In its opening two episodes, WandaVision doubled down on the sitcom heavy hijinks, with a few sparing moments of reality seeping through. ‘Now in Color’ continues that trend, but borrows more from the bell-bottomed gaucheness of the 70s, as Wanda and Vision's suburban life is now in full technicolor. Though hiding baby bumps and rogue storks is all in good fun, it's the breaks in character that truly stick this week, as we start to get more of a feel for what might really be going on in Westview.
In ‘Don’t Touch That Dial’, one of the most notable moments is Emma Caulfield Ford’s Dottie seemingly falling out of touch with this “reality” and coming back down to earth, so to speak. In the midst of the staged black and white world of that episode it’s a largely disturbing scene and it makes you wonder how this woman came to be a part of this “show” that may not be as innocent as it first appeared to be.
‘Now in Color’ starts off with the same level of meta humor as the previous episodes did, only the comedy stylings are a lot more over the top – in keeping with the more vivid setting this week. As Wanda and Vision try their utmost to hide Wanda’s alarmingly growing baby bump, they also have to deal with the supernatural ramifications of this sudden pregnancy, as Wanda’s powers start to cause chaos around their home. These side-effects ranged from the slightly peculiar (glitzy kitchen appliances) to the completely bizarre (the aforementioned rogue stork).
It’s hard to tell if Wanda losing control of her powers is simply down to the rapid pregnancy and birth of her twin boys, or her slowly losing control over this reality that seems to be growing increasingly more complex by the minute. She had to make several “adjustments” this week to keep the charade going. Vision himself seemed to be the first to break, here, questioning their current circumstances. He’s quickly put on rewind before he can get any further, though.
Similarly, Geraldine’s visit to Wanda’s home is ripe with moments of hidden exposition. After helping deliver Wanda’s twins, Geraldine is confronted by Wanda, who seems offended when her visitor reminds her of the true circumstances of her brother Pietro’s death. Wanda also notices a mysterious necklace around Geraldine’s neck. It’s enough to send Westview’s newest resident packing, as Vision arrives back into the house right after Geraldine had to “rush home”. Also of note are Agnes and Herb’s comments to Vision about Geraldine seemingly having no “connection” to anybody in Westview and arriving here for reasons that remain undisclosed.
As Wanda seems to regain an eerie control over her surroundings again, we cut to Geraldine being literally flung across the town line, and back into a more “Marvel” looking reality. Though we still have no confirmation that this “real world” is actually what it seems, it sure looks as though Westview is under some kind of spell. Whether it’s all by Wanda’s hand remains to be seen, but her actions here seem to speak volumes about how much of this story is her own doing.
Plus
Not enough Kathryn Hahn this week. Minus one point.
I’m assuming there’s some sort of significance to Herb cutting through that wall.
This week’s “commercial” is for “Hydra Soak”. Another key MCU reference.
Doctor Nielsen never made it on his trip to Bermuda. Small towns are “hard to escape”.
Wanda’s twins are named Tommy and Billy.
Being from Europe, I found it way too hard to not put a "u" in the "color". You guys spell weird.
He Said, She Said
Dottie: “Phil? Do these earrings make me look fat?”
Wanda: “I had a brother. His name was Pietro.”
Geraldine: “He was killed by Ultron, wasn’t he?”
Agnes: “I better get going. That macramé’s not gonna hitch itself!”
The ending of ‘Now in Color’ has left the show in a great position. Having established a solid ability to embrace different genres of sitcom, we can finally start to see WandaVision bleed the classic stylings of these initial episodes into the bigger, bolder world of comic book action.
9 out of 10 rogue storks.
It's funny that this is also the first time we hear what "Sokovian" is supposed to sound like. I thought they were just going to have them continue to speak English in vaguely Eastern European accents!
ReplyDeleteI heard that some of the words used in her song sounded like Serbian, so I guess maybe Sokovian is supposed to be a Serbian sister language? I would love to know the lyrics of what she sang.
Oh, never mind, my question has already been answered. https://www.cbr.com/wandavision-translated-sokovian-lullaby/
ReplyDelete"I waited for you
and this day has come.
My heart became a home full of light,
full of light."
Great review! Can’t wait to see what happens next on the show
ReplyDeleteWhat's with the hexagons? They were most noticeable in the faux credits sequence here but they were also in the faux credits sequences in the first two.
ReplyDeleteI have so many questions about the twins. First of all, are they real? Will the show end with Billy and Tommy Maximoff-Vision as real human beings? Secondly, are they going to age faster as Wanda's pregnancy progressed so quickly?
I'm glad they finally mentioned Pietro. Also I don't want to spoil anyone, but if you're not spoiler-phobic, maybe you should look up Teyonah Parris (Geraldine) on IMDb. And that's all I'm gonna say on that.
I know what the logo on Geraldine's necklace means (I've been reliably informed by multiple comic readers) but I still think it looks like a cult symbol more than anything else.
Wanda is probably my favorite Marvel Studios character, so I still have high hopes for this series. Episode two was a lot of fun (Emma Caulfield! Drunk Vision!), but all in all, WandaVision has the same problems that Marvel's Netflix series did: more episodes than stories to tell. It's a bit better paced, but for a serialized season, it's taking too long to get to the meat of the story.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe I'm wrong and looking back, once we know what is really going on, these episodes will be the most amazing thing ever. I dunno. I'm probably not buying the whole sitcom setting. Or maybe it's just that this episode wasn't funny at all.
When Geraldine mentioned Ultron, and Wanda calmly lost it, the story was ON! *That* is the show I want to watch.
I still think it looks like a cult symbol more than anything else.
Yes! I immediately thought of the Cross of Saint Peter.
I was a little confused by the first two episodes. Sitcoms are not for me.
ReplyDeleteBut this! Yes!! Now I'm in!
And yes, Sunbunny, I also looked up Teyonah Parris on IMDB because she looked familiar. I shouldn't have done that...:)
So people, if you don't want to be spoiled - IMDB is a no no.