WandaVision: Episode 2
January 15, 2021 6:11 AM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe
In an effort to fit in, Wanda and Vision perform a magic act in their community talent show.
Anyone else hearing "one division" in the theme song?
There's a sword logo on the toy helicopter, and probably on the beekeeper's back. That has some book significance that I'll punt on talking about here.
The Strucker watch had a Hydra logo on it.
"For the children" is reminding me of Hot Fuzz's "the greater good."
"What's in the box?" is totally a shoutout to Seven, right? Maybe even in-universe?
I appreciate that the cast is more diverse than older sitcoms.
posted by Pronoiac at 12:29 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
There's a sword logo on the toy helicopter, and probably on the beekeeper's back. That has some book significance that I'll punt on talking about here.
The Strucker watch had a Hydra logo on it.
"For the children" is reminding me of Hot Fuzz's "the greater good."
"What's in the box?" is totally a shoutout to Seven, right? Maybe even in-universe?
I appreciate that the cast is more diverse than older sitcoms.
posted by Pronoiac at 12:29 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
I have only a smattering of knowledge about Vision and Wanda...I skipped a lot of the Marvel films. And I know I'm missing Easter eggs but at the same time the characters and set up are really engaging. Cuteness + creeping dread. Delightful.
posted by emjaybee at 5:07 PM on January 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 5:07 PM on January 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
Strucker was a villain from the second Avengers movie.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:24 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:24 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ok so I haven't seen this mentioned in reviews, but the people who push back against Wanda's reality in a serious way (Mr. Hart, blonde Queen Bee lady) are the only ones Bad Shit happens to.
Question is, is it because Wanda does it or someone else?
posted by emjaybee at 6:39 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Question is, is it because Wanda does it or someone else?
posted by emjaybee at 6:39 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Swarm! The beekeeper is Swarm, the Hydra/Nazi made of bees, right?
I get the premise and too would like the awareness that they're trapped in some sort of TV Development Hell to speed up a bit, but am willing to let them wallow in TV Tropes if it means they get to insert all the goofy D-List villains.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:42 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
I get the premise and too would like the awareness that they're trapped in some sort of TV Development Hell to speed up a bit, but am willing to let them wallow in TV Tropes if it means they get to insert all the goofy D-List villains.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:42 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Vision drunk on gum was Quite A Thing.
The red, the blood, the rewind...interesting/weird stuff. Wanda's probably unconsciously doing a lot of this/
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:12 PM on January 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
The red, the blood, the rewind...interesting/weird stuff. Wanda's probably unconsciously doing a lot of this/
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:12 PM on January 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
At first I thought it couldn't be Swarm because he's a Spider-Man villain and I don't think they'd have the rights to him, but no! Wikipedia says he first showed up in Champions, so it could be.
posted by haileris23 at 7:48 PM on January 15, 2021
posted by haileris23 at 7:48 PM on January 15, 2021
What are we to make of the fact that we've seen scenes that don't contain Wanda? Are they from the POV of someone other than Vision? Are they a necessary part of whatever narrative someone is telling, even if Wanda doesn't seem to have knowledge of things that happen to Vision in them?
posted by pykrete jungle at 9:27 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by pykrete jungle at 9:27 PM on January 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
And what am I to make of the fact that I'm laughing along to the extremely predictable, hacky, in-show sitcom jokes?
Maybe it's just that watching some really fantastic actors ham it up is delightful. They really do play a cute couple.
posted by pykrete jungle at 9:29 PM on January 15, 2021 [19 favorites]
Maybe it's just that watching some really fantastic actors ham it up is delightful. They really do play a cute couple.
posted by pykrete jungle at 9:29 PM on January 15, 2021 [19 favorites]
I honestly could watch "Wanda and Vision in a 50s sitcom" for a long time.
Interesting discrepancy: while the first episode was clearly chooses as 1950s, the women in the planning session were dtessed in 1960s fashions, foreshadowing the colorization. It looks like the series will affect at least into the 1970s.
posted by happyroach at 11:06 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Interesting discrepancy: while the first episode was clearly chooses as 1950s, the women in the planning session were dtessed in 1960s fashions, foreshadowing the colorization. It looks like the series will affect at least into the 1970s.
posted by happyroach at 11:06 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I enjoyed it, but also hoping they decrease the cheesy retro sitcom stuff and have more of the actual plot. Also really hoping they un-kill Vision now that they've given us some reason to actually care about their relationship. Come on, if Star Wars can bring back every thinly characterized baddie with cool equipment then Marvel can do this...
posted by TheophileEscargot at 2:06 AM on January 16, 2021
posted by TheophileEscargot at 2:06 AM on January 16, 2021
TheophileEscargot, rest assured that bringing back a character previously thought dead is not a foreign concept to Marvel Comics.
