I feel like talking about WandaVision, so let's do this.When Marvel announced they would be adding shows to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I got excited. Especially with what we've seen of the Marvel shows on Netflix. But when they announced that one of them would be about Wanda and Vision called...WandaVision, my eyes rolled.
Wanda and Vision were two characters in the MCU that I did not give a single damn about. They were both powerful. Whatever. But Wanda's accent and her emo girl act got on my nerves in the films. And neither Civil War nor Infinity War did a great job of making me care about the relationship the two of them had. They felt like side characters that the writers couldn't be bothered to do anything with. Kinda like Hawkeye. So I guess it makes sense that Marvel would give them their own show to test the Disney+ waters, especially given that Wanda was still alive post Infinity War and Endgame. And the same goes for Hawkeye, who is also getting a Disney+ show.
I wondered how interesting a show about two of the most boring and depressing characters in the MCU could be. But then Marvel lifted the lid and the show looked really fucking fun; taking both Wanda and Vision into a whole new world and direction that both makes complete sense and also doesn't at the same time.The thing with Wanda / Scarlet Witch and Vision is that they are just weird characters. The MCU has been strongly geared toward more practical heroes who don't really have powers per se, or those who are from familiar lore (i.e Thor = Norse mythology) with a power set that's pretty standard and familiar. (Can zap thunder. Is strong. Can fly). But Wanda and Vision are the closest we've gotten to mutants in the MCU, with the exception of Doctor Strange. They are just weird. And them being a couple is also really fucking weird. So a weird story about them makes complete sense, even if it is a complete left turn from everything we've seen of them up unto this point.
It's a risk, but it's one that Marvel absolutely had to take. Not only to meet the weirdness of them both, but to make fans of the MCU actually care about them more as characters. Especially as one of them will be a part of the fourth phase of the MCU, which appears to be going further into weird territory.
The movies never really highlighted the oddity of Wanda and Vision as a couple and how strange them being a couple really was. It chose to tow the line of them being a serious couple, which I get given the tones of the movies in which they featured. But there was no sense of fun or brevity to their relationship, which made it so heavy and boring. This is one thing WandaVision seems very aware of and flips in the right way, at least in the beginning. Even though there's absolutely going to be dark days in later episodes, Wanda and Vision's relationship early on is fun and kooky, and pretty much reboots both characters. It's great to finally see that Marvel Studios are making use of Paul Bettany's charm, and the range Elizabeth Olsen possesses to do more than just brood and twiddle her fingers. I always felt that Bettany and Olsen were more fun to watch on press tours than they ever were in any of the films, and I guess Marvel caught that too, because that energy transfers into how they are on screen in WandaVision. It wouldn't surprise me if that energy they showed off screen was a contributing factor as to why they were given a show together. Much like how Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan's off-screen chemistry was probably partly why Marvel gave them a show.But the problem with WandaVision in its first episode is that there aren't any parameters or context for what exactly it is that you're watching, and who these characters are. You're literally just watching a re-creation of The Dick Van Dyke Show and then Bewitched. WandaVision wants you to go into it with a suspended disbelief and a clean slate, but at the same time also wants you to have a pin-board with all of the key MCU happenings and an understanding of who Wanda is beyond what we know of her in the films. Another instance of strangeness, but not the best kind, as it will inevitably split its audience.
WandaVision is a mystery which will unfold over the course of its 9 episode run. But the problem is that the show doesn't establish that it's a mystery from the offset, and this is huge problem narratively early on. Marvel releasing this show into the world on the basis of 'Meh, it's Marvel. Millions will watch it anyway' is really obnoxious and to the detriment of WandaVision. Marvel aren't wrong in their assessment, but WandaVision is done a disservice by not establishing in its first episode that we're watching a mystery show. We don't even need the full context of why it's being depicted as a TV show. But at least give viewers SOMETHING to go on.There are nods to things not being quite right in the world of WandaVision which raise some flags, but these don't occur until late in the episode. And even then, you've still very little idea of what you're watching. Not even the closing scene which shows that somebody is watching WandaVision does all of what it's supposed to, because it goes straight into the credit sequence to a point where it looks like it's a part of it. And whilst there are S.W.O.R.D logos (the new S.H.I.E.L.D) shown on the equipment, a regular-degular viewer who isn't up on Marvel lore isn't going to grasp that. It's not just an Easter egg. It's something big which provides context which is sorely lacking in the first episode.
The first episode giving almost nothing of the context of WandaVision is probably why Marvel chose to launch the show with two episodes. Because only in the second episode do you get really clear indications that something is wrong early on and throughout the episode, and that what we're watching may be some alternate reality that Wanda seems to be aware of and have partial control of.
There is a fair amount to distract you though. Namely the production of the whole thing, which is truly great. The first 2 episodes are set in the 60s and feel true to the era down to the smallest details. Marvel even went as far as to film them in front of a live studio audience, which is wild considering you'd figure that they would want to mitigate leaks. But the only thing more secure than a Beyoncé NDA is a Disney one. The attention to detail is instance. Episode 1 is pretty much a recreation of The Dick Van Dyke Show; from the title credits down to the set design. It's literally the same living room and kitchen from the damn show. Where-as Episode 2 takes a cue from Bewitched. Both episodes have their own intros and theme songs - which not only shows the dedication to the craft, but how long that Disney money goes and how they keep shit in the family: the WandaVision theme song is composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the talents behind the songs in Frozen and Frozen 2.
