TV Review - WandaVision

TV shows have been doing parodies or spoofing of other TV shows for a while. One example is the series Moesha (1996) that did an episode in its fourth season called "I Love Moesha," which was a parody of I Love Lucy (1951). Another example is The X-Files (1993) that did an episode in its seventh season called "X-Cops," which was a parody of Cops (1989). Another example is Community (2009), which did nothing but parody other things. One of its most famous is an episode in its third season called "Basic Lupine Urology," which spoofs Law & Order (1990). I could go through various other examples, but, one final example is Black Mirror (2011) that did an episode in its fourth season called "USS Callister," which was a parody of Star Trek (1966). This series, which is a direct outgrowth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU, is also doing a parody. Unlike the other TV shows that did a parody once in several seasons or once every now and then, this series is doing a parody in every episode.

For those who are fans of the MCU and are curious to see where it goes in what's known as Phase Four, you'll be frustrated by this series, at least in its initial episodes. The MCU began in 2008 and was simply one blockbuster film after another. It was basically about a group of super heroes, adaptations of comic book characters. These super heroes come from various places and various origins but they all came together to save the world from global or even alien threats. The two titular characters here were introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). They appeared again in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and basically concluded their run in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

Elizabeth Olsen (Wind River and Martha Marcy May Marlene) stars as Wanda Maximoff, a twin from an Eastern European country named Sokovia who was a test subject apart of an organization called Hydra. Hydra was conducting tests and experiments using the Infinity Stones. The tests on Wanda, using the Mind Stone, gave her telepathic and telekinetic powers, essentially making her a witch.

Paul Bettany (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and A Beautiful Mind) co-stars as Vision, a sentient robot. He's more specifically an android. Tony Stark aka Iron Man designed his artificial intelligence, but his super powers were also given to him by the Mind Stone, which was literally placed into his body, specifically into his head. It's ironic that both of them have their origins connected to the Mind Stone, which might explain why the two fell in love.

Unfortunately, we never saw the two of them fall in love. The two met in Avengers: Age of Ultron. They didn't really connect all that much. The two had a couple of scenes in Captain America: Civil War. Those scenes weren't enough to suggest a romance. Yet, by the time we see them in Avengers: Infinity War, they are a romantic couple. At first, I thought this series was going to be an exploration of that romance, perhaps flashing back and showing what happened before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. However, reportedly this series occurs chronologically after Avengers: Endgame (2019), which is the film that followed Avengers: Infinity War. This is a problem, unfortunately, becaue Vision dies at the end of Avengers: Infinity War and remains dead at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Therefore, to have Wanda and Vision together here is already a question that is the series' main mystery, which it doesn't explain initially. Because Vision died, one has to assume that either he was magically brought back to life somehow or his presence in this series is simply an illusion, a hallucination or a dream. Because the series doesn't answer that question initially, it's difficult for me to know what this series really is. It could be a new start for these characters or it could all be a fantasy. Because of which, I'm not sure if I should care about what's happening or not.

If Vision has been brought back to life, then that's an incredible thing but it means that the show is about renewing the love between Wanda and Vision. Yet, if he's still dead and this is just a fantasy, then Wanda is paralleling Pleasantville (1998), and the show is instead about Wanda's loss and her grief. Yet, the show doesn't engage in that loss and grief until moments before the final episode, which is too little, too late. One can possibly enjoy the superficial pleasures and the nostalgia of seeing the style of 1950's and 60's sitcoms parodied or spoofed, sitcoms like The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) and Bewitched (1964), indulging in that throwback feeling. Unfortunately, nostalgia is the only thing at hand and for too long. People could enjoy it though in the same way as The Wizard of Oz (1939), but so much gets muddled that even that enjoyment isn't easy.

This series purports to be about grief and loss, but the show undermines that idea when it introduces the character of Pietro Maximoff aka Quicksilver, played by Evan Peters. For those who watched Avengers: Age of Ultron, then you know that Wanda had a twin brother named Pietro Maximoff who was nicknamed Quicksilver. Unfortunately, he dies at the end of that 2015 film. However, the actor who played Quicksilver in that film was Aaron Taylor-Johnson, an actor who looks nothing like Evan Peters. Taylor-Johnson is British. He's also taller, buff and more of a beefcake. The reason Peters was cast though is because Peters played a version of the character, Quicksilver, in the film X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and two subsequent films. Peters was a more comedic and more entertaining version of that character, which people liked more than the version that Taylor-Johnson played. Yet, by utilizing Peters in this series, the series makes it all about Peters and the fan-base who liked his portrayal more than it's about dealing with Wanda's actual grief and loss of the character who was her actual, twin brother.

Rated TV-14.
Running Time: 30 mins. / 9 eps.

Available on Disney Plus.