posted by straight at 2:51 AM on January 16, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by straight at 2:51 AM on January 16, 2021 [11 favorites]
But it's not so common in the MCU. So far the only characters they've brought back who died on camera are Gamora, Bucky, Loki, Thanos, Red Skull, Black Widow, JARVIS, and half the living beings in the entire universe.
posted by straight at 3:04 AM on January 16, 2021 [57 favorites]
posted by straight at 3:04 AM on January 16, 2021 [57 favorites]
The question is who has Wanda under control and why? Though it seems clear that Wanda is partially willing to live out this perfect fantasy life.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:05 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:05 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Interesting discrepancy: while the first episode was clearly chooses as 1950s, the women in the planning session were dtessed in 1960s fashions, foreshadowing the colorization. It looks like the series will affect at least into the 1970s.
Ep 1 felt very I Love Lucy/1950s (despite the fashion), and Ep 2 was Bewitched/1960s. I'm assuming we'll go up through domestic sitcoms by decades: 1970s Brady Bunch, 1980s Cosby (ick) Show, 1990s Seinfeld, 2000s....Two and a Half Men? 2010s Big Bang Theory? Oh dear god.
Season 1 is nine episodes, apparently.
posted by HeroZero at 6:08 AM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ep 1 felt very I Love Lucy/1950s (despite the fashion), and Ep 2 was Bewitched/1960s. I'm assuming we'll go up through domestic sitcoms by decades: 1970s Brady Bunch, 1980s Cosby (ick) Show, 1990s Seinfeld, 2000s....Two and a Half Men? 2010s Big Bang Theory? Oh dear god.
Season 1 is nine episodes, apparently.
posted by HeroZero at 6:08 AM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
Besides the obvious transmissions from 'outside', I'm curious what else or who else is from outside the simulation. (I'm thinking of it as a simulation for now, whether it's externally controlled or if it's Wanda's doing and folks are trying to get through to her or sort of both.) I'd guess Geraldine is from outside and also being imprisoned by it. I'm not sure if Agnes is something native to the simulation that's messing with them or someone from outside who is observing or otherwise not trying to bring them back to the world.
Given that this episode was such a Bewitched homage, I'm half-surprised they didn't recast a character halfway through the episode.
I was unaware of Swarm as a villain so I was initially wondering if the beekeper was a very literalized interpretation of someone trying to bug the simulation.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:08 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Given that this episode was such a Bewitched homage, I'm half-surprised they didn't recast a character halfway through the episode.
I was unaware of Swarm as a villain so I was initially wondering if the beekeper was a very literalized interpretation of someone trying to bug the simulation.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:08 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
HeroZero - I would guess they're sticking with the "married couple central characters" branch of the sitcom genre. Also, you're right - I was thinking episode 1 was Dick van Dyke, but I Love Lucy is a better fit.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:10 AM on January 16, 2021
posted by rmd1023 at 6:10 AM on January 16, 2021
re:Dick Van Dyke references, I did love Vision phasing through the chair during the opening theme.
posted by HeroZero at 6:14 AM on January 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by HeroZero at 6:14 AM on January 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
Would that make the 90s reference Mad About You? If Wanda and Vision start to be eclipsed by an ensemble, would the 2000s make them Lily and Marshall in How I Met Your Mother?
posted by pykrete jungle at 6:19 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by pykrete jungle at 6:19 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
It was bugging me that I couldn't see the name of the department store in the scenes at the talent show, at least not after I started looking for it. I presume it was deliberate.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:56 AM on January 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:56 AM on January 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
I have to admit that this has me intrigued. Wanda and the Vision are perhaps the two least interesting Avengers to me, and so when they announced the series I didn't give it much notice. The trailer got my attention enough that I gave the first couple episodes a try and I am glad I did. Looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds. I quite enjoyed Paul Bettany getting to use some of his comedy chops, but I'm also eager to dig deeper into the main mystery.
posted by synecdoche at 7:59 AM on January 16, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by synecdoche at 7:59 AM on January 16, 2021 [3 favorites]
Oh, also Thanos already brought Vision back from the dead with the Time Stone for about 30 seconds at the end of Infinity War.
posted by straight at 8:38 AM on January 16, 2021
posted by straight at 8:38 AM on January 16, 2021
The department store was Wentworths, just above the doors.
posted by Pronoiac at 2:47 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Pronoiac at 2:47 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
From the trailers, it looks like future sitcoms referenced might be The Brady Bunch and Family Ties?
I'm really enjoying it so far. Loved the first episode was basically a full sitcom episode, with a reveal at the end. And the second episode has leaned more into the strangeness of what is happening. I suspect reality will intrude more and more as the series progresses.
posted by crossoverman at 8:56 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm really enjoying it so far. Loved the first episode was basically a full sitcom episode, with a reveal at the end. And the second episode has leaned more into the strangeness of what is happening. I suspect reality will intrude more and more as the series progresses.
posted by crossoverman at 8:56 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
2010s Big Bang Theory? Oh dear god.
