WandaVision – Review
Some time ago, Marvel announce a number of new series that would be streamed on Disney+. While some of them looked interesting, one that I was least looking forward to was WandaVision.
It is not that there is anything wrong with the characters. Vision and Wanda are too of the most interesting newer additions to the MCU.
It was rather that based on the descriptions and then the trailers, it just looked really confusing. What was this show really about? Was it just an excuse to go down memory lane?
Before I go any further, be warned that I will share what happens in the series. DO NOT read further if you haven’t yet but intend to watch WandaVision.
The series begins with a strange situation in Westview. The town is cut off from the rest of the world and what is happening, is showing up as a television show.
I need to say that this was very nostalgic for me. I grew watching the Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Brady Bunch, etc. I got many of the subtle nods that perhaps some of the younger generations would miss.
What turned me off of the show in the trailers, that is the confusion, is what ended up making this such a good series.
Each week, we were given just a few hints of what was happening. Still we were wondering questions like, is Wanda behind this or is she being manipulated and is Vision alive or dead?
Part of what made this series enjoyable was the supporting cast. It was great to see Darcy from Thor and Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man. They make a great team.
Then there was Monica Rambeau. When I first started reading Avengers comics, she was going by the name Captain Marvel. The connection with Captain Marvel continues but is still being developed.
In Age of Ultron, we saw Wanda’s first loss, that of her brother. He appears in this series, sort of. Way back, when Marvel and Fox had separate rights, one character that they shared was Quicksilver. As a nod to the X-Men movies, Wanda’s brother was “recast” as the Quicksilver from those movies.
The pacing of this series was excellent. Each week we eagerly waited for the next installment and the latest revelation of what was going on.
Many of the predictions that the fans made were not quite accurate.
I had assumed that some bad guy was making Wanda take over the town and control the minds of the people. It ended up that it was all Wanda as she acted out on her grief from losing Vision in Infinity War.
That is not to say there was no villain. The nosy neighbour Agnes was actually the witch Agatha Harkness. She didn’t make Wanda do this but she was prepared to gain power through it.
And Vision really was dead. Wanda didn’t actually bring him back to life but created a new Vision from her memories, using the power from having part of an infinity stone inside her. However, Vision is actually rebuilt, although he is programed to kill the memory Vision and Wanda.
The final episode was one of the most anticipated shows in recent years. I had mixed feelings about it.
It finally shifted from a quirky show to a typical MCU battle between heroes and villains. That was fine, except that it revealed that much of the quality of the earlier episodes was based on how different it was from the Marvel formula.
The one thing I didn’t like was that Wanda really did something terrible, even if it was out of grief. She hurt innocent people. She didn’t seem near sorry enough for what she did. I had actually expected her to surrender herself to the authorities. Instead she flies off and relocates herself to a beautiful cabin in the woods.
While the series finale was very good, I did think it needed something extra. I really hoped that we would get a short cameo by Doctor Strange but no such luck.
The mid and post-credit scenes did nicely set up the next movies for both Captain Marvel and Doctor Strange.
Is WandaVision worth watching? Absolutely. It was thoroughly enjoyable and it was a fresh take on the superhero theme. Not only did it have some very funny moments, it had some thoughtful reflection on the nature of grief.
