Obligatory disclaimer: I am not dead yet. Real life still
sucks though. ‘WandaVision’ is proving to be something else entirely, so let us
talk about it, or rather – about the first two episodes, (yay marketing
strategy!). Ergo, what about it?
Where to start? Since its’ premiere 3 days ago, (Jan 15,
2021), people have discussed the episodes in question horizontally and
vertically, having uncovered practically all of the ‘Easter eggs’ in them.
Pause. However, here is my take on it, because I would rather talk about WV
rather than real life, (but that is another matter).
First, did anyone note that in the episode 1x02 team WV
inverted the old trope of the magician and the sexy assistant? Thanks to the
stick of gum, Vision went completely drunk, and Wanda had to take charge,
however subtly, and save the day and the magic show, while wearing some very
revealing clothing, (cough).
On its own, this is nothing too breakthrough or novel, even
by the wokeness’ standards – the idea of the wife being the smart/competent one
in the family was already utilized in such old time TV shows as ‘Bewitched’ and
even ‘I dream of Jeanie”, among others, (which were used to design the WV TV
series, remember?). In their turn, this strategy of ‘Bewitched’ and co. reaches
with its’ roots to the old folktales, myths, and so on, where a brave human
hero married a witch or some other supernatural entity, and lived happily ever
after – or not. Vision, of course, is not a human, but unlike the series’
premiere, where the two characters were shown more equal; in the episode 1x02,
Wanda was wearing the pants in the family, which brings us to her encounter
with Dot and co., but first…
But first, or second, there is the question of the WV’s
children, or rather – of their conception. Yes, it was very cute, lovely and
adorable as to how WV’s twin beds became one, and then they went under the
covers. However, Vision isn’t a human, rather he is a robot or a synthezoid,
and so does he have the actual equipment to, well, impregnate Wanda? WV’s
showrunners and co. talk about ‘The House of M’ comic plot arc for inspiration,
where Wanda’s children, Wiccan and Speed, were revealing to be not ordinary
mutant children, but rather manifestations of Wanda’s power made flesh. If WV
is based upon that, then it will be interesting to see as to how Vision fits
into this…but some educated guesses can be made.
Before that, though, let us talk about Dottie. The last MCU
character who had this name was Dottie Underwood from ‘Agent Carter’, (AC), a
pro-Leviathan Black Widow agent/assassin, turned frenemy to the titular
character and her friends against Madame Mask in the second and final season of
the show. This Dottie, however, is a different character completely, simply
because Ms. Emma CB played/acted her out, better known as Anyanka slash Anya
Jenkins on BtVS. Pause.
…Yes, I have my own issues with the Whedon family, but I’m
not being either pro or contra towards them here – rather, I want to point out
that this is probably the first time a BtVS/AtS alumni has appeared on a Marvel
TV show/movie/etc., and so far they have done a good job of being there.
Second, Anyanka is an interesting reference to WV – I won’t
get too in-depth into her character, right now there’s no indication that this
Dottie will remain in the WV-universe for too long, or will matter that much –
wait.
Here is what else we know about Wanda – she is going to
appear in the upcoming Dr. Strange movie as well – ‘the multiverse of madness’
or something similar. Aside from the fact that we still have no idea as to
whether she’s going to help the good doctor or hinder him, the rumors had him
going against some demon-like entity called Nightmare, and what do we have in
WV? An actress who had played a demon on BtVS, and a character – ‘the
beekeeper’ – who appears to be rather unfit for the rom-com world of WV so far.
Yes, the beekeeper. So far, there is already speculation as
to who he is, though the S.W.O.R.D. logo is certainly influencing the
discussion in a certain way. S.W.O.R.D. – in the Marvel comics – is a space
counterpart to S.H.I.E.L.D., and is something of a space CIA, according to
Cyclops of the X-Men, (in the comics, not the movies, cough). Here, in the MCU,
it is much less developed, (because of the obvious reasons), but they’re part
of the WV, so it’ll be interesting to see if they’re more than just the
replacement of S.H.I.E.L.D. …and if they were infiltrated yet.
No, seriously, AoS were notorious for recycling their old
plotlines…and they were associated with the Whedon family. Now, WV is already associated
with the Whedon family, however slightly, and, apparently, some cameo actor
from AoS’ S7 acts-out the mail carrier in WV, so I wonder how long it will take
for AoS’ plot issues to appear in WV.
Getting back on track, Agnes. She does appear to be MCU’s
answer to Agatha Harkness, who was Wanda’s mentor in the main Marvel universe.
Here, she is already acting as…an annoyance, yes, but also something of a
mentor and a guide to Wanda in the wacky new world that W and V ended up in.
Only this Wanda is already an Avenger and takes no shit from anyone, but-
But clearly, this world is not entirely ‘real’, not as, say,
the world of the last Spider-Man movie had been. The trailers are especially
clear on it, showing just how fluid the reality of W and V’s new home is… and
it also had Agnes tell Vision that they are all dead, ha-ha! Given how Vision
was the one – out of the two – to be killed by Thanos back in the A: IW film,
this raises a possibility of W and V being stuck in some sort of a limbo
between the lands of the living and the dead. Have to say, it will be
interesting to see as to what MCU does with that.
Anything else? Well, Geraldine is actually ‘Photon’, or ‘captain
Marvel’, aka Monica Rambeau, one of Marvel comics’ most popular superhero.
However, right now she’s little more than Wanda’s, and Vision’s, new friend…not
unlike Agnes, which is as expected, judging by the posters: these four are
going to be WV’s main characters.
As for Strucker,…listen. Yes, he is dead and he can come
back, but the same goes – technically – for Tony Stark. The two men did not
have too much in common, but both shaped Wanda Maximoff’s life very
dramatically – Strucker gave her powers, Stark had destroyed Sokovia via Ultron
– and set her on becoming the Scarlet Witch. Well, a Scarlet Witch, because
Agatha Harness – here, Agnes – also holds this title in the canon, cough. How this
will turn out in the canon is anyone’s guess, but I am betting against Strucker
returning to MCU… in WV, anyhow.
Moreover, as for Hydra… do not go there. MCU supposedly got
rid of Hydra in the CA: CW film… and then began to bring it back, repeatedly,
in AoS – but we have discussed AoS in length in the past, when it was running.
On the other hand, we already got the new S.W.O.R.D., which might be the same
old S.H.I.E.L.D., just done in a different wrapping – a different shadowy,
morally ambiguous organization, cough. What is their connection to Wanda and
Vision remains unknown, but both they and the aforementioned Photon connects
the titular characters to the more sci-fi and less fantasy aspects of MCU.
Let us recap. So far, WV is a ‘woke’ TV series, but because they
are done so well, no one is calling them out on them. They exist in a strange,
fluid world that is managed – at least in part – by Wanda, but the latter is
being challenged by someone or something in a beekeeper’s get-up that has ties
to a shadowy paramilitary intelligence-gathering organization, (that may or may
not have been infiltrated by someone or something else already), and there’s
still no clarity if both Wanda and Vision are alive or dead. In short, we are
in for just only two episodes, and already are in deep. This sort of thing
almost makes living tolerable, you know?
…Well, this is it for now. See you all soon!
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