision, help him,” Wanda finally says solemnly, and Vision does. Without Mrs. Hart seeing it happen, Vision’s hand gets through his boss’s throat, easily takes out the bite that’s in there and puts it on the table. Mr. Hart recovers quickly – and so does the future of Vision in his work, as Mr. Hart now wants to promote him because he saved his life. On this note, however, it’s time for the Harts to change, and after doing so, Wanda and Vision make some quick decisions about their unusual relationship. For one, today will be their new anniversary (at least to survive a meal with the boss) their song will be ‘Yakety Yak’; and Wanda picks up some wedding rings.
“And they lived happily ever after,” Vision says before kissing Wanda, and they smile straight into the camera like the WandaVision credits roll … but as they do, we pull back to discover it WandaVision play somewhere in the present tense on a monitor, surrounded by other screens, buttons and ominous gizmos. Someone writes something down in a notebook with the SWORD logo and then grabs a nice remote control.
EPISODE 2 | We are now in the 60’s a la Betower, and the cold open of this WandaVision the episode is just delightful: Both Wanda and Vision are scared of a bang coming from outside – Vision a little more than Wanda, that is – only to discover that it is banging a tree against their window. “Are you using your night vision, Vision?” Wanda wonders when her husband looks at the source of the noise and gives us all a little nostalgia for this serious television.
The next day, Vision performs the magic act he will perform at the fundraiser for the local talent show – and in an effort to merge with the rest of Westview, Vision will do so. False magic, not the kind that reveals its real powers. But shortly after Vision goes to a neighborhood watch program meeting, Wanda hears a noise outside, like something with an engine suddenly falling. She finds a toy helicopter in their bushes outside, but it’s strange in color, while the rest of the show is in black and white. The helicopter – which has the same SWORD logo we saw in Episode 1 – looks like Wanda is rattling, and she looks back at the tree outside her bedroom as if it might be was not the source of the noise last night though. But she has to set everything aside when Agnes shows up, eager to come to a meeting of the talent show committee.
While Wanda tries in vain to impress the local queen bee and the apparent Stepford wife Dottie, she also meets who we know is the adult version of Monica Rambeau (last seen as a young girl in Captain Marvel) – but when Wanda introduces herself, it does not seem like Monica can remember her own name, but rather mentions Geraldine. Meanwhile, during the neighborhood watch at the local library, Vision maintained a good relationship with the group … only to accept a piece of Big Red gum from one of the men, and swallow it immediately when slapped on the back , which wastes its internal gears.
Back at lunch for the planning committee, Wanda tries to grin at Dottie’s cleanup team, but Dottie remains icy towards her. She says she heard rumors about Wanda and Vision, to which Wanda replied, “I do not know what you were told, but I can assure you that I do not mean any harm to anyone.” “I do not believe you,” Dottie responds – and just then the radio playing at lunch begins to interfere, and it’s someone saying Wanda’s name about the static.
“Wanda, can you read me?” asks the voice and sounds a bit like Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo, a former SHIELD agent previously seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp. “Who’s doing this to you, Wanda?” A worried Dottie asks Wanda, ‘Who is this? Who is you? And while the voice keeps calling Wanda, the radio suddenly bursts into sparks and breaks and at the same time breaks the glass of iced tea in Dottie’s hand; the blood of her cut, oddly enough, looks bright red in this otherwise black-and-white episode. And just like that, it’s like nothing happened. Dottie simply makes a joke to get a blood stain out of white linen and then walks away.
“Another ad is playing here, this time advertising a Strücker watch.” Strücker. He will make time for you, “the ad declares. Again, I say: Hmmm …)
We pick up at the talent show in the area, where Wanda panics that Vision has not yet turned up for their performance. Only in a short time did Vision appear – but the gums in his system were damaged, and now Vision is acting as if he’s feasting on more than a few beers. He stumbles and whirls everywhere as they get on the boards for their magic, and worst of all, he is now so unobstructed that he does magic with his real power.
Wanda, with a wrap of her fingers that is not like Samantha Stevens’ nose movement, manages to hide Vision’s powers and dismiss his spectacle as stupid, slapstick magic. The audience is enchanted enough, and even though Wanda and Vision try to discreetly sneak away from the talent show after their performance – and after Wanda removes the gums from Vision’s system, and quickly makes him normal again – they are called on stage to receive the first Comedy Achievement of the Year award, which Paul Bettany should also receive in turn as a refreshed Vision.
At home, the enlightened couple celebrates their unexpected victory – and when Wanda goes to the kitchen to get popcorn, she realizes that she is suddenly pregnant. (And a few months together, judging by her bump!) There are many questions Wanda must asks about this pregnancy, but she simply smiles and asks, “Is this really happening?” But just as she and Vision kiss, there’s another disturbing noise outside. They go to the garden to investigate, and they find someone coming out of the manhole that is slightly down the road. He wears a beekeeping outfit with the SWORD logo on the back, and bees swarm around him. And although we do not see his face clearly, the beekeeper turns to look directly at Wanda and Vision, who ask a frightened Wanda to say, “No.”
Suddenly the scene turns back. Wanda and Vision are now back in their home like a few moments ago, only to realize Wanda is pregnant again. They smile and kiss again – and this time there is no hard blow outside. Instead, Wanda pulls away from Vision and is stunned to find that he now appears in bright color – and for that matter, in one sweeping motion, their entire black-and-white existence changes color. The couple is amazed – heh – at their new environment, and they kiss while the credits roll. But just as the episode ends, we hear that voice once again: ‘Wanda? Who’s doing this to you, Wanda? ”
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