WandaVision (TV)
“WandaVision” is the first of the “new wave” of Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series we’re getting with the introduction of Disney+. Unlike previous efforts like “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Agent Carter” and the Netflix shows, these are being built as one-off event shows to further advance the larger narrative of the MCU. That it happens to be the first new major project we’ve gotten in the MCU since “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is thanks to the lousy timing of COVID-19, and a pandemic that all but halted theatrical distribution. As such, “WandaVision” came with hefty expectations, and after nine episodes, I’d say it did as good a job as any series could have, under the circumstances.
One thing that became clear by the end of the series, written by series creator Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, is that there is more than a little bit of inspiration being taken here from not just the comics, but “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” By the last two episodes of the series, there are some easy parallels to be drawn between the way Schaeffer has developed the story of Wanda Maximoff (played by Elizabeth Olsen in her best, most expansive performance in the role to date) and the struggles between the life she wanted to lead and her responsibilities as a vampire slayer Buffy Summers faced for seven seasons on that seminal show. That show’s creator is persona non grata at this point, and rightfully so, but at her best, Schaeffer uses Wanda’s story to mine some of the same territory by casting Wanda as a woman overwhelmed by grief over the loss of Vision at the end of “Avengers: Infinity War,” which brought to mind Seasons Five and Six of “Buffy,” where death and moving on were explored in their main character’s story arc, which also involved a bit of trickery to give her a sister to take care of, as well, something “WandaVision” has as part of its story also.
The first three episodes of “WandaVision” cast Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany, having a blast) as a sitcom couple going through tropes and classic scenarios in the vein of “The Dick Van Dyke” show, “I Love Lucy,” “I Dream of Jeanie” and “The Brady Bunch,” with a return to the form in the fifth season, which brings to mind something like “Family Ties.” They bait the hook so effectively in these episodes that when the series starts to bring elements of traditional MCU storytelling and mythology to play in episode four, it’s jarring. We get great recreations of sitcom aesthetics, and some wonderful theme songs from the “Frozen” team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. The writers and Shakman know how to get these episodes to work, making when we start to see the reality of the world all the more exciting when it does happen in them. Something is clearly amiss, and how we see that the world of Westview- the idyllic town Wanda and Vision call home- is a lie a la “The Truman Show” helps us start to understand things a bit better. If you find the more sitcom-esque episodes the highlights of the series, I don’t blame you- I think the last two episodes, which play the strongest to what “Buffy” did, the best, because they dig deepest into what Wanda is going through. Still, having her deal with the return of Pietro in the form of the “X-Men” films’s Evan Peters is a fun piece of stunt casting that plays to television tropes, and also allows Wanda some room to deal with the loss of her brother in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Yes, I do wish it opened the door for some multiverse madness, but I’ll take it as an in-joke for now.
Olsen and Bettany are given the best material the MCU has allowed them to have to explore these characters, and how that works out for Vision leads to some unsettling concepts of resurrection Wanda is dealing with. We’re seeing her use her powers as a way to postponing her grief over the loss of Vision, and the way she has brought other people into her delusion, to try and bring herself a “happily ever after” like those she saw watching sitcoms with her family before they were killed in Sokovia, and she turned her optimism into anger when the chance to work with Hydra presented itself. The last two episodes are the keys to the entire series thematically, showing the way Wanda’s life has dealt her blow after blow, leaving her with no choice but to try and do something to hold her eternal grief at bay. What she chooses is a threat, though, and we see S.W.O.R.D.- the intergalactic security team set up by the Skrulls and Nick Fury- just outside the city, prepared to take her down, if needed. There are sympathetic people towards Wanda, however, in FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Monica Rhambeau (Teyonah Parris), who’s overcome with her own grief after she returned after Hulk’s snap in “Avengers: Endgame” to find that her mother has died in the interim five years, and is now working at S.W.O.R.D., and doesn’t agree with how acting director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg) is handling the situation with Wanda. And then there’s Agnes, Wanda’s next door neighbor “best friend,” played by the great Kathryn Hahn; surprises keep coming from this character, including some revelations that will move Wanda forward long after this series is over.
While overall I enjoyed “WandaVision,” as a mini-series event, it’s very much a mixed bag. The ways it played with sitcom conventions and formulas were thoroughly entertaining, as a story about Wanda, I feel like a single movie would have been more focused. That said, it’s a nice first swing at going for something a little stranger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a way of exploring these characters, and I’m interested in seeing how they continue the pace from here.
