I have just watched this episode and OMG, I loved it from the beginning until the end. I knew it was going somewhere...
Vision being like "Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?"
This is the last episode I am watching!
If they want to go on with this old comedy parody this show is not for me. I hope all the other Marvel shows will not follow this path. If you want to pay homage, do it with one (at most two) episodes. This is not the show I expected and I came to watch. The continuous change of scene between parody and "reality" is bothering me. Scarlet Witch is a fantastic character to expand and explore as you see in the very few snippets this show gets "real" and Elizabeth Olsen is a great actress able to act in a superb way in every role, comedy just doesn't fit in the MCU for me.
You lost me at this point and I surely will not be in cinemas (whenever they will open again after pandemic) watching new MCU phase 4 films on day 1 as I did before, I will wait to see if they are worth.
3/10 for the episode, 1/10 for the show 9/10 for Elizabeth's acting.
WHOA! Shocking ending! I love it. Our first crossover from Fox’s X-Men
This show is getting so good. Wanda facing off with S.W.O.R.D. was so amazing!
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!!! Evan Peters!!!!!!!!
Finally, it starts to get good. Took too long to get there and the sitcom gimmick - when it's being entirely that and Vision isn't breaking it down - is still cringey as fuck. But seeing it come apart, seeing more plot unfold is good to finally see.
Dark as hell for Marvel to be like "yeah Wanda stole Vision's corpse" but I can't really feel much for it aside from that because I still don't buy this relationship. Maybe that'll change by the end or not. Who knows. The writing and acting need to convince me and seeing him and Wanda fight - like really fight/yell - was a good step in that direction.
Either way, glad to see it get more interesting.
Still pretty sure Agnes is pulling more strings than Wanda in this, so I'm looking forward to seeing what that reveal is.
I knew it ! yes! So happy they went this way.
I knew he’d show up but not that version!
I think I see the need for last episode now, but I still assert this show would be much more interesting if it could be entirely sitcom.
My issue is that I don’t entirely see this series as more than an experiment. As we see more and more, Wandavision is little more than doses of things we’ve seen elsewhere: Truman Show, Annihilation, Pleasantville, Inception. It makes for something decently interesting, but it brings up a branding problem that it feels as though it’s fighting really hard to course-correct. Marvel has built a brand mercilessly for nearly thirteen years now and although we were given the heads up that Phase 4 was going to get a little more out there, I’m not sure how this is correlating yet. When I think Marvel, I’m not sure something like Wandavision is what I’m expecting/wanting and yet when I think of weird, surrealist cinema Wandavision doesn’t really reach the depths of brilliance there either because it has to retain elements of the MCU when it could be David Lynch directs Marvel if they’d run with it.
[9.0/10] There’s so much to talk about in this one. X-Men’s Quicksilver as Avengers Quicksilver! Bulletproof hotpants! 1980s TV spoofs! Scarlet Witch’s stand-off with Sword!
But here’s the thing that stands out to me, the thing that grabbed me the most while watching this “Very Special Episode” -- Vision confronting the woman he loves over what’s happening. That moment has extra oomph because of the effects. There’s something eerie about the two of them arguing over the end credits until they stop. There’s something scary about the two of them rising into the air at the same time they raise their voices to one another.
What stands out about it, though, is the emotional rawness in the moment. Vision isn’t just upset; he’s worried that he can no longer trust his wife, that she’s done something terrible to him, to everyone, and doing everything in her power to keep it from him. Wanda is trying to hold it together, feeling just as vulnerable and admitting she’s not even sure how this started. They are both just so messed up by what’s happening, so riven by it, but in ways that drive them apart over whether to tear this all down or do everything they can to continue propping it up.
The tenor of the scene is familiar to anyone who’s spoken with a loved one who’s unwell, who is not themselves, whether through grief or mental illness or some other trauma that jeopardizes their ability to process the world as it is. There’s an honesty to that scene, one that is frankly startling, and it’s the kind of place I never really expected an MCU project to go. It’s draped in reality-distorting fiction and the trappings of family sitcoms, but somehow that just makes it all the more disturbing and poignant when the truth of those moments bursts through those bracing layers of abstraction.
