An unusual couple indeed, the MCU’s star crossed lovers have found themselves on the small screen following the tragic events of Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame. Previously, fans remembered a distraught Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) still grappling with Vision’s death as well as her own powers at Tony Starks’starks funeral. Sharing a few tearful words with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), they reflect on the gut-wrenching loss of both Black Widow (Scarlett Johansen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). The movie ends on a vague note as to what Wanda will do next, but her pain and sorrow are palpable. But in the land of WandaVision, all that pain and anguish seem to melt away as Wanda and a resurrected Vision enter a world seemingly built out of their fantasies.
Drawing from popular American sitcoms such as I Love Lucy and Bewitched, the first two episodes of WandaVision are as quirky and charming as those classic 50’s television shows, with just enough suspense and mystery to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Complete with a live studio audience, viewers will ‘oh’, ‘ah’, and ‘aww’ right around with soundtrack, captivated by the idyllic suburban neighborhood Wanda and Vision now call home. Although distanced from their former lives as former Avengers, Wanda and Vision never quite seem out of place in their 50’s lifestyle. Instead, they seem to be right at home in embracing the banality and simplicity of a normal life. It’s everything Wanda could’ve ever dreamed of, yet even dreams aren’t without consequence as there is always the possibility of waking up. Throughout the two episodes, we see this minor interruption dealt with quite swiftly by an adamant Wanda. At the end of episode two, a strange noise outside pulls Wanda and Vision from their home to the street. Cautiously, the couple wanders into the street to discover the source of the noise they’d heard. Slowly, they watch as a man in a beekeeper outfit emerges from a manhole. He doesn’t give his name or why he’s there, but Wanda seems to take his disruption of her fantasy to heart. “No,” she tells him, and her point-blank assertion rewinds time back to when she was safe inside her home in Vision. While the highs of her new life of normalcy are certainly comforting, the flaws in her fantasy serve as stark reminders that something is amiss in this town.
Although no major reveals have been made, quite as yet, episode 2 did conclude with Wanda becoming pregnant Her stomach grows almost sporadically, indicating that her and Vision’s tiny suburban family is about to get bigger. As Wanda and Vision gaze into each other’s eyes lovingly, the set around them slowly morphs from black and white to color right before their eyes. Change is coming one way or another, though if it’s the kind of change Wanda desires remains unclear. As episode 2 concludes the camera captures a close-up of Wanda’s face. She’s the picture of a happy, healthy housewife, yet lingering in her eyes is a sort of fear. As we cut to black there’s a sinking feeling viewers experience at the uncertainty of what lies ahead of them.
As the MCU’s first television series WandaVision does not disappoint. Its humor and quirky plotlines set the perfect tone that pays homage to classic television while setting the pieces in motion for a larger more sinister mystery to play out. As the black sheep of the Avengers, Wanda’s always been the one to struggle the most with the darkness living within her. While she’s toed the line of villainy in the past, here we are exposed to a brand new side of Wanda a softer side that she’s perhaps never been allowed to exhibit before. One can only imagine what will happen when the jig is up. When the life of her dreams unravels, will it be Wanda that falls apart? We’ll just have to stay tuned and see.
