THE ORVAL-ALL PICTURE: WandaVision marvelous start to phase four of MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is back after the devastating conclusion of the Infinity Stones storyline. WandaVision has kicked off the Phase Four of the MCU in a unique, amusing, and wondrous way. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their roles of Wanda and Vision, respectively.
WandaVision is the first-ever television from Kevin Feige that takes place inside of the already established MCU. The show takes place after the events of Endgame and sees the married Wanda and Vision living as a suburban family. The interesting premise here is that the story is told through the lens of a sitcom with every episode being a different era. As my Granny would giddily say, “That’s all I’m going to tell you. You just have to watch it.”
What I gathered leading up to the release of WandaVision was that a lot of people were not interested in this show. Mainly, it was because they had no idea what the show was about. The trailers only showed you enough to draw you in. And people didn’t know how they felt about superheroes living the life of a sitcom television show. For me, I was on board from the get-go. After the events of Endgame, Wanda became one of my favorite superheroes in the MCU and she was only in it during the final battle. We got a glimpse of how powerful she truly is. I was excited to see where they would take her character now that Vision is dead, and they gave us a taste of her extraordinary powers.
What I liked most about this series is that it is different for Feige and the people at Marvel Studios. We have become so accustomed to these big blockbuster films that it is refreshing to see them take a step back and focus on a contained story. Also, it is different in that it is filmed as a sitcom which is fun to watch. It feels like a comic book by this point. Our characters come together to stop a bigger threat, but then there are smaller storylines within the universe.
Every episode ends on a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting to put a hole in your TV. The words, “Please Stand By”, jump on to screen just as the story is about to escalate to the next level and leaves you waiting to see what will happen next.
Just like the films, WandaVision has incredible talent, a great story, and contributes to a bigger story. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany are wonderful on screen together. They have great chemistry and buy into that they are a married couple. I really enjoyed Olsen in this series as her character is fleshed out and we learn a lot about her past, future and what is going on in her head. In the last few episodes, she has some outstanding moments that will have you in awe and excited for where she is heading.
It is hard to find things I did not like about this series. The only thing I had a problem with is I felt a little let down after the season finale. Like everybody on the internet, I came up with theories after every episode as to what is going to happen next. My brother and I would talk about all the possibilities that could happen and none of them did. There are many hints of different Marvel characters that could potentially show up in the show, but never do. There is a certain character that appears in the show that kicks the door open for a multiverse. However, by the end of the show, it goes nowhere.
The sequel to Doctor Strange is titled, “The Multiverse of Madness.” So, I assume that we will get the multiverse eventually, but it was still a letdown in WandaVision that they pulled a fast one on us.
In the bigger picture, it’s our fault for being so invested in the MCU that we come up with these theories just to be let down, but I still thoroughly enjoyed what they did with WandaVision. It gave us enough to spend time with these characters and have some emotional moments with them. Although it didn’t end on a huge cliffhanger, they left some pieces there for us to put together as to what the future of Phase Four has in store for us.
All of the episodes of the season are now on Disney+. If you have an account and are a fan of the MCU, I recommend this show a thousand times over. If you don’t have an account, just bum off of your friends or something. Do whatever you must to watch this show!
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