Wandavision

[Albert1981]

Well, I do remember that one of the reasons why Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane Watson was annulled, was because Marvel didn't think the audience would be interested in reading about a married couple, due to such a relationship being "unrelatable".

Very strange reasoning on Marvel's part. Thanks for letting me know.

[Ascended]

I remember the Russos saying the Sokovia Accords are still active. But I cannot find the source on that.

I think I vaguely recall hearing the same thing, though my memory shouldn't be trusted too much on this. But if it's true then something happened in the Endgame time jump since Steve was making no effort to hide who he was and Nat was running an Avengers group out of their NY base. Either they signed the Accords, got pardoned, or the Accords were still "active" but not enforced.

I doubt we learn much about the current state of the Accords in Wandavision, but I'm hoping one of the shows does delve into it, as well as what happened during the time skip. There's so much in MCU history that gets brushed aside and left unexplored, and these shows could be a good way to fill in the blanks and flesh stuff out.

[Frontier]

SWORD in the MCU is supposedly based around monitoring "sentient weapons," so that could be part of the Accords.

[Steel Inquisitor]

I think I vaguely recall hearing the same thing, though my memory shouldn't be trusted too much on this. But if it's true then something happened in the Endgame time jump since Steve was making no effort to hide who he was and Nat was running an Avengers group out of their NY base. Either they signed the Accords, got pardoned, or the Accords were still "active" but not enforced.

I doubt we learn much about the current state of the Accords in Wandavision, but I'm hoping one of the shows does delve into it, as well as what happened during the time skip. There's so much in MCU history that gets brushed aside and left unexplored, and these shows could be a good way to fill in the blanks and flesh stuff out.

By Infinity War we learnt Steve's fear was full of sh** over the Accords, we don't even get conformation Rhodey got punished when he disobeyed Ross. Say they did get pardoned, they still would have to sign the Accords to stay free. I hope we do get some news on the Accords since this should put Wanda in their crosshairs again.

[Frontier]

By Infinity War we learnt Steve's fear was full of sh** over the Accords, we don't even get conformation Rhodey got punished when he disobeyed Ross. Say they did get pardoned, they still would have to sign the Accords to stay free. I hope we do get some news on the Accords since this should put Wanda in their crosshairs again.

To be fair, it seemed like it was implied the Accords would be a much bigger deal than they ended up being. They didn't even really have anything to do with the actual conflict in Civil War.

[Albert1981]

The Wall Street Journal interviews WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-wan...se-11611684840

[Bunch of Coconuts]

Oh I am RAVENOUS. I too have grown VERY accustomed to the NOW NOW NOW of television.

I am getting up at 4am on Fridays to see each new episode because I don't trust my own restraint to not seek out spoilers when I'm at work. hahaha.

4am? Slacker. I get up at 2.

[Albert1981]

I really REALLY don't want to give the impression I'm not enjoying WandaVision. I totally and absolutely am. But I just have a few issues with it. And they are NOT exclusively from negative reviews. I HATE that a quarter of each episode is devoted to credits. I just don't got have any patience for that, sorry. And they're the SAME credits, and don't add any hints to the broader story (although they are very pretty). I think the show's writers are being WAY too miserly with information, and that's causing a lot of confusion surrounding the whole thing. I've read many questions asked on this thread, and not ONE has been answered by WandaVision in my view. I'm all for slow burns, but I don't think the status quo can continue for long (that's just my opinion). The ONLY things that really need improvement are the humor and pacing (in my opinion). And as the sitcoms get more contemporary, I'm REALLY hoping the jokes will be more relatable to modern audiences. And, once we get some answers about where the story is going, I think the pacing issues will fade away. Here's a quote I found from somebody who WANTS to enjoy the show on another forum, but is "fighting" his/her way through it:

"Man, this show is really quite boring, huh?

There's like 90% very light parody (more like reenactment) of Sitcom tropes without anything added to make it go beyond "Oh! That's like the thing! It's like the thing I know!" It's just a complete standstill in terms of plot until the last 2 minutes of every episode and one "Wait, that's not supposed to be happening" moment during the episode, with all of the rest being funny hijinx - only that they aren't really funny or entertaining, as they are way too busy to emulate other shows to actually tell an interesting, funny story in that episode.

These first three episodes seem like they should have been the first 5 or 10 minutes of the first episode and that's it. Instead we got an hour of "Hahaha, the laughing track is freaking out even though it's actually not that funny, can you believe it???". Yeah. I can. I've seen that joke many, many times. Only a lot more concise and a lot funnier.

As usual, the WandaVision team more or less nails the look and tone of the subject matter it’s homaging, but to what end? “Episode Three” sets out to dial up the weirdness and confusion, and it more or less achieves that goal; but the only challenge the series is presenting to us is that of gathering clues in order to speculate about what’s in the Mystery Box of the setting and setup. And that’s just about the emptiest, most patronizing way to keep people coming back to something.