I vote for The Good Place. For obvious reasons.
posted by happyroach at 11:17 PM on January 16, 2021 [11 favorites]
I vote for The Good Place. For obvious reasons.
posted by happyroach at 11:17 PM on January 16, 2021 [11 favorites]
maybe an easter egg, maybe a tie-in but in the supermarket scene during the intro there was a "Bova" milk advertisement on the wall which is a reference to "Bova Ayrshire" I think
posted by alchemist at 9:01 AM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by alchemist at 9:01 AM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Oh my god Paul Bettany has serious Rik Mayall vibes during the magic show
posted by jason_steakums at 10:14 AM on January 17, 2021 [13 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 10:14 AM on January 17, 2021 [13 favorites]
I vote for The Good Place. For obvious reasons.
To see Chidi's hella ripped abs again?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:22 PM on January 17, 2021 [14 favorites]
To see Chidi's hella ripped abs again?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:22 PM on January 17, 2021 [14 favorites]
As an OG Buffy fan I’m embarrassed by how long it took me to recognize “Dottie” as Emma Caufield, though in my defense I was trying to figure out if she was the same “Dottie” from Agent Carter. Nope!
posted by ejs at 3:29 PM on January 17, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by ejs at 3:29 PM on January 17, 2021 [9 favorites]
I'm just not cut out for this cinematic universe, I was curious about which character Dottie was and went to IMDB, then noticed another character that seemed cool, but didn't recognize... the Grey Griffin.... sigh.
posted by sammyo at 4:56 PM on January 17, 2021
posted by sammyo at 4:56 PM on January 17, 2021
I really liked these two episodes, and am into it, but I've been getting this feeling from MCU stuff (and Star Wars too; especially the Mandalorian). I keep getting the vibe that I'm missing something because the lore/cannon/continuity are all so deep and intense.
I enjoyed this very much in the same way I enjoyed Legion (even thought the vibe is very different), but I just can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something, or missing some super obvious reference to the rest of the MCU.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:33 PM on January 17, 2021
I enjoyed this very much in the same way I enjoyed Legion (even thought the vibe is very different), but I just can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something, or missing some super obvious reference to the rest of the MCU.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:33 PM on January 17, 2021
l think Marvel does a really good job of keeping the narrative coherent within itself, and not requiring the viewer to delve into lots of supporting material. They've got like 60 years of practice doing this from publishing monthly serial storylines for multiple characters that nevertheless allow a reader to pick it up at any point and still follow what's going on. This experience has carried over into their creation of the MCU and is a big reason why it's been so effective.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:53 PM on January 17, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 7:53 PM on January 17, 2021 [5 favorites]
I definitely felt that way with this season of The Mandalorian, because they were introducing characters from books and The Clone Wars and Rebels and I thought I was missing something. The MCU is large and I mostly only watch the films once, so I'm probably missing some finer details along the way, but I remember enough to feel like I'm in on it. I think the MCU has done a pretty great job in making it easy to follow, though that might get trickier now with the number of shows and movies on the schedule. Before it was just 2 or 3 movies a year to watch and now it might depend on multiple films and multiple TV shows. The prospect of them opening up to multiverse stories could increase the level of difficulty.
But, so far, WandaVision feels like it's straightforward enough, while also being super intriguing. (I gather that long-term comic fans think they know where it's going, but I feel like being in the dark about comic continuity might allow me to enjoy the surprises here more.)
posted by crossoverman at 2:17 AM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
But, so far, WandaVision feels like it's straightforward enough, while also being super intriguing. (I gather that long-term comic fans think they know where it's going, but I feel like being in the dark about comic continuity might allow me to enjoy the surprises here more.)
posted by crossoverman at 2:17 AM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
I worry that the mystery of what's really going on might be dragged out for too long. Sure, it's only been two episodes so far, but we haven't got an real information other than Wanda is probably being held captive, but she's sorta ok with just living in her mind for the moment. Got that, do we need another another episode of that, let alone several?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:52 AM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:52 AM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
There are some geeky YouTube breakdowns Ep 1, Ep 2 looking at clues as to what's really going on with reference to the Marvel comics backstories as well as the MCU. These might well be spoilers for upcoming episodes though if he's right about the clues. Also the guy is kind of annoying.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:28 AM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:28 AM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you find that guy kinda annoying, there's also these explainers from ScreenCrush that I found pretty informative and slightly less annoying (YMMV).
posted by briank at 6:49 AM on January 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by briank at 6:49 AM on January 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
So... I'm the only one who saw the beekeeper outfit and thought AIM?
posted by Karmakaze at 11:16 AM on January 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Karmakaze at 11:16 AM on January 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
I didn't know what to think about that, a beekeeper coming up from the sewer. Doesn't make sense and seems outta left field.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:37 AM on January 18, 2021
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:37 AM on January 18, 2021
I definitely thought AIM! This was slightly less annoying because of the multiple sinister bits, which apparently is what I want more of rather than the sitcom plots. I feel like this could get really old really fast if it's 25 minutes of the 30 minute episode, with a couple minutes of weird undercurrents.
