Directed by Matt Shakman
Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Teyonah Parris, Kathryn Hahn, Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and Evan Peters
Running time: about 30 minutes
New episodes Fridays on Disney+

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, The Red Herring

To me, the highest compliment I can give WandaVision so far is that it is leaning into the episodic nature of television. This doesn’t feel like a movie at all. The pacing and storytelling mimics television, even when not directly parodying it. Each episode has its own arc, rising and falling accordingly, and there are even cliffhangers and surprises. The efficiency of the show is also impressive because, if you lop off the very long end credits, each episode is just a bit longer than your average sitcom. These two most recent episodes have leaned into the family sitcoms of the late 1980s/early 90s and late 1990s/early 2000s for inspiration, and watching them back to back really underlines how the tone and approach of these shows have differed over that time but, at their core, shows like Full House and Malcolm in the Middle are largely about the same things: characters trying to assert individual personalities within a family unit.

Of course, in the artificial realty of the Hex, this gets even more complicated. With Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) controlling everything, what does it even mean to be an individual? We’ve now seen two examples of how Wanda controls the Westview citizens’ actions, keeping everything attuned in a pantomime of suburban life. We have also seen that her immediate family seems to have a little more autonomy. Vision (Paul Bettany) is allowed to breach the barrier at the end of "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" and Pietro (Evan Peters) is much more aware of what’s happening than anyone, besides Wanda. 

There’s been a lot of speculation about where the show is headed for its final three episodes and, as a longtime lover of the genre and their comic book source material, I have some quick thoughts about what I would like to see and not see as we bring this chapter to a close. 

First, I really don’t want there to be some as-yet-unrevealed villain. So far, the show has done a good job exploring Wanda’s trauma without making the show too heavy, and I hope they continue to thread that needle. This show doesn’t need a ‘big bad,’ so much as it needs empathy. The ending of Paranorman comes to mind, but framing this from Wanda’s perspective would make it even more resonant. 

Secondly, if/when they bring the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I doubt it will be by bringing back a previous version of a character. I think this is a one-off fun thing teasing multiple universes, but I don’t think we’re going to see Professor Xavier anytime soon. That said, it was nice seeing Evan Peters. He was kind of a one-trick pony in the Bryan Singer movies, but he’s already done so much more in his brief time on this show so far. It’s really nice for me, since I find Aaron Taylor-Johnson annoying sometimes. 

VisionQuest:

• Seeing Billy in Wiccan’s costume gave me a much more emotional reaction than I expected.

• Wanda saying “kick ass,” a character played by the other version of her brother, was hilarious. 

• Next week’s sitcom should be like The Office or Parks and Recreation, right?