Review: WandaVision & The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

*All episodes of WandaVision & The Falcon and Winter Soldier are on Disney+*

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

I was not planning on watching this show, because I didn't give two shits about Wanda and Vision, the two Marvel superheroes I thought were the least compelling. I bit the bullet and binged all the episodes at once and I can honestly say it is worth your time, especially if you are a Marvel fan (but let's be honest, if you're reading this review, you're probably a Marvel fan to some degree) The show starts off very entertaining, especially if you love or are, at least, familiar with decade-specific sitcoms. The first episode follows an I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke Show formula and emulates the 50s era style of sitcom television. They are newly married and are following simple sitcom plots. All of a sudden, the setting changes and they are now living inside a 60s-styled sitcom influenced by Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Then we see the entire town turn into a 70s-styled sitcom influenced by The Brady Bunch, then an 80s-styled sitcom influenced by Good Times, then a 90s-styled sitcom influenced by Full House and Malcolm in the Middle, and even a brief time in the 2000s following a style 100% pulled from Modern Family.

All of these plots are extremely entertaining to watch. The wardrobes, camerawork, and dialogue is pulled right from their corresponding decades. What makes it even more fun to watch is that Wanda still clearly has powers and Vision is still clearly a super robot, so each sitcom plot has a fun twist to them. This show is at its best when you don't know what's going on, because the fun is in piecing together all the hints they drop on you to tell you something is very wrong. Some surprises with be amazing, and some will hit with a mild "oh that's pretty cool." However, this show did not stick the landing for me in the last episode.

What I Liked (SPOILERS)

Wanda and Vision in General

Marvel got where they are now because of their incredibly-fleshed-out protagonists. However, when you have so many side characters, not everyone gets fleshed-out backstories. Not only were Wanda and Vision not given a whole lot of explanation before Infinity War (Seiously, I still don't know what Vision is), but their randomly-generated love story was so out-of-left-field that it felt like a joke.

THAT BEING SAID, this show was very much needed since they were planning on bringing Wanda to the forefront of the Marvel Universe. Let's put aside the fact that I'm in love with Elizabeth Olsen and focus on Wanda, who is now a well-written tragic character. Understanding who she is and what drives her makes her way more interesting now, especially with her backstory regarding her family. Paul Bettany proved he deserves more leading roles because holy shit was he incredible when it came to his dramatic chops. Though, I am still not a fan of how vague Vision is as a character. I don't really get attached to characters who's powers mold into whatever the plot needs them to be.

The Hostage Town

I very much liked the idea that Wanda, after discovering that she and Vision had planned on starting a life for themselves before his death, broke down emotionally and lashed out by creating her own reality. You knew something was afoot, but the fact that everyone in the town were real citizens of that town who Wanda has taken hostage to play house with was such a fascinating and compelling plot. It really makes Wanda into a tragic heroine and adds some moral grey-area to a Universe with the most obvious good and bad guys ever.

Jimmy Woo

God damn, we needed more Jimmy Woo.

What I Didn't Like (SPOILERS)

Wanda's Powers

This is very much a vice I have against magic. IF magic is being introduced, I like a hard magic system that has defined rules and limitations. I have absolutely no idea what Wanda's powers are and they really don't do much to explain what the hell is happening when she starts waving her hands. If you're going to be a superhero movie, I need some limitations and rules for these god-like people so I feel some sense of danger or realism in scenes. For Wanda's fight scenes, I don't feel shit because her magic can do whatever the plot needs it to do. I have to keep up with bending reality, space alien technology, literal gods, and now magic? Jesus, just bring back Captain America punching nazis.

The Villains

I'll get SWORD Boss Man out of the way and say that he was the worst villain Marvel has ever created. He was so underdeveloped that not one person remembers his name. His motivations are generic and his dialogue was so bad it was laughable. You could remove him from the show entirely and the plot would have been better.

As for Agatha, I enjoyed her for most of the show. Kathryn Hahn is one of the best supporting actresses working and she added some humor and mystery to the story. When it was revealed she the villain, I was like, "Oh interesting, I wonder what she's going to do?" Then...the Salem Witch Trial scene happened. One of my least favorite scenes in Marvel ever. The acting was terrible for one thing, but the absolute jolt in tone to deal with a magic witch from the 1600s completely took me out of it.

The Last Episode

God, I hated that last episode. The CGI wizard battle was cringe and boring. Vision using freshman-year philosophy to defeat new Vision was kinda cool but anti-climatic. I couldn't care less about any of the SWORD people. Worst of all, at the end, Monica looks at Wanda and says, "The people here will never know what you sacrificed for them." WHAT THE HELL? Wanda took them hostage and separated them from their loved ones for months just so she could play house with her fake kids. I'm sorry but Wanda was the villain in this story and I was hoping for more of a hint that she would at least be punished but Monica and Jimmy Woo were like, "there goes a real hero."

