WandaVision season 1

With COVID putting the brakes on Hollywood releases, 2020 marked the first year in quite a while where we didn't see any new Marvel films. Some cinephiles might rejoice with this break from a type of filmmaking that is arguably hurting cinema more than most might know but Disney have Black Widow primed and ready to go when they can capitalise at the box office. In the meantime, Disney+ has come into its own as the streaming platform takes the drip-feed approach with releasing new content to help prevent them from running dry of new shows while the production of future projects slowly continues in the background. 

The break in Marvel content though came quickly to an end when February saw the release of WandaVision; a nine part episode show focusing on the relationship between Wanda / Scarlett Witch and her supposedly dead boyfriend, Vision, as they live a blissful in a suburban town in New Jersey during what appears to be the 1950s. Wanda is loving their married life together but Vision suspects their world isn't quite right with mysterious objects appearing at random and their neighbours acting odd at times. 

Stopping myself before I run into spoilers, the show takes a mix of comedy from such shows as I Love Lucy and combines it with a dark twist as the story progresses. The show is a strange one to begin Disney's new run of Marvel films as the two leads were rarely the main focus of attention throughout the films and the format itself, which can be very slow, won't immediately appeal to everyone. Thankfully, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany really do shine in the leading roles and kept me engaged just enough so that I would come back a week later for the next episode.

My problems with the show however fall with its calculatingly slow approach at the beginning which would tease just enough to the audience asking questions, its blatant nods to setting-up for future shows, a rather forgettable set of supporting characters later introduced in the season, and an unnecessarily bombastic action climax towards the end that felt like something from a DC film. WandaVision succeeds on originality within some aspects of the show but it never truly satisfied. The best moments in the show are when we get to see Olsen and Bettany together but as soon as the story drifts from focusing on them, there was a sharp dip into the weaker aspects of Marvel's character writing. 

WandaVision has moments where when it dares to be different that it truly succeeds but much of this is undercut towards the end in the final episode. It was still entertaining and, again, it really put the talents of its two leads on display but by the end I couldn't help feeling disappointed. Marvel fans will still find a lot to enjoy but for everyone else, this isn't essential viewing.