I have to go back and watch it again, but the voice on the radio saying "Who's doing this to you, Wanda?" sounded a lot like Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton) as I was watching it. Considering how protective and close he is to Wanda, that could be interesting.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:14 PM on January 18, 2021
I have to go back and watch it again, but the voice on the radio saying "Who's doing this to you, Wanda?" sounded a lot like Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton) as I was watching it. Considering how protective and close he is to Wanda, that could be interesting.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:14 PM on January 18, 2021
I worry that each episode is gonna be conceptual weirdness and off-kilter pastiche leading up to a “hey, something is off here” before the credits, and the finale will be the first real narrative movement in the series.
I hope I’m wrong, but too many shows spend an entire season getting to the point the audience was already at by the end of the pilot.
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:33 PM on January 18, 2021
I hope I’m wrong, but too many shows spend an entire season getting to the point the audience was already at by the end of the pilot.
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:33 PM on January 18, 2021
The little bit of the beekeeper guy's face you can see looked enough like Tim Blake Nelson that I got all excited for The Leader before I saw that it was someone else playing the beekeeper.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:36 PM on January 18, 2021
posted by jason_steakums at 12:36 PM on January 18, 2021
Season finale will be Too Many Cooks.
posted by snofoam at 4:48 PM on January 18, 2021 [21 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 4:48 PM on January 18, 2021 [21 favorites]
I appreciate the show going slow with reveals - and there were more odd things in Ep2 than Ep1 and a greater sense that Wanda has some kind of control (ie. the "No" and rewind after the beekeeper). I suspect we'll get more and more of these moments as the series progresses, to the point where Wanda can't keep up the charade.
The whole "Wanda, who is doing this to you" seems like a misdirect - I think Wanda is doing it to herself, while also possibly being manipulated by Agnes.
posted by crossoverman at 5:01 PM on January 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
The whole "Wanda, who is doing this to you" seems like a misdirect - I think Wanda is doing it to herself, while also possibly being manipulated by Agnes.
posted by crossoverman at 5:01 PM on January 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
As a side note, I have been been wondering for a bit how the MCU, always progressing in more or less real time in sync with our world, was going to handle the five-year time jump that the Snap gave us. Suddenly “the present” in Marvel movies is 2023!
I guess one of the unforeseen knock-on effects of the pandemic is that by the time that vaccinations get rolled out and Hollywood starts making movies again like in the Before Times, it’s going to be 2023. Problem solved. Kevin Feige is so smart.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:03 PM on January 18, 2021 [6 favorites]
I guess one of the unforeseen knock-on effects of the pandemic is that by the time that vaccinations get rolled out and Hollywood starts making movies again like in the Before Times, it’s going to be 2023. Problem solved. Kevin Feige is so smart.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:03 PM on January 18, 2021 [6 favorites]
The whole "Wanda, who is doing this to you" seems like a misdirect - I think Wanda is doing it to herself, while also possibly being manipulated by Agnes.
Dottie: "I've heard things about you - you and your husband."
Wanda: "Well I don't know what you've been told, but I assure you, I don't mean anyone any harm."
Dottie: "I don't believe you."
And then the radio freaks out and starts talking to Wanda, then explodes and Dottie's glass shatters and cuts her.
Oh this is totally Wanda's doing! She doesn't mean anyone any harm but it still happens.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:17 PM on January 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
Dottie: "I've heard things about you - you and your husband."
Wanda: "Well I don't know what you've been told, but I assure you, I don't mean anyone any harm."
Dottie: "I don't believe you."
And then the radio freaks out and starts talking to Wanda, then explodes and Dottie's glass shatters and cuts her.
Oh this is totally Wanda's doing! She doesn't mean anyone any harm but it still happens.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:17 PM on January 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
Okay, just watched these two, coming off knowing the MCU and none of the books. My wife and I had seen no trailers and knew essentially nothing going in except that it was about Wanda and Vision, so this was... surprising.
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later, once I've digested this. But I'm always happy to see Emma Caulfield showing up in things.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:31 PM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later, once I've digested this. But I'm always happy to see Emma Caulfield showing up in things.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:31 PM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
My wife and I had seen no trailers and knew essentially nothing going in except that it was about Wanda and Vision, so this was... surprising.
