To be completely and entirely honest, WandaVision was the show I was least looking forward to when Disney first announced the Marvel shows that would be coming to the Disney+ streaming platform this year. Nobody has time to watch every TV show out there and I decided quickly that WandaVision was not a priority. Nothing against Wanda or Vision of course, but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe they weren’t given enough screen time to be interesting, and with overshadowing pairs such as Peter Parker and Tony Stark, Wanda and Vis were (at least in my experience) few fans’ favorite duo.
But somebody at Disney did their job very well and when the trailers for the show came out I found myself rethinking my decision against the series and by the time I sat down to watch I was looking forward to it.
My thoughts? The show has potential, but it’s starting off pretty slow.
Instead of releasing just one episode on January 11th, Disney released the first two, and it’s pretty easy to see why after finishing the pilot.
Episode one has maybe 15 total seconds (in a 30-minute episode) that hint at the fact that WandaVision is not, in fact, actually a 50’s sitcom. With laugh tracks, cheesy comedy, and filmed in black and white, WandaVision so far fits the genre perfectly. The plots of the first two episodes seem to be mostly designed as an excuse to take up time and give tiny hints of the real plot of the show to drag the mystery of what’s actually happening out as long as possible. With episode two generously adding perhaps about 45 more generous seconds of the actual plot, it does leave audiences wondering how long this show will take to get started.
The trailers gave fans a lot to look forward to, and while it’s too early to really disappoint, the first two episodes didn’t deliver quite as much of the intriguing sci-fi-magical strangeness that we came in expecting and looking forward to from them. To be fair, the episodes were quite sweet and genuinely quite funny at times—for a 50’s sitcom. But no one’s watching WandaVision to watch a sitcom.
It really is too early to judge WandaVision on its story even if it is a bit slow so far, after all, many a show has gone on from a less-than-impressive beginning and even first season to become something much better (though I still know far more about the point of the show from ten seconds of the trailers than the first two episodes).
But besides that one (rather major) criticism, there are genuinely a lot of things to like so far.
Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany were never anything close to stars of the show in the MCU and more than a few people were curious to see how they would do in the position; they did not disappoint.
Olson and Bettany showed an easy chemistry that bodes very well for the show, and though the first few episodes mostly have them bouncing off each other with cheesy comedic sitcom banter, they’re still quite a charming couple who will hold their own as the main characters.
Olson in particular makes an endearing lead and shows the capability to portray more than the semi-two dimensional Wanda we saw in the MCU—if she’s given the opportunity. While I doubt many will watch the show solely for her or Bettany, if WandaVision fails it will not be due to them.
Another thing that the show has going in its favor is its ability to change format and genre. This is something fans have gathered from the trailer rather than the first two episodes, but it’s an intriguing idea and many are eagerly looking forward to seeing how it pans out.
The opening credits starring “Wanda Maximoff” and “Vision” give the show an interesting meta feel, and the aspect ratio changing at the very end of the pilot from square (for the square TV’s of the ’50s) to the modern widescreen to show the difference between Wanda’s reality and the real world was a very cool touch.
The best thing I can say about the show is the trailer predisposed me to like it and I am still rooting for it to be good.
WandaVision will either be one of those shows that you keep watching, hoping it gets better until finally giving up, or one that starts fairly slow and rewards those who stick with it. My money is on the latter, but at this point, only time will tell.
Written by Koryn Koch
Koryn has enjoyed writing from an early age, her first work being a story about a unicorn. Since then she has become a marginally better writer and gained an appreciation for film as well. She is pursuing a degree in Digital Marketing and when not busy she enjoys spending time with her nine siblings.
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