"WandaVision" (2021)
Flashback to the summer of 2019. "Avengers: Endgame" put a cap on the Infinity Saga and then "Spider-Man: Far From Home" capped Phase 3. At San Diego Comic Con, Marvel laid out its initial plans for Phase 4. Yes, we are going to have movies starting with "Black Widow" finally getting her own solo film but TV was also going to become a big part of the MCU phases going forward. It would start off with "The Falcon and the Winter Solider," "WandaVision" and "Loki." These would be shows that actual featured the principal big name stars of the MCU and would have actual repercussions on the films. It was an exciting time and then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and everything went to shit. We went a full year and half without any new MCU content. It was a dark time. That ended when it was announced that "WandaVision" would kick off Phase 4 and the new era of MCU television shows.
Principal photography on "WandaVision" began in November 2019 and production was halted in March 2020. It resumed in September 2020 and ended in November 2020. The show stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis and Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner. The show was created by Jan Shaeffer. "WandaVision" premiered on January 15, 2021 and the series finale aired on March 5, 2021.
 |
| Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke? |
I should start this off letting you all know that there will be spoilers galore for "WandaVision," so if you haven't watched it (and why haven't you), then maybe hold off on reading this until you have.
Do you remember when binging a show wasn't the norm? Do you remember when you actually had to wait week to week to find out what was going to happen on your favorite show? The anticipation? The watercolor chatter? Disney+ remembers and they made a great choice to air one episode of "WandaVision" per week aside from the two episode premiere. "WandaVision" was a great show and would have been huge no matter what, but I firmly believe not releasing it all at once really made it one of the first must-see shows in a long time. The speculation. The social media talk. It was amazing. People were crashing Disney+ when it dropped because they wanted to know what happened next.
Marvel really decided their first major television show and the official start of Phase 4 was going to be a half hour series that pays homage to sitcoms and the first two episodes were basically going to be straight up homages to "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Bewitched" with zero explanations and no context. It was ballsy as fuck and some people were not about it. I feel like these were mainly young people who can't appreciate the brilliance of those old sitcoms and maybe had never watched them before? Who cares. Those people don't matter. Watching those first two episodes was a mind fuck. You don't know what's going on. You know Vision is dead. So how is he here? If you're a comic fan, you are thinking about everything that could be happening knowing the extent of Wanda's powers. I loved it. I'm not a huge fan of hand holding and this is basically Marvel throwing you in blind.
 |
| "Siblings." |
Episode 3 is a "Brady Bunch" homage where Wanda has twins. Twins that will most likely play a huge role in the MCU going forward. With the birth of little Billy and Tommy, hints are being dropped for the introduction of the Young Avengers. The end of episode 3 also posits that perhaps Wanda Maximoff is the bad guy here when she ejects Geraldine from her picturesque life and back to reality when Geraldine brings up Ultron. Episode 4 takes place mostly in the real world with Geraldine revealed to be an adult Monica Rambeau who is called to Westview, NJ by FBI agent Jimmy Woo. When Darcy Lewis discovers the signal broadcasting "WandaVision," Monica's boss at S.W.O.R.D., the Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division, Tyler Hayward, sends her in to see what's up, leading to her eventual expulsion by Wanda. In episode 5, a rip on 80's/90's family sitcoms like Family Ties and Full House, Wand and Vision's twins inexplicably age themselves up and S.W.O.R.D. sends in a drone that Wanda discovers and returns to them with a warning to leave her alone. Meanwhile, Vision gets a sense that his wife isn't telling him the whole truth. When he confronts her, they receive an unexpected visitor in Pietro Maximoff, Wanda's dead brother showing up, but not how they remember him. Episode 6 finds the gang in a "Malcolm in the Middle" parody with Vision doing some investigating on his own. Billy and Tommy find themselves with powers similar to their mother and "uncle" and Agnes implies to Vision that Wanda is doing all of this. Darcy also realizes that Hayward may be in this for Vision and Wanda expands the boundaries of the Hex around Westview.
