WandaVision is a 9 episode TV show, officially part of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the title suggests, it focuses on Wanda and Vision, which is interesting considering the events of Avengers: Endgame. It starts off very weird as it takes on the tone of a 1950s sitcom, complete with canned laughter and presented in black and white. It’s hard to tell what is up with the plot or where it is going, because it plays the sitcom aspect straight.
Wanda and Vision are married and had just moved into their new place. Wanda is a housewife while Vision is a typical salaried man. It deals with mundane events like how Vision wants to impress his boss who is coming over for dinner, while Wanda has the neighborhood ladies to worry about. Both Wanda and Vision retain their powers but it is played down (i.e. no superhero stuff).
At least the writing is strong enough to carry the show such that it still manages to keep your attention. The sitcom style moves through the decades, so one episode will be in a 1950s style, then the next will be 1960s, complete with poorer image quality, then to 1970s with color. It has the typical sitcom humor with in-jokes that references the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It helps that there are oddities happening in the show, where Wanda and Vision both would feel something might be wrong but are forced to shrug it off. It helps that by the end of the first episode, it’s teasing the behind-the-scenes aspect of this weird premise and concept, so that you know an explanation and a big reveal should be forthcoming soon.
The big reveal comes in parts and the show becomes very interesting as a result one-third of the way in. It has an intriguing and mysterious feel to it given that the characters are also as confused as the viewers. Seeing it play it, while the characters are trying to understand it, makes it feel as if you are all in this together. It’s such a unique premise and it is impressive that it manages to make this whole sitcom thing work so naturally.
The sitcom elements start to slow fade away towards the end of the season, which is no surprise considering the real plot finally comes to light and shifts the focus away. The show becomes more focused, leading to a faster paced finale. Ultimately, this is a story about the rise of Scarlet Witch, diving deeper into Wanda’s backstory and her powers. It also shows off some of the more mundane, or human consequences, of the blip and the aftermath from Endgame. It’s these small touches that help make the show an integral part of the MCU. So while it is a slow burn and has nowhere near the same visual spectacle in terms of display of powers and abilities for most of the season, it surprises you in different ways, including some cool cameos.
The final episode and climax of the whole season is what you would expect from a typical Marvel movie. It’s got high production values with flashy combat, powers, and scenery. The villain feels shoehorned in right at the end since there wasn’t too much foreshadowing. That said, the performances of all the actors and actresses were excellent, every character felt genuine and convincing.
Overall, WandaVision is a very unique take. It has a slow and confusing start and the payoff in the end is so so. It’s not bad but it is not amazing either. Some of the characters can feel superfluous and the show relies heavily on nostalgia and being up to date with the MCU. It’s got high production values, especially for a TV show but the slower pacing of the medium can be jarring if you’re used to the lighter faster movies.
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