Well, I just finished the series. What do I think?
WandaVision began with a solid start. The whole sitcom format was always engaging, as it paid homage to a genre and era of television I haven't experienced. With these first few episodes, the mystery that follows each strange happening was interesting and had me excited to see the next episode. I wanted to see Wanda deal with her grief and come to terms with her reality.
Darcy Lewis, Jimmy Woo, and Monica Rambeau appeared, and I have to say the show lost some of my interest. Seeing Monica reappear in a post-snap world was exciting, and Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis were entertaining as hell! I was still curious about what was going to happen next, but I was a little weary.
Then the last few episodes rolled around. Monica Rambeau suddenly gets powers (for no reason?), Agatha pretends she's all-knowing by spewing exposition, and the show drops Quick Silver, Rambeau, Woo and Darcy to give Wanda and her family more screen time.
Finally, the last episode disappoints. I was so bored watching CGI fights that have no substance underneath them. Vision talking to the other Vision was cool and probably the best thing in the last three episodes. But then we go back to Wanda. She figures out that she's torturing people and finally lets go of her fake reality. But not because she's learnt to deal with her grief but because... uh... I don't know.
She lets go of her fake reality, and this happens,
Monica Rambeau: "They'll never know what you sacrificed for them."
Wanda Maximoff: "I wouldn't change how they see me."
But she sacrificed nothing; she was holding these people hostage, torturing them; she gave up a fantasy for them. Way to go, Wanda! Afterwards, she runs off to a cabin and doesn't have to face any consequences for her villainous actions. Yay!
So I guess the show is about how we're all destined to do terrible things and get away with it?
Overall, WandaVision is a fun time. Although the sitcom stuff had me weary, I preferred it to the answers we got in the last few episodes. Sometimes, the mystery is better than the answer.
TECHNICAL SCORE: 6/10
ENJOYMENT SCORE: 5.5/10
5 September 2019 - I really try to give a series a chance to prove itself, but I'm abandoning 13 REASONS WHY after S3 E4. It is scrapping the barrel of all things potentially hurtful, damaging and downright dangerous in teen living. The prescriptive warnings by the cast to seek help if you are in the situations depicted in their drama do not excuse the series reinjuring those in peril for the sake of further episodes/seasons. This series no longer has a cathartic benefit. I will no longer be watching it (despite a new bright light in the cast). As I prophetically wrote in 2017 - This series has sucked the life out of its premise. I leave the series with a rating of 5 (meh) out of 10. [Teenage Drama].
I've left the previous reviews here so you can see how it fell out of my favour.
3 April 2017 - I'm just three episodes deep into this Netfilx series and I'm enjoying the characters and the suspense. This is a good premise, the acting is strong, and I can't wait to find out what happened, as we see the story from the varying points of view. Looking good - so I'm giving it a preliminary 8 (great) out of 10.
8 April 2017 - I'm sorry to say that the series didn't live up to the premise. I think it was meant to be a cautionary tale, but the writing was uneven, the characters' emotional arches poorly drawn, and some episodes were just a downright mess. The acting was good because the casting was strong. Even though the scripts were disappointing the series will resonate with those who have been shamed, bullied, emotionally or physically abused. Unfortunately, these are now adolescent realities, so people will see their experiences reflected here. But the writers sewed these components together poorly, interrupting the build of suspense, artificially inflating the emotional environment which in turn compromised the trueness of the characters and leaving the audience disappointed, or in some cases, lost (I almost quit after the very poor episode - S1 E7) and a general degradation of the quality of the series). Although there were some 7 (good) episodes, there were also 6s (fair) and even 4 (poor), so I'm giving the whole series a 5.5 (failed potential) out of 10. I'd love to see these performers again, but the series has sucked the life out of it's premise.