That’s bolstered by the second most stunning revelation of “On a Very Special Episode” -- that Wanda stole Vision’s corpse from Sword. More to the point, that he left a living will and wished never to be revived, not wanting to be anyone’s weapon. It’s plain that Wanda, either by herself or with the help of someone else, revivified him, and that he’s starting to reckon with the margins of what happened to him, if not the full picture.
He’s starting to see through the illusions and deceptions that Westview is made of. Again, the show does so well making the moments where it breaks the sitcom rhythms unnerving. Agnes’s “should I take it from the top” bit is eerie, and for once, Vision has a chance to realize it before Wanda resets things. Instead, she tries to play it off, tries to distract him with puppies and doorbells ringing and other head-fakes that Vision’s nevertheless noticing.
It comes through in the odd behavior of his coworkers, who respond to a Sword email by reading and laughing in unison. Vision briefly frees Norm, who is understandably frantic and undone and, most importantly, in pain over what’s being done to him. The secret truth of WandaVision is that it’s not a comedy show or sitcom homage or a superhero series. It’s a horror show, and Vision’s starting to realize that. He’s realizing that everything is wrong here, starting with him, what he can and can’t remember, and the mother of his children.
Meanwhile, there’s some more traditional but still cool developments on the outside. Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, and Darcy Lewis are trying to save Wanda, trying to show her compassion despite what’s happening, while Sword Director Hayward thinks she’s just a terrorist who needs to be taken out. Meanwhile, our trio of familiar characters are finding solutions to the problem, realizing that 1980s tech can penetrate the Hex without being transformed by Scarlet Witch’s powers.
Of course, it doesn’t go unnoticed by Wanda, and she storms out of the Hex to threaten Heyward and everyone else when, unbeknownst to Monica, he tries to use their drone to eliminate her. It’s a scary moment, one only slightly cut by Elizabeth Olsen reverting to her dodgy Eastern European accent. We see definitively that Wanda has at least some control and awareness of her surroundings and what’s happening, enough to want to protect it from interlopers and those intruding on her surroundings.
It’s become increasingly clear why she’s so protective of her perfect bubble of happiness and what she is running from -- grief. The show channels that idea through 1980s sitcom pastiches in an amusing fashion, with Agnes as the friendly, albeit intrusive neighbor, kids growing up too fast, and dogs dying so that parents can give an important lesson about making peace with certain facts of life.
At the root of it, though, is a deep sense of loss and the artifacts of reckoning with death, something difficult whether you’re a child or an adult. Wanda says to her boys, and to herself, that she cannot reverse death, that they cannot turn away from it, because some things aren’t meant to be elided and some lines shouldn’t be crossed.
We confirm that she has brought the corpse of the man she loves back to life, presumably because she couldn’t deal with his absence and the tragedy of what happened to him. The commercial break this episode name-checks Lagos, the Nigerian city from Civil War where Scarlet Witch accidentally killed dozens of civilians when trying to redirect a blast, more mess than any paper towel could clean up. And she reflects, at her sons’ urging, on the loss of her own twin, Pietro, the only lifeline she had when she lost her parents at the same tender age Billy and Tommy are now.
So she does what she’s already done -- she brings him back, after a fashion. It’s an inspired bit of stunt-casting to bring in Evan Peters to quasi-reprise his role as Quicksilver. But beyond the jolt of the misdirect and reveal is a simple truth, that this whole thing is wrong. It is a coping mechanism, one meant to shield Wanda from yet another horrid demise marring her personal history.
So she, or some other force working with and through her, has constructed this place to evade that destabilizing realization. Vision is breaking out of it, shaking off the cobwebs of his violative rebirth and seeing through the comforting lies that Wanda is straining so hard to hold onto. It is difficult, hollowing, wounding to watch someone you care for undone by grief and trauma, dragging the world down with them. So much of what WandaVision does is clever or exciting or amusing. But what it does here is disquieting beyond words, and deeply, painfully true.
Holy crap... That episode was great! Evan Peters Pietro, but in the MCU? I am bonkers confused.
I love that Vision's finally figured it out. Also, baby Vision just crept me the fuck out.
Oh and also the part where Agnes slipped out of character was so, so good.
OMFG! Its rare that I have a total full-blown unrepentant geekasm, but the last five seconds of this episode are the best five seconds of television since Buffy sang in a musical.
Whaaaat?!
Good times to be geek.
