WandaVision Review

This is the MCU's first venture into the world of television--or, at least, streaming--and we can look back at it now as a complete entity and consider how successful it was. I'm going to go through some background for provide context and then look at what the show was trying to accomplish and how successful it was. Let's also acknowledge that it's much easier to criticize than to praise, largely because the former requires justification, whereas the latter is typically framed as subjective personal taste. If you liked the show or hated it, this isn't meant to attack your perspective, simply to explain my own and what little we can tell about the response of the fanbase in general. What goes without saying is that on the base level of views and engagement at the time it aired, it succeeded

Background

The show was not meant to be the MCU's first foray into television, as the much more traditional Falcon and the Winter Soldier originally came first. The two were swapped due not just to the pandemic, but unexpected reshoots for Falcon.

The basic idea was to do an MCU version of iconic Wanda stories--things Elizabeth Olsen had always wanted to do, but didn't think Marvel could because it was too edgy (she creates kids who die and then murders millions of people--not typical Marvel fodder). The show itself was an amalgam of different stories that was less interested in their specifics than the general idea of Wanda being pushed over the edge by emotional trauma.

The showrunner is Jac Schaeffer, who wrote the original script for Black Widow that was so problematic it required two emergency re-writes and a delay in filming (she also has a script credit for Captain Marvel, which may explain some of the odd choices for Monica's origin story). Her writing team was a mix of experienced writers (Chuck Hayward, Peter Cameron, and Gretchen Enders) and inexperienced scribes (Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Megan McDonnell, and Cameron Squires). In general the words on the page were rarely a problem for the show, but there were issues of story (which is Schaeffer's problem) and in isolated cases issues of performance (the director, Matt Shakman, shot all the episodes, so there was no variation in who was in charge of the actors).

The Goal

The show had three main objectives: 1) Process Wanda's grief, 2) Transform her into the Scarlet Witch, 3) Tell Monica Rambeau's origin story. I think the first two goals were reached in satisfying ways, even if Wanda torturing an entire town to process her grief isn't properly addressed (it feels a bit like Superman making out with Lois Lane at the end of Man of Steel while thousands of innocents lie dead or injured behind them). The writers are unintentionally validated the idea that abuse to make yourself feel better is justifiable (admittedly, I doubt many viewers picked up on this). The third objective was ultimately disappointing and there's no runway left before Captain Marvel 2 to fix it.

Episode Breakdown

Keep in mind, episodes one and two were dropped as a single piece of content; the descriptions below aren't intended to be encyclopedic, just the broad strokes of events.

• 1 (21min) Jac Schaeffer - Entirely centered on the sitcom reality; the humour mostly works (outside some opening jokes) and the drama of what happens with Mr. Hart is well-handled; the mystery of Agnes and Ralph are introduced
• 2 (28min) Gretchen Enders - The final full sitcom episode; the humour is better, as are the hints about what's going on; teases for episode four are planted
• 3 (24min) Megan McDonnell - The humour is good, but makes no use of the historical period it occurs in; Vision starts to become suspicious of what's going on; Geraldine breaks character and is expelled by Wanda; the sense of increasing tension is felt
• 4 (27min) Bobak Esfarjani and McDonnell - Our introduction to the B-plot and it has a rocky start; Monica flashback where she gets de-Snapped and finds out her mother dies (which has no discernable impact on her); Stamberg's Hayward is flat, unlayered, and a chore to watch; Jimmy Woo's missing person is introduced (something never resolved); Darcy appears with other scientists who are never seen again; we get the SWORD-side of what happened in episodes 2-3
• 5 (33min) Peter Cameron and Mackenzie Dohr - A good episode plagued by a few weak moments; Vision tries to figure out what's going on; Hayward tries to kill Wanda (with an 80s drone, trying to assassinate someone Thanos couldn't kill); Agnes kills Sparky (presumably to try and snap her out of the hex-reality, but this is never spelled out); and we get the Evan Peters Pietro reveal
• 6 (29min) Chuck Hayward and Cameron - Another good episode with weak edges; dudebro Pietro is a delight; Vision tries to save the people of Westview; the SWORD trio engage in a Scooby Doo adventures and the hex expands
• 7 (38min) Cameron Squires - A weak episode; the Vision-Darcy roadshow is excellent, but otherwise the B-plot drags--Monica gets powers without having to earn them; Agatha reveals herself to be a cartoony villain; we do, however, get "Snoopers gonna snoop"
• 8 (40min) Laura Donney - The flashback episode; this relies completely on emotional resonance which is undercut by all these moments having been addressed previously; Agatha's flashback lacks details and she remains unsympathetic and uninteresting; the threat to the kids is pointless and releasing Wanda is nonsensical (do we need to bring up Thanos again?)
• 9 (43min) Jac Schaeffer - The fighting episode is a mixed bag; Vision-on-Vision action is well executed (I liked their final dialogue, which is reminiscent of Age of Ultron), but Agatha never feels like a threat and neither does Hayward, so there's no tension; the emotional beat of Wanda saying goodbye to her reality is effective, except her loss is undercut by hearing the kids voices in the post-credit and the real Vision is still alive; the Monica post-credit scene feels like a waste of time (she's going to see Fury up at SWORD HQ--not much of a surprise or tease)

