A visionary new age of television.
WandaVision is a 2021 superhero sitcom created by Jac Schaeffer. It is now streaming straight to Disney+. The series will run for nine episodes until March 5, 2021. The series stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany. It is based on various Marvel Comics. This series is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, acting as the first of the original MCU shows. The next will be The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
"What is outside of Westview?" -Vision
Plot
As newly weds, Wanda and Vision move into the suburbs and try to fit in as normal people while concealing their powers. When strange occurrences begin taking place, Wanda and Vision realize something is very off with their new life.
IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN EPISODE 5 OF WANDAVISION, STOP READING!!!!!!
Episode 5 "On a Very Special Episode..." Review
This episode was full of insane moments and big reveals. I'll break it down one by one, but I'm not going to get to everything, so bear with me.
I'll start with that ending. We knew that Evan Peters was rumored to be cast in this show. We knew that there was probably a multiverse. And now, the entire MCU is significantly changed forever.
That final thirty seconds of the episode was the second craziest moment in a show that I've ever seen (Luke in The Mandalorian is the craziest), but there was a huge grin on my face. If you don't know who Evan Peters is, he played Quicksilver in the X-Men movies. I don't know what they are going for and why this happened, but it was pure shock. That one really got me.
Secondly, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany have, over the run of this show so far, had some of the best performances in the MCU. The slow realizations and shift from sitcom mode to sinister horror is absolutely incredible. The scene where Wanda walks out of Westview is a stunning few minutes from Elizabeth Olsen. The climax, where Vision is confronting Wanda, is also just incredible. Both Bettany and Olsen are absolutely dominating this show, making it more immersive and better.
The build-up of the mystery keeps getting more intriguing with more answers. Obviously, Wanda is setup to be the villain, still, and the scene where she confronts S.W.O.R.D. confirms that she is definitely leaning on a more evil side. However, they are really trying to make it clear that there is another force at work. Wanda tells Vision sincerely that she does not have control over everything, and I believe that. I think there's a high likelihood that the director of S.W.O.R.D. could be the villain. He was willing to hurt Wanda.
I really love the way that they still included some of the sitcom. It's definitely moved onto the back burner and the mystery and creepiness is taking over, but they incorporated some charming and funny moments. They are also doing a good job of showing Wanda's good side. After the dog died (which officially surpasses Iron Man as the saddest MCU death), there was a good speech from Wanda that had a clear double meaning. That's really good writing. WandaVision had good writing, but the dialogue that I praised was the clever sitcom jokes. This is true, deep, meaningful writing.
I also do like the switching between the sitcom and S.W.O.R.D.. I thought that that is a good way to balance the pace of the episode and give us answers to stuff that we just saw. They did spend more time in Westview, which is a good thing. We got our S.W.O.R.D. episode. Now back to Westview.
I have pretty much no negatives on this episode. I am getting frustrated at the week by week releases, but that's a good thing in a way. It stretches out the mystery and fun of the show, so that I can theorize and digest what I saw. I am pumped for next week's episode already, and can't wait to see how this show finishes off.
Fun Factor: 9.5/10
Acting: 9.5/10
Story: 8.5/10
Characters: 8/10
Quality: 9/10
"On a Very Special Episode..."
41 minutes
Aired on February 5, 2021
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Paul Bettany as Vision
Teyonah Paris as Monica Rambeau
Kathryn Hahn as Agnes
Randall Park as Jimmy Woo
Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
Josh Stamberg as Tyler Hayward