I guess you have to be a MCU nut to really get into this show. The fact that X-Men's Quicksilver shows up is weird and will force many to have to resort to Googling the connection. I like the Marvel movies, too, but this show and its interwoven story lines are probably just going to frustrate most newcomers who won't understand what all the fuss is about.
I'm not hating on this series, it's just made for the fans, of which there are millions. And it's going to be a treat for them.
Well, this episode got dark very fast.
First, the kids aging up is creepy weird. Second, Wanda emerging from the hex; that's freaky. And for a moment, I thought she was going to kill the head of S.W.O.R.D.
He wants some agency and Wanda isn't giving it to him. He wants to live properly. I'm feeling really sorry for Vision; let the boy be free!
TECHNICAL SCORE: 7/10
ENJOYMENT SCORE: 8/10
The beauty of WandaVision is how so far it's able to seamlessly transition from it's more MCU-esqe outside story to it's more experimental, trippy surreal horror and then to a more traditional sitcom, and this episode is easily the strongest yet in that regard. The way the episode moves the main plot along is stellar, giving us even more to chew on as the reality of what Wanda's powers are able to do grows. And the drama of the episode really hits it's climax with a final argument between Wanda and Vision that's among the best acting the two have done in the MCU. I can't also be more over the moon about that final scene, which is one of the biggest curveballs the franchise has ever done and changes the landscape of not just this show but the entire MCU as a whole.
And as always, the sitcom aesthetic is on point. We have hit the 80s, which is where the aesthetic of sitcoms becomes more similar to me as somebody who grew up in a household with stuff like Family Ties and Full House on in the background. It absolutely nails the feeling of a more "dramatic episode" of one these shows, in this case the death of a pet. Billy and Tommy are really likable as well, capturing the feeling of young sitcom kids wonderfully. Time will tell if they stick around to become Wiccan and Speed from the comics, but so far the show continues to really impress with it's quality.
Oh man pure chills down my spine when Vision said "what aren't you telling me?" to Wanda
man I absolutely love this show!!!
My God… that episode was AMAZING! There’s so much stuff to talk about. First, we now know that Wanda is in (at least 90%) control of everything that happens inside Westview and that Agnes also knows what Wanda is doing and she is (for some unknown reason) just going along with it. Does she have an ulterior motive or is she providing the means necessary to help Wanda? Vision just found out what is happening and he’s both terrified and worried, the woman he loves is controlling and hurting other people to fill her own selfish needs. That’s gonna blow up in her face… eventually. I’m pretty sure there’s a logical –in universe– explanation for the Pietro “recast” and the episode’s full with loads of proof:
You didn't see that coming?
This series is so inconsistent - a couple of brilliant episodes and a few awful episodes. In my view, this was not a good episode. The sooner the writers move away from the "sitcom" scenario the better - it feels like it has been pushed too far already.
I like that it's heading back to the sitcom format but I hate that it's beginning to explain things as well. It's only episode 5 and there are still 4 episodes to go. I don't want answers yet! That being said, this week's ending was a killer, though.
Horrible to watch. The comments in agent scenes about the show suck. The kids addressing the audience is a bad tool for a show like this. Show looks like a big filler and a bad written new agent organization.
I still wonder if this'll ever make much sense but at least it's interesting (and trying to figure out what's going on as well as guessing what'll happen next is fun even though I'm not good at it).
WHEN SHE CAME OUT OF THE HEX DOME THING!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This show was weird at the beginning and I couldn’t decide if it was good weird or bad weird...but since the episode before this one just blow off my
Good episode but more of same, watch a whole episode for 30 seconds of good parts.
Oh my goodness. Is this the beginning of the X-Men entering into the MCU?!
Really loving this series. Excellent episode!
Holy shit this had me screaming on my seat! That was so good, at the same time it got me confused.
I've liked the episode but the only thing I really didn't liked it the commander agent was made in a shitty trope that doesn't make sense because if he is someone high up in SWORD, then he absolutely should know how to deal with supers.
OMG I was literally just explaining this situation to my mate and said this is how I always wanted them to do it and then 2 seconds later knock knock.....
IT'S HAPPENING, IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!
SOLID 9!
That was crazy and I absolutely love it!