Performances

• Elizabeth Olsen - Fantastic--she elevates the scenes she's in, transitions from dramatic to comedic naturally, and is a treat to watch. The show makes expanding her role in the MCU something to look forward too. We'd seen hints of this kind of performance once the Russo brothers got hold of her
• Paul Bettany - Equally fantastic; the slow burn of Vision sleuthing out what's happening inside the sitcom reality, wanting to help people despite the cost to himself, freeing the real Vision and accepting his own deletion from reality, is performed to perfection
• Kathryn Hahn - Fantastic as Agnes, cartoony as Agatha; the fault lies in the script and direction, so she gets a pass; the character is not one I want to see again in the MCU
• Teyonah Parris - Started strong as Geraldine, but her origin story is weak (reminiscent of Captain Marvel, see below) and her role as a hero at the end seems superfluous; ultimately Monica's introduction to the MCU is limp and I'm not excited to see her again
• Josh Stamberg - The worst acting performance in MCU history; flat, boring, and written as a one-dimensional villain; he was so bad that even the fanboys were cringing (eg/eg)
• Evan Peters - Fantastic and such a shame he's a throwaway character--they had an actor of this caliber and Karl Urban'd him into oblivion
• Randall Park - Average; Park can't emote, so you could drop in his performance from The Office and not tell the difference; that said, Park playing Park never dips below that level, so it's adequate for a minor character given nothing to do (his character arc is that he learned magic after Ant-Man and the Wasp)
• Kat Dennings - This is a difficult assessment for me because I like Dennings, but her performance is flat and I blame the writing--the best version of Darcy we see is in episode seven (written by Cameron Squires)--that's the most on-point version of her; despite my mixed reaction, I'd like to see her again
• Townsfolk - Collectively these performances are all excellent, with the actors allowed to breakout out of their sitcom personas doing so admirably; that said, I'm glad none of them were secret Marvel characters
• SWORD/B-plot Characters - Outside of Lana Young's doctor in the Monica flashback, these characters are given no depth or weight to be important--the B-story leans entirely on the Scooby gang and Hayward and since that doesn't work, the supporting cast seems listless and uninteresting

Monica's Origin Story

Chronologically (by event not episode):

• She is Snapped and her mother dies of cancer before she returns--she spends virtually no time mourning her mother's unexpected death
• Hayward sends her to assist Jimmy Woo in finding a missing person (who never comes up in the show ever again)
• She decides the best approach to an unknown force is to stick her hand into it, which draws her into Westview
• Wanda kicks her out of Westview when she brings up the past
• She defends Wanda against Hayward's characterization of her
• Insubordination gets her into trouble, but escaping SWORD is easy
• She gets a machine to help re-enter the hex that fails, but she can push herself in--this third interaction grants her powers
• She tries to reason with Wanda and then gets captured by Evan Peters
• She escapes Peters easily, but does nothing beyond standing in front of Hayward when he tries to execute children in front of dozens of witnesses (and their parents who could have annihilated him)
• She tells Wanda the ends justify the means (as in, she sympathizes with torturing innocent people in order to make yourself feel better), before being told she's wanted on the SWORD station from Far From Home

