Apr 28, 20216 min read

Wandavision: Sitcoms Magic heals the Wounds of Loss

Updated: Jan 30, 2023

Reviews by:

@the_owlseyes
@reviews_by_morg

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The MCU has always delivered well written stories about his main heroes, this is why Marvel gets a lot of credit for the creation of it, the "first" shared universe. Probably when you think about the MCU the names of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor are the first to pop upin your brain, even though the Marvel Universe has a huge rooster of characters and most of them are frequently sidelined. Wanda and Vision has been treated like that for years. Not only their powers got nerfed to avoid the Superman's Dilemma but also their relations has been mistreated a bit. The Russos gave us a glimpse of what is its potential in Infinity War but it was never fully realized. Fortunately Kevin Feige has been able to give them another chance to shine in a Disney+ miniseries fully developed around them. This isn't a Marvel series, this the first miniseries branded Marvel which ushered an infinite number of other series.

PLOT

"Blends the style of classic sitcoms with the MCU, in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision - two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives - begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems" or "Wanda is pissed of and screws an entire town".

SCRIPT

The series original premise of showing a couple evolving their relationship through sitcoms of different era is pretty executed. From the opening theme to the occasional ads, it follows the same structure as the sitcom's it refers to. The characters, as the audience, don't really knows what is happening and why but glimpses of a crumbling reality are scattered with increased quantity as the series proceeds. Wanda and Vision are handled almost perfectly. Both have their growth and conflicts intertwined with the episode Sitcom's era and mannerism. It's dynamic and unpredictable till it's introduce a point of view which lies outside Wanda and Vision own world. In fact there's a strong contrast between the more Marvely scenes and the Wanda-ish ones. It creates a dycotomy which is gradually reduced, without being eliminated, and hurt the finale's quality. Meanwhile the series manages to deal with hard themes like grief and identity, which make the series more grounded, even though is a mix a sci-fi and fantasy. Besides the two lovers, the side characters are just there to serve the plot. The villains, they're always two, are a mixed bag. The secondary is weak, irrilevant and forgettable, with just one purpose: worldbuilding. The primary its good even though the twist about him isn't something unexpected. Nevertheless it has a decent motivation and a half made characterization. There are two big issues which aren't acceptable: the fact that some characters are there as a teaser of an upcoming movie, without being particularly useful for the plot and the ending. The last one is particularly formulaic and boring. It's saved only by a scene where the conflict is resolved through dialectic and another one which is one big middle finger to every theorist in the fandom. I think that a lot of people could consider it infuriating. One last minor issue is the fact that there're no repurcessions for what Wanda did during the series and it seems off by a long shot. The post credit scenes are the usual Marvel teasers. In the end is an original script with a few flaws and a faint ending.

Script: 8/10

ACTING

Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany give their best performance as Wanda and Vision. They're able to adapt themselves to the sitcoms styles and manners. They display a wide range of emotions which make them more relatable. Bettany is a bright spot because its able to be comedic and dramatic with ease, as Olsen. Kathryn Hahn seems to have a lot of fun as Agnes, instilling in her the intrusiveness and maniacality of his character. The other actors are fine. I think that the best one of the side characters is Randall Park's one, who gets into something which is far from the usual comedic part the actor is used to play.

Acting: 8/10

PHOTOGRAPHY

Colors are so relevant here, especially in the second episode. There's a lot of attention to details, from the camera's filter to the rooms chromatic cornucopia. Is a multicoloured show which becomes visually chaotic, voluntarily, episode after episode but lose part of its charm along the way, becoming too Marvely. Most of the clues are presented with colours which rams with the environment and it's impossible not to notice them. Colors are also used as a tool to differentiate the antagonist from the protagonist and to represent one of the infinity stone.

Photography: 8/10

EDITING

It's original only during the opening credits, for the rest of the show is sufficient. There could've been a lot to do but the director prefered to stick to the basics to avoid any risk. Slow motion isn't used a lot and for the most part the editing tries to imitate the series it has taken inspiration from.

Editing: 6/10

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Usual top tier VFX of Marvel which are used marvellously. They become interesting when everything start to crumble but you'll notice it. The set, most of it, it's practical. Outside is a little bit different. The climax is a little bit overloaded with cgi but it's acceptable to a point. As I said before, I woul've prefered for the show to stick to the main plot without wandering in worldbuilding and cgi's mayhem.

Special Effects: 7/10

SOUNDTRACK

The opening credit, as said before, has always the best stuff. Each of them has a different style, which mimics other series like Friends, Modern Family, Malcolm in the Middle and Bewitched. The other tracks are just background noise, maybe because the two heroes don't have a proper theme. I found it intriguing but boring after a while.

Soundtrack: 6/10

COSTUMES

Surprisingly, I am astonished. There seems to be a lot of care about them. Every costume fits the relative sitcom's age. Every iteration of the central characters has clothes which are in line with Wandavision personality and quirks. The superhero's costumes are good, really good, especially Wanda's one, which is teased a lot of times during the show. Usually I give a low score for the costumes but this series has moved toward a higher mark. And it deserves all of it.

Costumes: 7/10

CONCLUSION

Script: 8/10

Acting: 8/10

Photography:8/10

Editing: 6/10

Special Effects: 7/10

Soundtrack: 6/10

Costumes: 7/10

AVERAGE: 7,14

It's an original show which is good at developing two characters to the point that it's impossible not to care for their relationship. It has good visuals, a mildly likable villain and it falls short in the finale. Marvel tries too hard to worldbuild here and it hurts the series overall quality but, in the end, is easily rewatchable and it deals with pretty heavy stuff. You'll want more of Wanda after this outing, I'm sure about it.

By @the_owlseyes

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7/10

Coming back to this show and watching it all in one sitting has helped me gather my thoughts on it a lot better, and even though I don't think it's as good as I did, I do still think it's a solid addition to the MCU.

The show sees Wanda and Vision living idealized suburban lives, only for them to begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. The first third of this show is really great, and the one thing I do love as it goes on is homages to each era of sitcoms. Unfortunately though, the second third of the show drops the ball a bit, and, especially nearing the end, it begins to feel much less unique compared to how it started. I don't nearly dislike the ending as much as some others do, but I do think that it should have been adventurous enough to do something different, rather than doing what has become expected of the MCU, but it's serviceable I guess, even if some of the CGI is less than perfect. I also think that a lot of the stuff that happens outside the 'Hex' is just kinda boring, which is a shame considering how interested I find myself in the happenings within. Aside from these points though, I do like the story that the show roles with, and I think it does still manage to set itself aside from the rest of the MCU just enough for it to feel pretty fresh, especially with it being in the format of a series instead of a film.

Serving to elevate the show is the performances, all of which are really strong. I think that Elizabeth Olsen's easily has to be the strongest with Paul Bettany being a very close second. But we also see formidable performances given by the liked of Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and Kathryn Hahn, which again only increased my enjoyment.

Overall, I'm not really too surprised that my opinion on this show has gone down a bit, as the more I thought about it after finishing it, the more I realized that I actually didn't love it as much as I thought I did. I would definitely consider it something I would recommend though, as, despite a few shortcomings, I still think it's pretty enjoyable with a lot to offer to set it aside from the usual outings that the MCU takes us on.

By @reviews_by_morg

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