WandaVision, Disney’s latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is an ambitious slow-brewing mystery-sitcom starring Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), that takes place right after Avengers: Endgame. The project is meant to directly connect with the movies, but did they pull it off?
The first couple episodes I was very uncertain about and, to be honest, a little disappointed at. Initially, I felt that the show was too slow for the first three episodes and was most likely losing people’s attention. I would have preferred if they instead went for the 2010s down to the 50s as it would have been a more captivating audience to watch something they are more familiar with, but I understand the need for this sequential way due to the narrative but I would take that sacrifice for a less boring first three episodes.
If you think that the first couple of episodes are too slow you would be happy to know that the fourth episode changes that pace quickly. The chemistry between Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) was great and they balanced each other out. If you do not like the first three episodes that’s fine but once you get into the fourth episode and do not like it that is when you know you most definitely do not like the show.
Over time the show drops subtle hints at what is going on, whether it is a quote or the commercials that show each episode, but it is more for a person who is rewatching a show so they can say, “Oh I get that reference now!”. However, there is a very prevalent theme of perspective, questioning who is the bad guy and how that could change so easily just by who gets the most screen time; the same exact show but with a different angle could change the entirety of it.
During the last half of WandaVision, you start getting answers and everything starts making sense. Whether it be the story itself, the characters, or how the story itself is happening. I have to say there was an episode where they tried to go for a 2010 office/modern family-Esque episode but it was not done justice because they had to progress the story as well.
The eighth episode was exposition-heavy, trying to fit everything in before the finale but it was still a very good episode. The last episode was a good episode by any means, it just did not fit the theme of the rest episodes and I felt that there could have been a more cohesive way to end the show.
The tone and genre of WandaVision is a great use of perspective and mystery elements to create a compelling show without the need for big action fights and explosions. Marvel’s WandaVision is not perfect, but it is a great watch for any Marvel fan or a person that knows the basics of Marvel. The ending left a lot to be desired, but I assume those payoffs would come up in one of the future Marvel films. However, as a standalone show, the ending is not unacceptable and is more like a movie set up for a sequel. I would say standalone 8/10 due to the ending but with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe 9/10 as we know that this is a lead-up to an upcoming Marvel project.
Binging this on your first watch would also improve the show as watching it weekly you have to deal with the waiting for another episode and so you hope every single episode is great and binging them allows you to not have any expectation and see the cohesive story unfold.