There's no arc for Monica--the show constantly rewards self-destructive behaviour that costs her nothing. Hayward is a laughably inept villain and Monica doesn't sacrifice anything for either her powers or to achieve things (it's all unearned). Her emotional moment is the death of her mother, who dies off-screen and causes no apparent change in who she is as a person. The only threat to her is Wanda and that's the person she's most eager to support. The basic elements required for a good story are here, but the execution is awful.

The J. J. Abrams Mystery Box

This narrative theory ... highlights the possibility of what lies beneath the surface, emphasizing deliberately vague storytelling to keep audiences engaged. In essence, the story introduces mystery after mystery, only answering questions when absolutely necessary

Abrams espoused this idea back in 2008 and he and his acolytes have liberally used it in all their films and shows. One of the problems that arises from this approach is that the solutions--the answers to the mysteries--are notoriously unsatisfying. In Lost it was admitted they often had no idea what the answers were and this kind of pointless and unsatisfying result seem inevitable when engaging in this approach. Showrunner Jac Schaeffer has never worked with Abrams or his people as far as I can tell, but clearly adapted this approach for Wanda's story.

Here are our mysteries in order (17); I've colour-coded what I think are satisfying answers, which are not, and which are a mixed bag (green, red, and yellow):

Q. Who created the reality Wanda is in?

A. Wanda in her grief (fully revealed in episode eight, but apparent in episode two when she rewinds time)

This is a wholly satisfying answer--this is Wanda's story, her journey through grief, so the venue through which she accomplishes it ought to be of her own making

Q. Is Vision real?

A. No (revealed in episode eight)

Nor should he be--it would takeaway from his sacrifice in Infinity War and it also makes more sense for how he behaves

Q. Who is Agnes and why does she behave so oddly?

A. She's Agatha Harkness, and evil witch who wants Wanda's powers (revealed in episode seven and eight) and needs to break her out of the hex reality to do so

The gist of this answer is fine, but how she tries to achieve it is via Saturday morning cartoon levels of plotting and that undercuts her character completely (her simple goal of power for its own sake is also uninspired)

Q. Who is Ralph?

A. A resident of Westview Agatha charmed and gave Quicksilver powers to assist in breaking Wanda's reality--he looks like the Fox Quicksilver coincidentally (revealed in episode nine)

I'll get into this more below, but why put so much effort into teasing something that goes nowhere--this subverts expectations, but not in an interesting way (it ultimately deflates what Agatha is doing as he is trivial)

Q. What's up with the rabbit (episode two)

A. Nothing

Apparently a scene was shot for the finale where the kids, Monica, Darcy, and Evan Peters try to get hold of the Darkhold, but the rabbit turns into a demon--this sounds better than virtually the entire final episode, but they get no credit for shooting it because they cut it (this is either on director Matt Shakman, a budget consideration, a pandemic issue, or a note from on high)

Q. Who is the mailman (episode two)

A. Just a Westview resident

I never understood the fan theories about him--this was what I assumed from the beginning

Q. Who is the beekeeper? (episode two)

A. A SWORD agent we never see or hear from again (revealed in episode four)

I didn't understand fan fascination with this one either--I thought the answer was obvious from the start (you could see the SWORD logo on his outfit)

Q. Are Wanda's kids real? (episode three)

A. No (revealed in episode eight)

Nor should they be given she doesn't have a partner who could father them

Q. Who is Jimmy Woo's missing person? (episode four)

A. We have no idea

This was included to provide a reason for Woo to be there, but how do you just ignore it afterwards? If its unimportant, have him reveal who it is immediately to dismiss it