Yeah. What the hell is going on? It's supposed to be be some kind of hallucination?
posted by medusa at 8:33 PM on January 18, 2021
Yeah. What the hell is going on? It's supposed to be be some kind of hallucination?
posted by medusa at 8:33 PM on January 18, 2021
WandaVision Plays With Reality and Sitcom History in Its Two-Part Premiere by Emmett Asher-Perrin at Tor.
posted by medusa at 9:05 PM on January 18, 2021
posted by medusa at 9:05 PM on January 18, 2021
I definitely thought AIM when I saw the beekeeper too. They haven't made an appearance in the MCU yet, to my knowledge, but they're compatible with Baron van Strucker, and I'm sort of hoping that MODOK is keeping Wanda trapped inside of this hallucination somehow. Also, could that have been a S.W.O.R.D. logo on the helicopter?
The references to "for the children" make me strongly suspect that the storyline is headed in a House of M direction (if not exactly that, since the MCU isn't really in the state the comics universe was in at the start of that story line). I do wonder whether any of the other Maximoffs will make an appearance in this show.
posted by whir at 10:26 PM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
The references to "for the children" make me strongly suspect that the storyline is headed in a House of M direction (if not exactly that, since the MCU isn't really in the state the comics universe was in at the start of that story line). I do wonder whether any of the other Maximoffs will make an appearance in this show.
posted by whir at 10:26 PM on January 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yeah. What the hell is going on? It's supposed to be be some kind of hallucination?
the point is, we don't know. the more interesting meta-point for me is, we don't know because Wanda and Vision truly were amongst the least developed of the Avengers (even with her pivotal role plot-wise in multiple movies). A lot of the speculation is being driven by what we know from the comics (which the show is perfectly onboard with) and seeing what gets adapted or not, but not what we can project from what we know of these two, because again, we know very little.
SOooo... yeah. It COULD be a hallucination (because Wanda is known to have reality-bending powers, but MCU!Wanda isn't explicitly known to do this yet) but based of MCU's quasi-realistic approach, it could also be a technology macguffin that's driving all of this. For me, I have to admit I'm deriving pleasure from seeing which of the complicated Maximoff backstory will make it into the MCU canon as it were (just like, despite some of my misgivings, I enjoyed very much the MCU spin on what became of the Civil War arc).
posted by cendawanita at 3:19 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
the point is, we don't know. the more interesting meta-point for me is, we don't know because Wanda and Vision truly were amongst the least developed of the Avengers (even with her pivotal role plot-wise in multiple movies). A lot of the speculation is being driven by what we know from the comics (which the show is perfectly onboard with) and seeing what gets adapted or not, but not what we can project from what we know of these two, because again, we know very little.
SOooo... yeah. It COULD be a hallucination (because Wanda is known to have reality-bending powers, but MCU!Wanda isn't explicitly known to do this yet) but based of MCU's quasi-realistic approach, it could also be a technology macguffin that's driving all of this. For me, I have to admit I'm deriving pleasure from seeing which of the complicated Maximoff backstory will make it into the MCU canon as it were (just like, despite some of my misgivings, I enjoyed very much the MCU spin on what became of the Civil War arc).
posted by cendawanita at 3:19 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
The references to "for the children" make me strongly suspect that the storyline is headed in a House of M direction (if not exactly that, since the MCU isn't really in the state the comics universe was in at the start of that story line).
Feige just cuts the gordian knot by introducing all the X-Men characters with Wanda simply going "more mutants!"
posted by jason_steakums at 5:40 AM on January 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
Feige just cuts the gordian knot by introducing all the X-Men characters with Wanda simply going "more mutants!"
posted by jason_steakums at 5:40 AM on January 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
I noticed that they did the shift again, where once weird outside things happen (helicopter, radio) we shift from fixed cameras to slow zooms and other fancier camera work.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:08 AM on January 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 6:08 AM on January 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm enjoying the decision to mostly play it straight with only hints of the underlying mystery in the same way that I might want a romance story to get to the couple declaring their feelings while understanding that the slow burn is the story.
I'm also really fascinated to see stories set within the worlds of these tropes where the sexism is seen and used from a modern sensibility. It illustrates the ways that the gender roles were built into the stories of the eras, while also winking at the audience with potential subversions like acknowledging that neither Vision nor Wanda need to be afraid of the noise outside the window.
posted by past unusual at 9:43 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm also really fascinated to see stories set within the worlds of these tropes where the sexism is seen and used from a modern sensibility. It illustrates the ways that the gender roles were built into the stories of the eras, while also winking at the audience with potential subversions like acknowledging that neither Vision nor Wanda need to be afraid of the noise outside the window.
posted by past unusual at 9:43 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I definitely thought AIM when I saw the beekeeper too. They haven't made an appearance in the MCU yet
They were in Iron Man 3, but I'd be happy with a wing of them going back to the classic suits.