Episode 7 finds us in a take on "Modern Family" with Vision still AWOL and Wanda unraveling. Monica crosses into the Hex again but finds that crossing over so many times has given her some interesting new powers. Vision meets up with Darcy and when Wanda can't find the boys she ends up in Agnes' basement and it turns out her kooky neighbor is actually the witchy Agatha Harkness. Episode 8 finds Agatha taking Wanda on a trip through her memories which concludes with the realization/revelation that Wanda wields Chaos Magic making her the Scarlet Witch. Episode 9 is the battle between Wanda and Agatha, where Wanda has to reckon with what she's done. The Hex comes down and Wanda loses Vision again along with her children. She keeps Agatha a prisoner in Westview and oh yeah, there's a White Vision who has all of Vision's powers but none of his memories. Fun.
 |
| Agatha All Along |
"WandaVision" works so well because it takes characters that we enjoy from the MCU films and gives them their own space, their own room to breathe. The relationship between Wanda and Vision is relatively underdeveloped in the film and mainly succeeds on the chemistry between Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany but "WandaVision" shows you why they are perfect for each other. It gives you a reason to root for them.
It capitalizes and utilizes the strengths of Elizabeth Olsen who proves that she is one of the strongest actors in the MCU roster. Olsen veers between screwball sitcom antics and genuine pathos with ease. There are so many great nuances like her accent coming and going that it really makes re-watching these episodes a treat. Paul Bettany is having the time of his life in "WandaVision" really getting to play comedy which he hasn't gotten a chance to do in the 13 years he's been a part of it. Kathryn Hahn is a phenomenal addition to the cast. She is a gifted comedienne and I saw sides to her that I haven't seen before and I'm a massive fan. Seriously. Seek out all the Kathryn Hahn you can. You won't be disappointed. If there aren't Emmy statues on Hahn and Olsen's mantle this fall then something went very, very wrong. Teyonah Parris is another great addition. You can see little Monica Rambeau in her and man, that scene where she blips back? Heart wrenching.
"WandaVision" fucks with our expectations. It knows that die hard fans are scrutinizing every single thing. Oh you know that Agnes is going to be Agatha? Great. Bet you didn't see Evan Peters showing up as Pietro. Is this going to be a multiversal way to get mutants into the MCU? Nope. Where's Mephisto? Nowhere. Who's this mysterious engineer who Monica is contact? No one. Not Reed Richards suckers! Not even a Doctor Strange cameo. It subverts these expectations but it delivers something even better that we didn't even realize that we wanted. There are so many fun touches like the commercials, but my favorite thing is the music and the themes written by the minds behind "Let It Go," Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Every theme was a pitch perfect homage to a classic tv theme and they also gave us the new instant classic "Agatha All Along."
 |
| The Scarlet Witch |
The thing that "WandaVision" really does and gives to the MCU that it will reap the rewards of in the future is the Scarlet Witch. Since her introduction, Wanda Maximoff's powers have been really ill defined and have been used a lot as a deus ex machina. We need someone with telekinesis. Wanda. Someone to inexplicably increase Vision's density. Hey Wanda! It seemed very random and here the MCU is saying we had a plan all along even if they didn't. It's a retcon that works and pays homage to Wanda's comic book backstory. It gives Olsen a kick ass new costume. It sets up her role in "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness," the next film she appears in. It makes her more of a presence in the MCU. She has room to breathe and it's exciting that they are going to explore a female hero who is layered, where everything isn't black and white. I can't wait to see what happens with her next.
It wouldn't be a Marvel property without some post credits scenes and we get two with "WandaVision." First, Monica is approached by an FBI agent who is actually a Skrull and is told someone wants to see her up there. Could that someone be Nick Fury who was last seen in a space base at the end of "Spider-Man" Far From Home?" Then, we get Wanda seemingly relaxing in a secluded cabin Bruce Banner style but her astral form is actually using some Doctor Strange fu to read and study the Darkhold. She hear the voices of her twins calling for help and she's gone.
Seriously. "WandaVision" is amazing and I want to hear why you love it in the comments. What did I not touch on that you think needs highlighting?
Welp. We did it, Joe. We are caught up. This feature will be back once "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" concludes so be on the look out.
No comments:
Post a Comment