Marvel Studios has arrived on the small screen and is presented to you in a glorious way WandaVision.
Disney + released on Friday the first two episodes of Marvel Studios’ inaugural TV series, who brings back Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany in their respective MCU roles – only this time, instead of fighting Ultron and Thanos, Wanda and Vision are living a life directly from Nick in the 1990s formation of Nite, for through its own sitcom.
Before you tell us what you think WandaVisionThe debut of, which officially launches Phase 4 of the MCU, let’s recap what happened in these two installments:
EPISODE 1 | The series premiere, which largely emulates The Dick Van Dyke Show, finds Wanda and Vision sharing a charming little life in Westview: she can fix a broken plate with a wave of her hand! He can Look like a classic sitcom husband, but in reality he’s just disguising his robot face! As everything is new! But even as they try to hide their true powers from neighbors and blend in with the rest of the suburbs, there is a central point here that something is a little wrong. For example, when Wanda and Vision notice a small heart drawn on their wall calendar for that day, none of them can remember what it means … even if Vision is physically unable to forget any information.
At work, Vision also can’t remember what his company really is does; somehow, it involves computational forms and, whatever your job, Vision is incredibly productive in that – but still, it’s strange, isn’t it? Meanwhile, at home, Wanda is visited by neighboring Agnes (the inimitable Kathryn Hahn) and lies that it is her and Vision’s birthday. Still, she can’t answer when Agnes asks how many years they have been together and Wanda realizes that she isn’t even wearing a wedding ring.
The vision finally realizes, with some degree of horror, that the heart on the calendar symbolizes a dinner they are having that night with their boss, Mr. Hart, and his wife. But when he calls Wanda to tell him about the event, she interrupts him, saying that he has everything under control with Agnes’ help; she’s talking about their birthday dinner, of course, but he’s talking about hosting the Harts. Ah, these two!
(The show inside the show takes a break here, which is when we see an old-fashioned commercial for the Toast Mate 2000 toaster … from Stark Industries! “Forget the past – this is your future!” Says the ad. Hmmm…)
Unsurprisingly, dinner with the Harts is quite disastrous at first, not least because Wanda accidentally greets Mr. Hart, and not Vision, while wearing a semi-scandalous outfit (for the 50s). Then there are Wanda’s unsuccessful attempts to prepare a multi-course meal in minutes – the rules of his powers seem a little confused here – and Vision’s unexpected performances of “Yakety Yak” and “Old MacDonald”, all in an effort to never let the Harts witness Wanda’s magic. Finally, Wanda improvises breakfast for dinner, just as Mrs. Hart is starting to feel dizzy … although that’s when things get weirdest of all.
While eating, Mr. Hart bombards Wanda and Vision with questions, such as when they got married and why they moved to this particular city. Wanda and Vision look at each other, bewildered and unable to find any answer. Mr. Hart is agitated by their confusion, and suddenly he starts to choke on a piece of food. There is a disturbing minute when Mr. Hart falls from his chair and lies down on the floor, coughing: Mrs. Hart simply says, “Stop it!” repeatedly – laughing first, but then a little desperate, with tears in his eyes – and Wanda and Vision look at each other anxiously, seeming to know that they could use their powers here, but not knowing if they should.
“Vision, help him,” Wanda finally says solemnly, and Vision does. Without Mrs. Hart seeing this happen, Vision’s hand materializes on her boss’s throat, easily pulling the bite lodged there and placing it on the table. Mr. Hart recovers quickly – as does Vision’s future in his work, as Mr. Hart now wants to promote him to save his life. By the way, though, it’s time for the Harts to dodge and, after that, Wanda and Vision make some quick decisions about their unusual relationship. On the one hand, today will be your new birthday (of surviving a dinner with the boss, at least); their song will be “Yakety Yak”; and Wanda prepares some wedding rings for them.
“And they lived happily ever after,” says Vision before kissing Wanda, and they smile directly at the camera like the WandaVision the credits roll … but, as they happen, we step back to discover that WandaVision is playing on a monitor somewhere these days, surrounded by other sinister-looking screens, buttons and devices. Someone notes something in a notebook that has the SWORD logo and then takes out a sophisticated remote.
EPISODE 2 | We are now in the 60s a la Bewitched, and the cold opens from this WandaVision The episode is simply charming: Wanda and Vision are afraid of a knocking sound coming from outside – Vision a little more than Wanda, that is, only to discover that it is a tree beating against their window. “Are you using your night vision, Vision?” Wanda wonders as her husband checks the source of the noise, giving us all a twinge of nostalgia for this serious brand of television.