In a choice between AIM and Swarm, I'm whynotboth?.gif
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:52 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
They were in Iron Man 3, but I'd be happy with a wing of them going back to the classic suits.
In a choice between AIM and Swarm, I'm whynotboth?.gif
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:52 AM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Interview with one of the co-stars. (Contains spoilers about her character's future in the Marvel Universe).
posted by sardonyx at 1:05 PM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by sardonyx at 1:05 PM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've just been reminded that S.W.O.R.D. was first introduced in an X-Men comic in 2004 - during Joss Whedon's run! So the fact that they are starting to weave in X-Men things in this show definitely bodes well for Mutants appearing soon. It might tie directly into the X-Men films that already exist.
posted by crossoverman at 8:23 PM on January 19, 2021
posted by crossoverman at 8:23 PM on January 19, 2021
Did the garden party scene in this remind anyone else of the scene in the Manchurian Candidate? I may be off base here; the only similarity I can point to is the era the movie was filmed in. Still it had a bit of that vibe to me.
One thing I appreciate about this story vs. the Tom King run I read.. This seems to be Wanda's story. The comic that I read thinking it'd be back story has Vision as the center.
posted by Nelson at 8:25 PM on January 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
One thing I appreciate about this story vs. the Tom King run I read.. This seems to be Wanda's story. The comic that I read thinking it'd be back story has Vision as the center.
posted by Nelson at 8:25 PM on January 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
The commercials are also seem to provide some sort of clue. The watch commercial in this episode had the word “Hydra” and their symbol on it.
posted by like_neon at 2:17 PM on January 20, 2021
posted by like_neon at 2:17 PM on January 20, 2021
The two commercials are about Wanda's past - the first is a toaster from Stark Industries, whose munitions were used to bomb Sokovia. A bomb dropped on Wanda's house and killed her parents was branded STARK.
The watch is named "Strucker" which is the name of the Hydra agent who was experimenting on Wanda and her brother and gave them their powers.
posted by crossoverman at 3:24 PM on January 20, 2021 [6 favorites]
The watch is named "Strucker" which is the name of the Hydra agent who was experimenting on Wanda and her brother and gave them their powers.
posted by crossoverman at 3:24 PM on January 20, 2021 [6 favorites]
watching both episodes again I realised that their house layout and decor is *completely* different in each episode!
also, the manhole cover from the end of ep. 2 wasn't there earlier in the same episode.
posted by alchemist at 6:35 AM on January 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
also, the manhole cover from the end of ep. 2 wasn't there earlier in the same episode.
posted by alchemist at 6:35 AM on January 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
There is an awful lot to unpack here, and people have already unpacked a lot, but one pop culture reference/touchstone that no one seems to have mentioned yet is Pleasantville. If the little bits of color, and the eventual complete shift to it, aren't callbacks to that movie, it's a pretty amazing case of parallel evolution. (And, if anyone in this thread hasn't seen it, it's highly recommended.)
The main draw for me here isn't the paleo-sitcom satire--as others have pointed out, that well has been visited many times over the years--as it is the steady, relentless racheting up of tension. Even before the more overtly Lynchian scenes, there are little indicators of essential wrongness; Vision's attempts in the first episode to find out what his place of work actually does, for example, which we still don't know, is both an evocation of a venerable sitcom trope and the character trying to peel back the corner--just one corner--of the whole facade. One of the brilliant bits in this episode was the actual use of magic in the "magic show", particularly when the piano is "revealed" to just be a stage flat--it very, very obviously isn't before Wanda turns it into one, but everyone accepts the explanation regardless. There's also a fairly dark subtext of the subplot of Vision literally having his works gummed up; Paul Bettany plays it as his being drunk, and having a spouse show up shit-faced to a social event that has a lot of weight on it is a real-life nightmare for a lot of people. One of the things that I'm learning from watching this series is that Elizabeth Olsen is phenomenally good at establishing and maintaining a level of anxiety-shading-into-terror just from her expression and actions. And some of that tension comes from wondering how much, if anything, Wanda remembers from the previous iterations of her sitcom life. Does she remember anything from last episode? What about the bee man/maybe Swarm? Did she remember rewinding?
