I’m a pretty big Marvel fan. Now, I haven’t dived deep enough into the fandom to learn the history in the comics or spent hours reading theories on Reddit, but I have seen the movies and will avidly talk about them with anyone who’s willing to listen. After “Avengers: Endgame” there was an air of excitement among Marvel fans as we looked forward to Phase Four — the beginning of a new convoluted plot line with the entrance of more characters and different worlds — and this buzz culminated into the Disney+ limited series every superhero fan binged these past two months: “WandaVision.” Taking on an entirely new and modern way to tell a classic action story, “WandaVision” is a hit that sets the tone for all of the Marvel content to come.
The most obvious thing that sets “WandaVision” apart from all of the other Marvel movies is that it’s a limited television series. The creation of Disney+ gives Marvel a platform to be more creative with what they produce. Their audiences don’t have to come to movie theaters to watch high-budget films on a giant screen. Instead, they can watch Marvel productions from the comfort of their own couches whenever they want. “WandaVision” being broken up into nine episodes with one episode being released every week keeps the suspense and anticipation that Marvel fans know so well, while giving writers more time overall to create a more complex story.
Breaking the show up to be released week-by-week allowed writers to experiment with how they deliver each new piece of the puzzle. The premise of “WandaVision” is that it tells the love story of Avengers Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and the Vision (Paul Bettany) through sitcoms. Each episode is dedicated to a different decade and pays homage to famous sitcoms from those eras. I never thought I would love a Marvel movie taking place in the form of a sitcom as much as I did. The interesting premise perfectly provides comic relief while setting up for the more intense plot twists to come.
The end of the show tackled a lot of important themes as well — themes that are particularly relevant to what we face in today’s world. In the show, Wanda faces grief and loneliness, which many of us face in our COVID-19 world. One of the most striking lines in “WandaVision” is when the Vision asks, “What is grief if not love persevering?” The show asks questions about how we can move on after losing everything and what makes up our identities, and I think those questions are important to ask our society now more than ever.
“WandaVision” is an impeccable start to what’s to come in the Marvel Universe. The end of the show tees up Olsen’s character perfectly for her next appearance in the coming “Doctor Strange” sequel, so if you haven’t taken the time to watch the show, make sure you check it out! Even if you’re not a Marvel fan, the show is just too cool to pass up.
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