ALL IN ALL, loved the experimenting with different story formats. We need more new plots like this in Marvel. But for the love of god, stop with the CGI slugfests and give me a good villain. 7.5/10

---

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

I was actually very excited about this show. Though Sam and Bucky were underdeveloped before this show, I was excited because I knew they had great chemistry together. Turns out, they have amazing chemistry together. The story mainly follow Bucky and Sam as they deal with the lasting legacy of Captain America while dealing with their own personal struggles. On top of that, a terrorist group is creating chaos across Europe, which triggers Sam and Bucky into action. That's about all I can say without spoiling anything about the plot. Overall, it was pretty good. They had some amazing fight scenes involving Sam and his Falcon gear, Sebastian Stan proves he's a top tier actor, and the dialogue they give the two of them is great. However, the dialogue they give everyone else is not great, many fight scenes were kinda boring, and the villain (in true Marvel fashion) was laughably terrible.

What I Liked (SPOILERS)

The Post-Snap World

A world where 50% of the population disappears for 5 years and then all come back is such a unique setting that creates so many interesting and unique issues to set as the backdrop of conflict. I was so interested in anything regarding how people were getting along after returning from the snap. It is a little optimistic in assuming mass death and hysteria wouldn't rock the entire world, BUT it handles it pretty well for the most part in highlighting all the difficulties with dealing with such a mass displacement of people.

Sam and Bucky

A buddy-cop-style show with these two was a genius idea. Every time these two were on the screen together, it was so much fun. We finally see more of Sam's backstory with his family and how they have struggled with everyone returning from the snap. We also see a lot of Sam's personal battles we never got to see in previous movies. Seeing how haunted and lonely Bucky is was really important as well, and if anything, I wish the show focused more on him. That flashback scene in Wakanda when Bucky finally realizes he's not controlled by the Winter Soldier anymore was some of the best acting Marvel has given us BY FAR.

ZEMO

Zemo, bitches. He absolutely stole every scene he was in. Going from an underwhelming villain in Captain America: Civil War to a badass criminal mastermind that has some good points was very much worth the watch. Watching Sam and Bucky work with Zemo in an enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend dynamic was awesome.

Secret Super Soldier

I loved the super soldier that the government tossed to the side finally got his recognition. Even though I wish they introduced him a lot earlier in the MCU so the payoff would actually hit with some familiarity, it was good enough for me.

Captain Falcon

Sam finally taking the mantle of Captain America was very fulfilling. This dude has the shield AND the wings. He has always been the logical next Captain America and we all knew it, but watching him come to terms with himself was great to see.

What I Didn't Like (SPOILERS)

The Villains

My god, when it comes to creating shit villains, Marvel doesn't miss. Carly and her merry band of terrorists were so underdeveloped and boring to watch. Originally, I loved the idea of sticking up for the people who had to deal with those lonely 5 years and were then tossed to the side when everyone came back. That's a noble cause. They don't do ANYTHING with that motive. They could have at least shown us a flashback of what life was like during those five years BUT some little British girl killing people and then maybe feeling a little bad about it was NOT worth the screentime.

New Captain America

I'm sorry, but John Walker, as a character, was not executed well. The actor was...fine I guess. I loved the idea of the pressure of being Captain America getting to his head and turning him down a dark path. What the hell happened at the end when he showed up to fight Carly? After showing up bloodthirsty and fighting with no dialogue, he randomly becomes buddy-buddy with Bucky. Where was the lead up? Wasn't he pissed off after being discharged and wanted to kill Carly with a bloodthirsty vengeance? No? Water under the bridge? Okay, sweet.

The Dialogue

I always forget how cheesy Marvel's dialogue can be when it comes from secondary characters and doesn't deal with universe-level threat situations. The dialogue was so melodramatic that it ruined a lot of scenes for me. In many instances, my roommate and I would audibly groan when a line would be delivered with unironic seriousness.

Sam's Monologue

Look, what's keeping Marvel interesting for me is the post-snap world. When Sam lectures the senator about how he doesn't do enough to help people and for everyone to feel bad for Carly and her terrorists, I don't think it landed like the showrunners thought it would. He gave some valid points, and essentially said, "now fix it." Telling a Senator that he can, "feed a million people with a phone call," and, "move country borders with the touch of a button," just sounds like every person complaining on Twitter. Sam looks at the senator and says, "Do better." DO BETTER? 50% of the world's population has been displaced and the world is in absolute chaos - that is such a complex and unique problem that simplifying it by telling a single government official to "do better," wasn't doing the plot any favors.

ALL IN ALL, I enjoyed myself with this show. Fun action, if not followed with cheesy dialogue. Zemo looks like he'll be a force to be reckoned with in the future. But please...PLEASE...give me a villain to fear and not make fun of. 7/10