As for how this connects to her comics history, hopefully the showrunners are adopting the more-or-less standard MCU practice of taking only the bits that really work and forgetting the rest, because... well, you can look up her Wikipedia entry to see all of the changes that the character has been put through, usually to ill effect. (Former comics writer and showrunner John Rogers, probably best known to MeFites for "the crazification factor", also had a blog post titled "Womb Crazy!!" (warning: spoilers for 15-year-old comic book plots that were kind of crappy even back then so you wouldn't be missing much IMO but anyway), in which he compares Wanda with a female DC Comics character who was also used shabbily as part of a larger overarching plot. I'm very much hoping that they will do better by Wanda here; it would be hard to do worse.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:24 AM on January 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
The main draw for me here isn't the paleo-sitcom satire--as others have pointed out, that well has been visited many times over the years--as it is the steady, relentless racheting up of tension. Even before the more overtly Lynchian scenes, there are little indicators of essential wrongness; Vision's attempts in the first episode to find out what his place of work actually does, for example, which we still don't know, is both an evocation of a venerable sitcom trope and the character trying to peel back the corner--just one corner--of the whole facade. One of the brilliant bits in this episode was the actual use of magic in the "magic show", particularly when the piano is "revealed" to just be a stage flat--it very, very obviously isn't before Wanda turns it into one, but everyone accepts the explanation regardless. There's also a fairly dark subtext of the subplot of Vision literally having his works gummed up; Paul Bettany plays it as his being drunk, and having a spouse show up shit-faced to a social event that has a lot of weight on it is a real-life nightmare for a lot of people. One of the things that I'm learning from watching this series is that Elizabeth Olsen is phenomenally good at establishing and maintaining a level of anxiety-shading-into-terror just from her expression and actions. And some of that tension comes from wondering how much, if anything, Wanda remembers from the previous iterations of her sitcom life. Does she remember anything from last episode? What about the bee man/maybe Swarm? Did she remember rewinding?
As for how this connects to her comics history, hopefully the showrunners are adopting the more-or-less standard MCU practice of taking only the bits that really work and forgetting the rest, because... well, you can look up her Wikipedia entry to see all of the changes that the character has been put through, usually to ill effect. (Former comics writer and showrunner John Rogers, probably best known to MeFites for "the crazification factor", also had a blog post titled "Womb Crazy!!" (warning: spoilers for 15-year-old comic book plots that were kind of crappy even back then so you wouldn't be missing much IMO but anyway), in which he compares Wanda with a female DC Comics character who was also used shabbily as part of a larger overarching plot. I'm very much hoping that they will do better by Wanda here; it would be hard to do worse.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:24 AM on January 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
I think the problem I have with the show is that the original shows, Dick van Dyke and Bewitched, could actually be quite clever and funny. Almost all of the gags in this feel like they're metatextual "haha weren't sitcoms corny" and that just doesn't land at all for me.
The other issue I have is that I have a very limited experience with Wanda in the comics, and almost all of that has been "woman traumatized by terrible lost escapes into fantasy" and I am not a fan of that.
posted by graventy at 9:06 AM on January 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
The other issue I have is that I have a very limited experience with Wanda in the comics, and almost all of that has been "woman traumatized by terrible lost escapes into fantasy" and I am not a fan of that.
posted by graventy at 9:06 AM on January 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm a bit cheered by the gender inversions: it's the men's Neighborhood Watch meeting that is all about gossip and eating pastries; it's Vision who's too scared to investigate the noise so Wanda does it. I don't think they'll resort to too much sexist cliche.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 9:13 AM on January 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by TheophileEscargot at 9:13 AM on January 21, 2021 [7 favorites]
Does she remember anything from last episode? What about the bee man/maybe Swarm? Did she remember rewinding?
I'm wondering whether, perhaps, she knows exactly what's going on, is in fact making the whole thing happen and is acting out her role consciously. But occasionally it slips out of her control and she has to rein it back in with a "No!" or a "Stop", and rewind to a more congenial place and then carry on. Like someone playing a piece of music from a score - sometimes they'll make a mistake and go back a few bars.
posted by Grangousier at 9:44 AM on January 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm wondering whether, perhaps, she knows exactly what's going on, is in fact making the whole thing happen and is acting out her role consciously. But occasionally it slips out of her control and she has to rein it back in with a "No!" or a "Stop", and rewind to a more congenial place and then carry on. Like someone playing a piece of music from a score - sometimes they'll make a mistake and go back a few bars.
posted by Grangousier at 9:44 AM on January 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
Also: Texts From Superheroes asking the important questions.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:55 PM on January 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:55 PM on January 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
It must be Americans asking "how does Wanda know so much about American television" because, actually, the rest of the world has been overrun by your TV shows since the beginning of the medium. We know your TV shows better than we know our own. Australia, thankfully, has quotas for the airing of Australian programs, but we still broadcast American content more than Australian content. I know a lot of people who grew up in non-English speaking countries who learned a lot about the English language from American television.
