'WandaVision' – Episodes One and Two


So there I was, looking for another TV show to get stuck into and as far as that goes, 'The Last Kingdom' is looking good (more on that another time) but Season 1 of 'American Horror Story' really needs to work out what it wants to do and then do it. I'm going off on a tangent though. Basically, I was sat there trying to get into something (anything) and then all of a sudden, 'WandaVision' kind of crept up on me and started streaming yesterday.

Now that Phase whateveritis of the MCU has ended, I've been waiting for Disney to get itself together and start streaming whatever is ready to stream. I'm not fussy, okay I am a bit fussy but right now I'll take anything with a Marvel superhero in it so two episodes of 'WandaVision' last night was just what this Graeme needed. Even if it was about two of the more peripheral Avengers (sorry but they are), I'm taking it.

And I'm glad I did. 'WandaVision' isn't like any MCU piece that you've seen before but not only is that a good thing anyway (lets get away from the major crossover events for a little bit and have some mini-series instead, hopefully my comic book analogy holds up...) but it's just compelling viewing, that's the bottom line. Looks like my Disney+ subscription came through for me again...

Wanda and Vision are married and have just moved to the small American town of Westview. It's lovely, and so are the residents, but something is not not quite right and if Wanda and Vision can get past an awkward dinner with Vision's new boss, and a community talent show, then maybe they'll be able to find out what's happening here...

After years of big blockbuster movies, the MCU caught me by surprise here, going into a weird mashup of old American sitcoms and the beginnings of something slightly sinister. I think you'll get more out of it if you know your old American sitcoms (I got the 'I Dream of Jeannie' references but unless they do 'Happy Days' further down the line, I'm going to get lost very quickly) but it's played for some really obvious laughs and that got me through. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany just look like they're having so much fun here (Olsen has the edge in comedic timing but 'drunk Bettany' does have his moments) and you can't help but get behind that sense of fun as well as the slightly disconcerting feel, around the edges of the show, that something isn't quite right. I mean, adverts for a 'Strucker' watch...?

And that's the thing that's got me slightly concerned. I love the mix of of humour and weirdness (I really want to see more of the Beekeeper guy) but I'm wondering if this show is going to suffer a little from the knowledge that we all know what has happened to Vision (in the films) and how that's going to affect the ending of this show. It's like the biggest spoiler has already been revealed, isn't it? Having said that though, the MCU has built up enough credit with me that I'm more than happy to give 'WandaVision' a chance and see where it goes. And I think there's already the potential here for something more than a bit special. I'm not going to go into too much detail here (I'm assuming that there are people who haven't seen the first two episodes yet) but it just makes for really lovely 'fun' viewing with an edge to it that will definitely have me back for the rest of the season.

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