Having a mystery box at the core of it all is good and cool. But it can't be the only thing a show has going for it. I only like to speculate and theory craft if I'm invested in the rest of the show, too. Wandavision doesn't provide me anything there - it just asks me to sit through 20 minutes of a largely uneventful imitation of sitcom TV tropes, actively looking for "clues" and events that actually matter in between the 80% of the show that boils down to irrelevant noise.

It's so obsessed with screaming "THERE IS A TWIST" at me that it just...does nothing else with its running time. They might as well could've produced an actual season of The Big Bang Theory, only for the season to end with the reveal that "HA! It wasn't Big Bang Theory, it was actually a Marvel show! What!". That...would be cool, I guess, but I still would have had to sit through an entire asinine season of Big Bang Theory. A twist (especially one that is so incredibly clearly *******phed even before the show started) and the clues leading you to that twist can't sustain an otherwise unremarkable show by itself for me."

There's a LOT that WandaVision is doing right though. Here's a more positive statement I found on that same forum in regards to the show:

"- The faithful recreation of sitcom eras (complete with era appropriate storylines and humor)
- The relationship between Wanda/Vision and Olsen and Bettany's acting against one another in general.
- The subtly unsettling vibe of this world and 'Lynchian' breaks in reality

So far, the show is concerned with setting up its relationships and mood while the plot is taking a back seat. I think that's fantastic, but I see there's def some people who might just be watching for plot would get frustrated or bored by it. That honestly just makes it more exciting to me. I love that the MCU did something that might alienate some viewers after spending so much time focused on making crowd pleasers that appealed to the widest possible audience.

I disagree that there isn't anything other than the mystery worth watching here. I feel like the performances of Wanda & Vision are both a lot stronger than they are in the movies, making them much more interesting & sympathetic. I've laughed at a lot of the in-jokes like Vision phasing through the footrest instead of tripping over it like Dick Van Dyke or Wanda hiding her pregnancy by holding a bowl of fruit in front of her that doesn't remotely hide anything. There's also some good fish out of water jokes (the guys all teasing other at the meeting & then Vision tries to join in and calls someone a communist). The style is amazing, from the intros to the commercials to the episodes themselves. And the fact that each episode has a different style keeps things interesting.

As far as big budget Disney+ series go, I'm liking Wandavision a lot more than the Mandalorian.

Mystery boxes can be interesting in their own rights, as long as it is a box that makes sense. Shows like Lost and its ilk has given mysteries a bad rep by not actually having a plan under the hood. This is a limited series that very obviously has an ending.

It has both plot and likeable characters, and I like it more than most MCU movies."

I agree with both perspectives to a certain extent. I am well aware that the series has been really well-received by critics and audiences alike. But I've NEVER seen a reaction to this show like the one I've seen. It's just mind-blowing to me. But as GenericUsername said before, it just makes the debates so much more lively!

[Albert1981]

I also think Marvel Studios did a LOUSY job of prepping viewers for the show. Here are a couple of quotes I TOTALLY agree with:

"Marvel Legends should be a narrated guide explaining stuff. If you never watched the MCU, those clips without context will confuse you more. That featurette works better as a refresher for people that have seen the movies. It’s lacking any meaningful context for anyone coming in fresh." I think Disney dropped the ball here, and did WandaVision no favors at all. Let's hope they do better with future Disney Plus projects.

[Omega Alpha]

This is a show that should have been released all at once, like the Netflix ones. It was certainly written that way.

[James Hunter]

This is a show that should have been released all at once, like the Netflix ones. It was certainly written that way.

That is not a sentiment I can agree with at all, I appreciate the wait between episodes and the chance to re-watch before each new episode. I do not need instant gratification. I do agree the first 2 episodes could have been one but though.

[Wiccan]

This is a show that should have been released all at once, like the Netflix ones. It was certainly written that way.

The whole concept of the show is a homage to shows that aired weekly and each episode has it's own unique theme, opening, costume and set design and even a different kind of humor. The idea that it is "certainly" made to be viewed in a binge just because there hasn't been superhero action or answers to the mystery in 2 weeks is quite shallow.

[vitaminbee]

This is a show that should have been released all at once, like the Netflix ones. It was certainly written that way.

Not really? Disney+ is not a binge release kind of platform because of how few shows they have to put out. As for WandaVision it clearly has been written to be weekly with the mystery slowly showing itself as it plays. It's just some people have lost their ability to watch things without devouring it in one bite that this feels off. It also is the first risky thing Marvel has done, writing wise, in the sense that it has turned off the people who just want fights and fx and not a little more. I'm sure after the next episode, people will be happier than before as we will probably be breaking the 4th wall of the sitcom world with spoilers:

Monica being blasted out of the bubble.

end of spoilers

[Witchfan]

WandaVision: New Scene Hints at Spaceship Action
https://thedirect.com/article/wandav...rambeau-action

[gurkle]

WandaVision: New Scene Hints at Spaceship Action
https://thedirect.com/article/wandav...rambeau-action

Isn’t that just from the POV of the helicopter?