In the past, I’ve reviewed certain TV shows episode-by-episode on this blog.
Two, actually. I’ve done individual episode reviews of the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” and the CBS All Access (now Paramount+) series “Star Trek: Picard.”
I felt like it was a good way to “dig into” the show in a more detailed manner. It also had the benefit of giving me some structure in my blog writing. If the show was released a single episode at a time, week-by-week, it meant I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel when it came to my writing.
Truth be told, I had considered doing the same for “WandaVision,” the first Marvel Cinematic Universe series to grace Disney+. In fact, I wrote a review of the first episode back in January that I never published.
Honestly, for those of you who watched the 9-episode season of “WandaVision,” you can probably understand my reluctance to analyze each episode individually.
“WandaVision” tries diligently to chart new territory in Marvel’s multi-threaded superhero saga. Instead of taking a familiar structure, the entire season (I’m assuming this is a one-off show) was built around popular TV sitcoms — from the 1950s to today.
When Disney+ dropped the first two episodes on Jan. 15, some fans were left scratching their heads as they watched a pair of comic book characters in the idyllic town of Westview hamming it up in a black-and-white sitcom that channeled “I Love Lucy” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
It’s not like Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) were the most developed characters in the MCU coming into this series, nor were they the most popular.
Sure, we all knew there was more to the story. The hyper-fictionalized sitcom life of Wanda and Vision couldn't be “real.”
My litmus test for any entertainment property is whether or not someone can enjoy it on a “surface level” — can someone with no prior knowledge of this franchise find things to like about the specific property in question.
We’ve all seen examples (in the world of filmed entertainment) where writers create something that is too ”inside baseball” for casual viewers to understand. Sometimes (especially in the realm of science fictions and fantasy) screenwriters are gearing things toward a specific audience that has to have a preset knowledge of the franchise.
This is a scenario that proved problematic for the entire “Star Trek” franchise in the 1990s. The longer that franchise went on — as movies and TV series were layered on — the harder it became for “non-versed” viewers to relate.
Throughout much of the “WandaVision” series run, I thought this was something of a problem.
I know some will suggest that you don’t have to be a die-hard Marvel fan to understand “riffing” on classic sitcoms, but a lot of those moments weren’t particularly compelling.
“WandaVision” was a slow build. Until viewers gained insight into was going on in the town of Westview — and what was happening outside of Westview — you had to be patient.
The series became more interesting as the narrative struck a balance between both threads.
I have no doubt that the “fan boy (and girl) class” on the internet found digging up those hidden clues to be fascinating.
I’ll be honest, I don’t like watching a show with the idea that I need to read a “subreddit” to understand what's going on — or to get the full experience.
For example, we had to go back and re-watch “Avengers: Age of Ultron” so we could gain more insight into Wanda Maximoff, her brother Pietro, and the creation of Vision.
I love what Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige has done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movies are entertaining and among my favorites of the past decade.
I just wondered each week if “WandaVision” was too bogged down in its clever premise for its own good.
To be sure, there were a number of bright spots in “WandaVision.”
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany were both terrific as they navigated suburban life in Westview (or “the hex,” as it became affectionately known). The existential crisis Wanda and Vision experienced during the season added depth and dimension to both characters.
I thought Kathryn Hahn’s performance as quirky next-door neighbor “Agnes” ended up being the most layered of the season. Hahn’s ability to convey volumes of emotion with a single facial expression was pretty effective.
In addition, I enjoyed the return of FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), a character last seen in “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (read my review).
Woo has one of the best lines in the 9-episode season when he quips, “So you're saying the universe created a sitcom starring two Avengers?”
I was also pleased to see Kat Dennings back in the role of Darcy Lewis. I liked her brand of snarky humor in “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World,” and hope we see more of her in the MCU. When S.W.O.R.D. brought her in to assist in their investigation of Westview during “WandaVision’s” fourth episode, I thought the story perked up considerably.
I also liked seeing a grown-up Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) in the series. When the character appeared in 2019’s “Captain Marvel” (read my review), speculation swirled that we’d soon see more of the character.
I thought the way Rambeau was integrated into the “WandaVision” plot provided a firm foundation for future integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Parris’s performance was solid — so much so that she could headline her own series.
Despite all the positives mentioned above (I intentionally left out other strengths that would have been spoilers), I think the filmmakers could have done a better job crafting a show that worked better on a “surface level.”
One of the joys of “The Mandalorian” is that you don’t have to be a die-hard “Star Wars” fan to buy in. It works brilliantly on the most basic level.
There is nothing more disheartening as a fan than feeling like you have to slog through multiple movies and TV series *before* you can watch the latest incarnation. This is a hurdle that can also afflict popular book series (“Do I need to go back and read all 17 previous novels before I can read the newest release?”)
Like the episodic sitcoms that Wanda Maximoff channels in “WandaVision,” the series needed to work better on a level that would satisfy casual observers. At least early on...
Here's hoping “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (set to debut March 19 on Disney+) gets the balance in check...