The next day, Vision is practicing the magic act he will do at the neighborhood fundraising talent show – and in an effort to blend in with the rest of Westview, Vision will be doing false magic, not the kind that reveals your real powers. But shortly after Vision goes to a neighborhood watch program meeting, Wanda hears a noise outside, like something with an engine suddenly breaking down. She finds a toy helicopter in the bushes outside, but it has a strange color, while the rest of the show is in black and white. The helicopter – which features the same SWORD logo we saw in episode 1 – seems to be shaking Wanda, and she looks at the tree outside her room as if maybe that was not after all, the source of last night’s noise. But she is forced to drop everything when Agnes shows up, eager to get to a talent show planning committee meeting.
At the meeting, while Wanda tries unsuccessfully to impress the local queen bee and Stepford’s ostentatious wife, Dottie, she also knows who we to know is the adult version of Monica Rambeau (last seen as a girl in Captain Marvel) – but when Wanda introduces herself, Monica can’t remember her own name, instead she is called Geraldine. Meanwhile, at the neighborhood watch meeting at the local library, Vision establishes a good relationship with the group … only to accept a piece of Big Red gum from one of the men, then swallow immediately when he gets patted on the back , which interferes with your internal gears.
Back at the planning committee’s lunch, Wanda tries to smile and put up with Dottie’s cleaning team, but Dottie remains cold towards her. She says she heard rumors about Wanda and Vision, to which Wanda replies, “I don’t know what was said to you, but I assure you that I don’t want to hurt anyone.” “I don’t believe you,” Dottie replies – and then the radio that played at lunch starts to have some interference, and it’s someone saying Wanda’s name over the static.
“Wanda, can you read me?” the voice asks, sounding a little like Jimmy Woo from Randall Park, a former SHIELD agent seen earlier in Ant-Man and the Wasp. “Who’s doing this to you, Wanda?” Alarmed, Dottie asks Wanda: “Who is it? Who is it you? ”And while the voice continues to call for Wanda, the radio suddenly explodes in sparks and breaks, simultaneously breaking the glass of iced tea in Dottie’s hand; the blood from your cut, oddly enough, looks bright red in this black and white episode. And so, it’s as if nothing has happened. Dottie simply makes a joke about taking a blood stain off the white linen and leaves.
(Another commercial passes by, this time announcing a Strücker watch. “Strücker. He’ll make time for you,” says the ad. Again I say: Hmmm…)
We caught up on the neighborhood talent show, where Wanda is panicking because Vision has yet to appear for his presentation. Just in time, Vision appears – but that gum in his system did some damage, and now Vision is acting like he’s had more than a few beers. He’s stumbling and mumbling everywhere as they take the stage for their magic show and, worst of all, he’s now so uninhibited that he’s doing magic tricks with his real powers.
Wanda, with a wiggle of her fingers that is not much different from the contraction of Samantha Stevens’ nose, manages to hide the powers of Vision and pass on her show as idiotic and slapstick magic tricks. The audience is sufficiently impressed and, although Wanda and Vision quietly try to escape the talent show after their performance – and after Wanda takes the gum out of the Vision system, quickly bringing it back to normal – they are called on stage to receive the inaugural Comedy Performance of the Year award, which is also what Paul Bettany should receive after his turn as Vision frustrated.
At home, the relieved couple revel in the unexpected victory – and when Wanda goes to the kitchen to get popcorn, she realizes that she is suddenly pregnant. (And a few months later, judging by your belly!) There are many questions Wanda we must ask about this pregnancy, but she just smiles and asks, “Is this really happening?” But as soon as she and Vision are kissing, there is another disconcerting noise outside. They go into the yard to investigate and discover that someone is coming out of a manhole just down the road. He’s wearing a beekeeper outfit with the SWORD logo on the back, and bees swarm around him. And although we don’t have a clear view of his face, the beekeeper turns to look directly at Wanda and Visão, which made Wanda startled to say, “No”.
Suddenly, the scene recedes. Wanda and Vision are now back in their home for a few moments, again just realizing that Wanda is pregnant. They smile and kiss again – and this time, there is no bang out there. Instead, Wanda turns away from Vision and is surprised to find that he is appearing in bright colors now – and by the way, in a broad movement, his entire black and white existence turns into color. The couple marvel – heh – at their new environment, and they kiss while the credits roll. But as soon as the episode ends, we hear that voice again: “Wanda? Who’s doing this to you, Wanda? “
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