With WandaVision having just started airing on Disney+ as of Jan 15th 2021, I was planning on just writing a seasonal review like most of the other shows I've seen. However, the big focus on mysteries, strange premise, and weekly airing schedule gave me the idea of writing a sort of live reaction blog for the show instead. Here are all of my reactions towards the episodes that have aired so far, and I'll keep updating as the season progresses. Once the finale airs, I'll also write a short summary of my general opinions on the season as a whole. Hope you enjoy!
Filmed In Front Of A Studio Audience: WandaVision's pilot actually made a fairly solid first impression. The concept of a homage to a 50s sitcom could have gone horribly wrong, but the writing made me laugh fairly often, and it did a good job of poking fun at the era and dodging humor that could have felt poorly aged. Paul Bettany has some serious comedic chops, and he probably made me laugh the most. And I'd be remiss to not mention that scene where the tone suddenly turned serious and the camera angles changed. I have no idea what's going on in this show, but that one scene made me very interested in trying to figure it out.
Don't Touch That Dial: Having seen several episodes of Bewitched, I felt like I was able to get a lot more of the references this time around (that title sequence). This second episode was generally more funny than the first for the subplot where Vision got gum stuck in its system, allowing for Paul Bettany to utilize some really excellent physical comedy. I won't lie, I also screamed at the top of my lungs upon learning that Anya from Buffy (Emma Caulfield) is in this show. I hope she appears in more episodes too! There were far more mysteries added during this episode, there was that helicopter, the voice in the radio, that bee dude, not to mention Wanda rewinding time. I honestly love all this psychological horror stuff going on and I hope to see much more of it as the show progresses. It's hard to put together all the mysteries at this point, but my current prediction is that Wanda is switching decades to escape from something. What is she escaping from? I have no idea.
Now In Color: I didn't love this episode during the first two-thirds, I thought the magic visuals were cute but I'm not a big fan of pregnancy storylines so not as many jokes really hit. The final third though was pretty juicy stuff, all but confirming that Wanda is somewhat responsible for whatever this sitcom-y world is. The reveal that Geraldine is a SWORD spy is pretty cool, along with that visual of her being tossed out of Westview at the end of the episode. I'm also excited to see Vision slowly piece the mystery together himself, he's becoming my favorite character of the whole show.
We Interrupt This Program: I had no idea that we'd see the direct fallout of the snap being reversal, but wow, it's so fascinating! I didn't think we'd get to an episode like this so soon, though, it feels like the show has already showed all its cards, so many of the show's mysteries have been resolved already! Still, as fun as the sitcom stuff was, it's nice to see something somewhat normal for once. SWORD looks awesome and I can't wait to see more of it, along with Jimmy and Darcy who are absolute treasures and a lot of fun to watch. Though now I might be more invested in the real-world stuff than the sitcom stuff.
On A Very Special Episode: Well, now that the sitcom facade has been removed, this episode can swap between Westview and SWORD, which is good because I'm starting to get tired of the sitcom shenanigans. Monica, Jimmy, and Darcy form an awesome team though, and I absolutely did not expect Wanda to leave her bubble to confront SWORD, amazing scene. It's great to see Vision finally realize what's going on, and his fight with Wanda was so great too! And don't think I didn't see the parallel between the dog dying and what Wanda is doing. And that ending... that's X-Men Quicksilver! I knew Quicksilver was coming back but, wow, this is it. The X-Men is joining the MCU!
All-New Halloween Spectacular: Yay! The laugh tracks gone! I'm not gonna lie, going Malcolm In The Middle for this episode was a stroke of genius, perfectly fitting the dysfunctional state of Wanda's family after the events of last episode. And Evan Peters is still the definitive Quicksilver, he's so much fun! I still can't believe he's in the MCU. I also liked the Halloween antics, the old costumes are really cute. As for the present day, Hayward is annoying. I hate the Obstructive Bureaucrat trope and this episode didn't do anything to win him over. At least we get to spend a lot of time with Monica, Jimmy, and Darcy sneaking around the base. And then there's the ending, because of course Marvel has to drastically change the status quo again. Does this mean we're gonna see Darcy and Jimmy in a sitcom? How are they gonna escape now?
Breaking The Fourth Wall: Finally, we got the mockumentary episode and it was easily my favorite one so far. The cringe comedy, the Office-esque total sequence, the Modern Family-esque tone, it was all just so good! And depressed Wanda was a joy to watch. Vision teaming up with Darcy was also a ton of fun too, they have a surprisingly good dynamic! There were also a bunch of payoffs that I think most people were expecting at this point, Monica finally got some sort of superpowers, Agnes being revealed to be the true Big Bad. Wanda's confrontation with Monica was great, as was that chilling shot of Harkness sitting in the director's chair, and don't even get me started on the first post-credits scene in the series!
Previously On: Well, this episode was something. I don't really know what else to say than the fact that it was just really good! It was the heartbreaking character study of Wanda Maximoff that I've been wanting to see ever since the MCU started putting her through the ringer (seriously though, she needs so much therapy right now). It was really cool to get the chance to fully complete her timeline and see how she ended up making the hex, the only problem is how the hell are they gonna resolve all of this in the finale?!
The Series Finale: Well, that was kinda disappointing. It's not that the final episode was bad, it had some good action, solid emotional moments, and that hook about Nick Fury is exciting, but it all just felt so bog standard compared to the rest of the show. There was no ambition here, once they mentioned the Darkhold, I thought there would be something with Doctor Strange, but nope. White Vision turns good, but then he just leaves and is never seen again. And Evan Peters ended up just playing a normal dude named Ralph? Then why even include him in the show?! I'm not the type of person to get mad if my theories aren't confirmed, but this seriously feels like bait. The finale also felt really rushed at times, like the editing was oddly fast, it just felt jarring compared to how slow-paced last episode was. I don't think this is a bad ending, but it felt like Marvel went for the absolute easiest and most predictable way out.
So, what did I think about WandaVision? It was alright. The sitcom premise is incredibly unique and fun, especially once they do away with the laugh track, Wanda's development was pretty amazing, and the power team between Monica, Jimmy, and Darcy was so good, I'd watch a whole show with them. However, while this was definitely inventive by Marvel's standards, I could tell that they were still holding back rather than trying to do anything gutsy. The psychological horror edge from the first three episodes vanished pretty much entirely, the finale was your standard MCU third-act climax, and they introduced Evan Peters as Quicksilver only for him to be a throwaway character. I feel like WandaVision could have been something truly special, but as a whole, I think it was just an alright show. Another entry in the MCU.
3/5 Stars
Favorite Episode: Previously On
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