If you're into shows from the 50s and set design, you'll nut. Episodes 1 and 2 are beautifully and faithfully produced. From the shot styles, to the sets, to the scriptwriting, down to the acting. The amount of attention to detail and level of creativity in this show is off the charts.
And then within this, there are lots of Marvel related Easter eggs. Some benign, and some which are also clues to what is happening and why.
The issue with WandaVision at this early stage is that it relies so much on viewers knowing things prior to coming into it. And not just MCU movie related shit, but having watched the trailers for the show, watched interviews on the show, and also knowing Marvel Comics stories like House of M and those of Vision. A show shouldn't require a viewer to know so much prior to going into it. It should be the shows' job to provide a lot of this context narratively.
Comparatively, you don't need to know a damn thing about Star Wars or watched ANY of the films in order to enjoy and understand The Mandalorian. There's an additional layer of enjoyment you'll get out of knowing that the main characters look like Boba Fett and Yoda, and being up on Star Wars lore - but enjoyment of the show doesn't hinge on this. The premise of the show and what you're watching reveals itself from the start. Or a show like HBO's Watchmen, which featured a first episode which threw a lot of things at you with no explanation. But still gave you enough that you got a sense of the world the story was set in, and there was enough intrigue left each time for you to want to see these things be explained as the world of the characters expanded and threads started to tie together. Knowing the comics or having watched the film would help fill in some gaps, but the show wasn't exclusively for fans or consumers of either. WandaVision is the opposite. I can't see how somebody who hasn't watched a bunch of MCU movies, is not a fan of 50s sitcoms, or isn't a Scarlet Witch and Vision fan would fall in love with WandaVision after 2 episodes based on what they give. Or more-so what they don't give. And this is a shame, because you can see and feel how much love was put into this show, and that Marvel Studios are swinging for something so different from what they've been known for.
Marvel seem to want WandaVision to hit a new audience who perhaps aren't into the MCU and just want something fun, off-the-wall and nostalgic to watch. But WandaVision hinges so heavily on viewers having some knowledge of the MCU and Marvel Comics that it's going to split viewers clean down the middle. And judging from the online response, it already has.
Even if you are up on everything within the MCU, there's still that sense of 'What am I watching?'I personally found the first 2 episodes entertaining and quite liked the sense of not knowing what the fuck was happening. But then again, I knew the context of what I was watching. I know of House of M and some of what happens in the Vision comics. I'm also fresh off of watching Age of Ultron, Infinity War and Endgame, and have been binging Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and selected films in the MCU over the course of being stuck at home during the pandemic. And I've watched the WandaVision trailers and have followed the announcements of who plays who. So I know that the story is told through sitcoms which change from week to week and move from the 50s into the present. I know that Teyonah Parris' character Geraldine is in fact Monica Rambeau (the Black girl who chooses Carol Danvers' outfit colours in Captain Marvel) and who she becomes. Marvel relying on things in other things which are quite necessary to getting into WandaVision is a weird thing for them to have done, especially for a debut foray into a series on a new streaming service at a point where you'd think they'd also want to attract a new audience - which WandaVision would have the potential to do, if only its entry point were the show itself and not other material.
The potential for scope of this show and what will come in Phase 4 of the MCU is exciting. But again, the set-up is reliant on you knowing shit beforehand. Otherwise it will all go completely over your head, and you may find it difficult to get as invested in the show as somebody who knows all the things and already cares about Wanda and Vision going in.
Something that I was hoping the MCU would do is start to be a little more self contained, and not kick shows and films out the gate on the sole assumption that whoever is watching knows everything that's going on within the MCU. Marvel Studios have no reason what-so-ever to change their set-up, given their track record of success. And I guess you could argue that with Disney now having a streaming service with a whole Marvel hub, that they can just direct people to. But in WandaVision's case, I can't see how much light Age of Ultron, Infinity War, Endgame, Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and The Wasp will shed to help anybody make any real sense of the first episode beyond the origins of both characters.This whole 'Watch that film to understand this' deal has the potential to make storytelling lazy. Oh, we don't have to explain that, because they'll know from THAT film. We don't need to worry about that, they'll get it. And WandaVision relies on this too strongly with its first 2 episodes.
I'm intrigued to see where WandaVision goes based on what I know of where the series could go. And I commend Marvel for taking a risk with a superhero show by not making it all about flying, lasers and explosions, although these will will most certainly come eventually.It's cool seeing Marvel embrace something so bonkers and silly in ways we hadn't really seen until the final season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, which coincidentally had a 50s TV show themed episode. It's also great to see that Marvel Studios are still very much okay with changing and rebooting characters in the MCU, just as they did with Thor in Thor: Ragnarok. But they need to stop creating shows and movies based on the assumptions that viewers know either some of the source material or have watched a bunch of the films which came before. This being a requirement with Endgame wasn't a problem, as it was always marketed as something that all of the MCU films were building up to and that the film in itself was the second part of a film. But for a new show on a new streaming service which has the premise that it does!? There should have been more work done in helping set the expectation of what exactly WandaVision is within the first episode. And Marvel need to stop assuming that everybody has the time to read up and research things before going into a film or a series of theirs in order to understand it. Especially now that we're entering a new phase of the MCU where there needs to be some approach of starting from scratch.
Assume we know nothing.
Let's see if episode 3 manages to do more of the work.