So, not once have I wondered about how Wanda knows so much about American television. It dominates world culture. Given how war torn Sokovia was, they probably weren't making their own TV shows, so this is all Wanda would have.
posted by crossoverman at 7:14 PM on January 21, 2021 [16 favorites]
So, not once have I wondered about how Wanda knows so much about American television. It dominates world culture. Given how war torn Sokovia was, they probably weren't making their own TV shows, so this is all Wanda would have.
posted by crossoverman at 7:14 PM on January 21, 2021 [16 favorites]
Cendawanita pointed out in the previous episode's thread that Elizabeth Olsen's own take is that Wanda spent her house arrest watching lots and lots of TV, which also accounts for her increasingly Americanized accent.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:07 PM on January 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:07 PM on January 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
It must be Americans asking "how does Wanda know so much about American television" because, actually, the rest of the world has been overrun by your TV shows since the beginning of the medium.
yup. i also follow the good place fanfare threads so this came up when talking about chidi's accent - which is probably more to do with the actor's own choice, but there is a buttload of non-americans whose english is very american-accented, i submit to you the skarsgaards and lupita nyong'o as examples, but truly the extent of america cultural hegemony is overwhelming, that sometimes me not knowing the depths of the simpsons trivia feels like a rebellion (it's not; i just don't follow, yet americans i meet get very, but-how-can-you-not-know-this-very-specific-reference???),
We know your TV shows better than we know our own. Australia, thankfully, has quotas for the airing of Australian programs, but we still broadcast American content more than Australian content.
before american tv truly went global with broadband tech, satellite, and the internet, there was actually a substantial portion of malaysian tv that had young adult programming from australia. anyway, there's a bunch of women my age here who will always be fond of Ocean Girl.
posted by cendawanita at 12:24 AM on January 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
yup. i also follow the good place fanfare threads so this came up when talking about chidi's accent - which is probably more to do with the actor's own choice, but there is a buttload of non-americans whose english is very american-accented, i submit to you the skarsgaards and lupita nyong'o as examples, but truly the extent of america cultural hegemony is overwhelming, that sometimes me not knowing the depths of the simpsons trivia feels like a rebellion (it's not; i just don't follow, yet americans i meet get very, but-how-can-you-not-know-this-very-specific-reference???),
We know your TV shows better than we know our own. Australia, thankfully, has quotas for the airing of Australian programs, but we still broadcast American content more than Australian content.
before american tv truly went global with broadband tech, satellite, and the internet, there was actually a substantial portion of malaysian tv that had young adult programming from australia. anyway, there's a bunch of women my age here who will always be fond of Ocean Girl.
posted by cendawanita at 12:24 AM on January 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
If you are interested in a bit of a ramble that includes the reshaping of Wanda over time there's the Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch episode of the Explain This Comics Guys podcast.
posted by Karmakaze at 5:41 AM on January 22, 2021
posted by Karmakaze at 5:41 AM on January 22, 2021
And what am I to make of the fact that I'm laughing along to the extremely predictable, hacky, in-show sitcom jokes?
The magic show had two of the hardest laugh-out-loud lines for me - the forlorn 'that was my grandmother's piano...' and the expression of alarmed bafflement at 'is that how mirrors work?' like you could see the woman's grasp of this reality shaken to the core and they just move right past it. Comedy gold!
posted by FatherDagon at 10:31 PM on January 22, 2021 [8 favorites]
The magic show had two of the hardest laugh-out-loud lines for me - the forlorn 'that was my grandmother's piano...' and the expression of alarmed bafflement at 'is that how mirrors work?' like you could see the woman's grasp of this reality shaken to the core and they just move right past it. Comedy gold!
posted by FatherDagon at 10:31 PM on January 22, 2021 [8 favorites]
Feige just cuts the gordian knot by introducing all the X-Men characters with Wanda simply going "more mutants!"
Yeah, that's been my personal hypothesis since at least October 2014 when the Age of Ultron trailer hit.
Yeah, that's been my personal hypothesis since at least October 2014 when the Age of Ultron trailer hit.
so they can smashsmoosh them all together and yell CHAOS MAGIC REALITY RESET LOL!posted by mikelieman at 6:04 PM on January 25, 2021
House-of-M in reverse? Instead of getting rid of the superheros, they all just show up and everything's normal!
And then the radio freaks out and starts talking to Wanda, then explodes and Dottie's glass shatters and cuts her.
It seems to me that with the radio signal getting some interference that at least once in the song there is a tiny judicious audio editing to render the chorus as “Help Me, Wanda.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:23 AM on January 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
It seems to me that with the radio signal getting some interference that at least once in the song there is a tiny judicious audio editing to render the chorus as “Help Me, Wanda.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:23 AM on January 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Just catching up with this show starting tonight, and after the second episode I commented to my lovely wife, “oh neat, Disney has invented Life on Mars”
I am looking forward to more of this show
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:57 AM on February 6, 2021
I am looking forward to more of this show
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:57 AM on February 6, 2021
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posted by wabbittwax at 9:16 AM on January 15, 2021 [8 favorites]