Q. What happens to Vision and the kids once the hex is removed? (episode four)

A. Vision ceases to be, but the kids are apparently around somehow (episode nine)

The kids should be gone too, but it's Disney and we're getting the Young Avengers railroaded into our lives, so this is what's expected

Q. Who is Monica's engineering friend (episode five)

A. A person of no importance

The show could have signaled this wasn't significant immediately, but kept teasing it

Q. How is Wanda doing this? (episode five)

A. She doesn't know (episode five, but fully in episode eight)

This is necessary to remove some of the moral/ethical culpability of torturing Westview residents for her own selfish purposes

Q. Who is Pietro? (episode five)

A. Ralph, apparently a random dudebro

The decision to use Evan Peters was deliberate, so this fake out is also deliberate--what a waste of a great actor. I don't mind that he's not Quicksilver (something Conrad says is for financial reasons and he makes a good point), but to throw him away like this is disappointing. Matt Shakman claims this was his idea, inspired by Iron Man 3, but he's not the showrunner and we already know it wasn't his idea (Schaeffer had talked about it previously), so I think he's either trolling or protecting the showrunner. If this is where it ends it's going to be something in the future Feige will admit was a mistake (it's the most poorly received element in the show from what I can tell)

Q. Who is behind Agatha? (episode seven)

A. No one (definitively in episode nine)

This isn't inherently a bad thing, but because Agatha is such a limp villain, it feels unsatisfying because the show never establishes a believable threat to Wanda

Q. Why does Agatha reveal herself to Wanda? (episode seven)

A. She wants answers for how Wanda is doing this (episode eight)

This is odd because she could have had these answers via Pietro asking questions (all that's learned is that she had powers before experimentation that they were enhanced by the Mind Stone--it's not at all clear that this knowledge furthered Agatha's understanding)

Q. Why does Agatha release Wanda from her control

A. Overconfidence

Apparently one of her abilities is absorbing power, but she could have done that in the basement where Wanda was powerless and the kids were captive, so the only reason to let her loose is for a CGI fight to occur

Q. What will White Vision (the real Vision) do? (episode eight)

A. Learn what he is and fly off (episode nine)

Until we know what they want to do with him in future it's hard to assess this--I like Bettany, so I'm happy there's a way forward for him, and since Vision is a synthezoid there's no objection to him being reactivated after destruction. It is odd that hex-Vision never tells Wanda what happened to him, but that's likely something cut for time and I can live with that

Some of the fails here are trivial, but they needn't have happened at all. For whatever reason Schaeffer got trigger happy with mysteries as a way to pursue engagement and, given how lukewarm the response was to the sitcom element itself, perhaps that was needed as a mitigating factor. The approach did make the show much more engrossing, but the aftertaste of shows like this tend to turn people off. Abrams has long since grown tired of having to talk about his approach and the general sentiment is that most of the things he and his acolytes make are disappointments.

The Response to Criticism

Prior to episode nine dropping the approach against those who criticized the show was revealed: anyone who doesn't like it is unhappy because their theories didn't turn out to be true. The other thing I've seen is to call anything criticized a positive. One of the funnier things about the first approach is that most of the people harbouring theories were the fanboys, the very people now defending that their theories didn't turn out. What's not clear to me is what the impact of the show will be down the line--it was highly watched and discussed, which is good for Marvel, but how will people feel in hindsight? I mentioned early on that I worried it wouldn't be worth re-watching and outside selective moments, that's the case. The flood of articles defending the mystery boxes is a sign that people weren't happy with them, but it's still unclear how broad or deep that dissatisfaction is. It helps that Falcon and the Winter Soldier is coming soon, although certainly (for me) this show has tempered expectations for that considerably.

The Scoops

Before we fully assess, here's a final one from 4chan that dropped beforehand:

Quicksilver Evan Peters is NOT from the Fox universe, but is Quicksilver (It will be explained).

There is no secret cameo of Magneto, Professor X or Reed Richards.

