Television Review: WandaVision

There aren’t many appointment television shows out there for me anymore. Shows that I make time to watch as soon as I can, week after week. But one highlight of the pandemic has been Disney’s Friday night offerings on Disney+. First with the second season of The Mandalorian, and just barely with WandaVision, I’ve looked forward to having something new and fresh to watch with the family. (Well, MC doesn’t watch, but Tomas and Daniela really enjoy it, and Denisa generally tolerates it.)

WandaVision was a very strange concept that I wasn’t sure about heading into it. Some sort of a strange adaptation of sitcoms throughout the last six decades combined with a Marvel superhero plot? I had no idea how it was going to work, and how they would tie things together. I know Marvel movies have gotten criticism in the past for all of then blending together. This hasn’t really been a complaint of mine, since I’ve felt like they’ve done a solid job at differentiating them all by style and tone. Thor Ragnarok vs. Guardians of the Galaxy vs. Dr. Strange vs. Iron Man? They’re all different types of movies, though all still definitely superhero movies. (Maybe the complaint might be “too many superhero movies,” but I still haven’t reached that point. At least not for Marvel. DC, on the other hand, tried to differentiate itself by having the “serious” superhero movies. The end result is that, outside of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, they’re almost all broody and one note and just blah.)

WandaVision continues that exploration into different territory, and I think it really succeeded. I loved how they blended comedy into mystery into action, though admittedly I’m already the sort of person who really likes some genre bending. In the end, the whole series felt like a uniquely Marvel-flavored experience, and it gave me a lot of the same vibes I used to get seeing Marvel movies in the theater. A very wise move in the middle of the pandemic.

I know some have criticized it for being things it wasn’t. For not having huge character reveals. For not setting up enough Marvel franchises for the future. For not being explosive enough. I didn’t really connect with any of these complaints. For one thing, I realize WandaVision was never meant to be the next big step for Marvel. It had that role thrust upon it due to the world going crazy. I’m impressed that Marvel is able to consistently deliver great characterization and plot development into characters I didn’t really know a whole lot about before the movie or show. Wanda and Vision? I mean, they’re fine and all, but they always struck me as third fiddle to the other characters. Now that they’ve had a better chance to shine, it’s great to see that they polish up so nicely.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but I’m still excited for it, and happy that we have some time for continued experiences like this. For me, this was an 8.5/10. A much needed breath of fresh air for my evening viewing experience. What did you think?

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