This episode's sitcom parody was maybe the most accurate yet (except that they just gave up and shot it in widescreen) but whenever it cuts back to the "real world" the show just loses all steam for me. I love Randall Park and Kat Dennings in those roles, but those scenes are filled with such clunky, expository dialogue they're just not enjoyable. I didn't understand why people were so excited about that ending at all because I didn't recognize that guy. Maybe I'm crazy, but I kinda feel like you shouldn't have to google actors' past work to understand plot points of a TV show!
Spoiler Warning: Agnes: do you want to take it from the top ? Wanda looked nervous that Agnes knows what is going on. Great scene.
Plus Agnes probably killed the dog. I think Agnes is who Vision’s co-worker is afraid of, not Wanda.
Awesome 80’s like opening credits as well. Such an awesome episode. Quicksilver from the Fox X-Men movies. So weird.
OH MY GOD IT'S FUCKING PIETRO!!!! EVAN PETERS PIETRO! Lowkey wish it was Aaron Taylor Johnson tho...... BUT I KNEW IT. Every time the door bell ring, I always wish it was Pietro and it wasn't, but I kept thinking 'oh, it's coming alright, it's coming' and then BOOM.
Also, I have never been more scared of Vision until he raised his voice as he argue with Wanda, like..... shit, I'm genuinely scared.
I just absolutely LOVE this show.
Mostly good episode brought down by the sitcom crap.
1st play (14 March): English
2nd play (31 March): French Dub
i think it's not as smooth as the other episodes, but episode 5 is nonetheless great and that ending is so good wtf
the death of Pietro was the greatest travesty of any of the Marvel films... I'm glad to see it finally righted!
I fast-forwarded through most of the sitcom garbage since it's become obvious to me that it's the only way that I'm going to be able to enjoy this show. Part of it is the fact that it's SUCH a waste of time for the most part in a self-indulgent way on the part of the writers and producers, but most of it, I admit, is the simple fact that I loathe laugh tracks. If you were to look at my viewing history here on Trakt, you'd see a complete absence of laugh track-laden sitcoms, and for that very reason. In any case, the 20 minutes or so of this one that I watched is a good mix of revelations on both sides of the bubble, with more tie-ins and callbacks to the larger MCU canon. I guess I'll keep on keeping on for now while being grateful for the fast-forwarding option...
i cant express in words my exitment when i saw that silver hair as she opened the door. I love this show, the mcu is heading in an amazing direction, especially if the spiderman 3 rumours are true. I kinda regret catching up though coz I cant wait for the next episode.
Every second spent outside of sitcom world lessens the impact of the show as whole. I have never watched any Marvel content, but the sitcom stuff just works on its own terms. Everything outside the 'bubble' is very standard and tedious.
My only complaint with the sitcom part is getting the time periods so badly wrong: the Internet in the 1980s, on a Commodore 64, in a 'mainstream' sitcom? Was that a deliberate anachronism as a nod to something? As it made no sense otherwise.
Here's hoping next episode is a Horsin' Around-style 90s sitcom!
Ohhhh shit. I forgot they bought them out. Yes!!! Yes yes
HOLD UP
HOLD UP
HOLD THE FUCK UP-
Holy shieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Absolutely amazing :) Can’t wait for more!
You did it. You crazy sons of bitches did it! You merged the X-Men franchise into the MCU.
It was bound to happen after the 20th Century Fox buyout, and Deadpool 3 being confirmed, but this was the most unexpected way to pull it off.
What a great big meta nod to bring the Xmen universe version of Quicksilver in. I do much prefer Aaron Taylor-Johnson's but must admit that's a great move and fits in with the idea that she can't create/ressurect. Instead she's just changed someone else to fit.
The ending was mind blowing :O
Btw, if her father appeared (played by Ian Mckellen) at the end of the series for short cameo that would be fantastic. Just saying)
Well, that couldn't be more meta. Damn.
The moment of that reveal: ThisIsWrinklingMyBrain.gif
It's a non-stop train of weird and cool stuff happening! That ending has me wishing it was next week RIGHT NOW!
HAHAHAHAHAHA. Yea, throw away all the bullshit "trauma" series, it's pure schlok and don't be afraid to love it.
Amazing episode. Hurts to know I have to wait for the episode!
Wow that was a surprise!
THAT ENDING, OH MY LORD THAT ENDING..
best episode so far, and that ending was really good!!!!!
Shout by FinFanBlockedParent2021-02-05T15:07:43Z
Sooo......maybe Wanda isn't controlling all of this but just using it for her benefits?