Monica's engineer friend is a Skrull. This will tie into Captain Marvel 2 and Secret Invasion

Agatha's Rabbit Scratchy is someone very cool and BAD! Will be teased at the end and go into Doctor Strange 2.

HEX Vision vs Spectral Vision is a thing. (There be no fusing together)

The battle scenes are insane and CGI is on par with Endgame. Everyone has their moment.

Very sad episode but very pleasing for a number of reason I won't spoil.

Doctor Strange appears and it's at a very precise moment of the episode that changes the tide

Some of this is right, some is wrong, and it feels like speculation to me. With that out of the way, let's move on to our assessment (this is the primary reference point). This isn't an encyclopedic list of what's been said by the various luminaries below, just the things I found distinctive from them. For the sake of sanity I'll only reference 4chan or Reddit if they are meaningfully correct about something (using the usual colour scheme; I'm being generous and I'll use yellow where there's room to debate).

Murphy

Nightmare is the main villain (he did say this was from just one source and we know who that is--the hyper aggressive Redditor who deleted their profile when caught for being wrong)

Josh Stamberg has a small role as an FBI agent

Evan Peters will appear

There's a subplot where Vision's body will have to be gathered and reassembled

Darcy will be key in recovering Vision's lost memories

Daniel

Hulkling coming (the show was one of his guesses for where he'd appear); his buddies at The Illuminerdi went harder and said he would be in the show, but even if that was Daniel's opinion, it's not under his byline, so he gets a pass

Aaron-Taylor Johnson will return as Quicksilver

Sutton

The show will set-up Secret Wars

His R&D list for the show and Doctor Strange goes 2 for 8 (can't be fully assessed until the film arrives)

The show will confirm that Wanda and Pietro are mutants

He had a theory that Dottie was Jennifer Kale (among other things), but we aren't judging speculation or theories

Agreed with Lauder (below) that it was likely there would be a 10th episode

Said there were talks for Magneto (one of the Fox actors) to appear, but didn't know if either had accepted or if producers had proceeded with the idea

Edward Lauder

Ultron will appear

There will be a secret 10th episode

Andy Signore

Evan Peters is Quicksilver

LotLB (TBK)

Reported a rumour that She-Hulk will appear in break the fourth wall

K. C. Walsh

Alluded that Monica's engineer was Blue Marvel--he didn't say it and his Tweet can be interpreted as a joke, but I thought I'd include it

Reddit

Described episode eight completely accurately just before it aired

Apparently there was going to be ten episode (director Matt Shakman just confirmed that), but it was a victim of the pandemic apparently. That aside, in general Murphy had the most information to offer, but either his sources had bad information or he had bad sources. I did not include one of the things Murphy has been pilloried for (Doctor Strange appearing) because that idea is not unique to him--it was ubiquitous amongst the scoopers (lending credence to the idea that it was cut). Daniel barely said anything about the show. Sutton's misses seem like speculation. Everyone else, save the Redditor, had nothing solid (I'll grant Signore that the way Peters was portrayed make him seem like Quicksilver, so if a crew member or extra might make that conclusion).

Final Thoughts

What did I think of the show? I enjoyed it. I feel like it delivered on the promise of the Scarlet Witch and let Elizabeth Olsen show off her acting chops. It also made me realize how much I'd like to keep Paul Bettany around, although what the MCU would do with him I don't know (they've killed him three times, after all).

On the flipside, none of the other elements in the show worked for me. The sitcom premise, while functional, wasn't interesting, and the SWORD B-plot was poorly done and boring, failing to serve as a proper introduction for Monica Rambeau. I had no interest in Wanda's kids going in and I remain indifferent. Agatha Harkness was a disappointment, with more effort channeled into her Agnes persona than her true self.

In the end I think the show will be seen as an ambitious venture that only half-delivered. Jac Schaeffer spent far too much time on things that didn't matter and not enough on the plot or villains. I'm curious to see what Feige will do with her in the future (does she get the Anna Boden-Ryan Fleck exit, or is she like Peyton Reed, where there's always another chance to do better).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)