After the first two episodes of WandaVision were released on Disney+, Disney and Marvel decided to put them out on a weekly schedule. This makes the problem of binge-watching non-existent. It also creates more intrigue for what’s to come since both episodes two and three have cliffhangers which drastically improve the likeliness of viewers coming back to see where the story is going.
As set up at the end of episode two, WandaVision is now in color. With this comes more of a 70s aesthetic. The laugh tracks, cheap sets, and intentionally fake special effects are nearly as prominent as they were in previous episodes. The new costumes and hairstyles that the returning characters adopt all solidify the different time period that’s being parodied. The set design is especially vital as represents the cheap, one-room settings the studios used to make up for their lower budgets.
At the beginning of the episode, the plot beat of Wanda’s pregnancy is continued as Vision and Doctor Nielsen must deal with the rapid rate of the fetus’ development. Due to this, Wanda starts to lose control over her powers, resulting in many over-the-top scenes of her trying to hide her abilities from the other characters.
The latter part of the episode takes a much darker path. One of the seemingly innocent neighbors, Geraldine, reveals that she knows about Wanda’s past. As this is all going on, two of the neighbors, Herb and Agnes are acting strange around Vision. They aren’t telling him anything about what they were talking about. This all culminates in an ending that puts episode two’s ending to shame.
It’s evident at this point that these first few episodes are building up to something big. Still, without any clear story, WandaVision is starting to meander. Any conflict that could be created through this concept is sadly lost since the majority of the show focuses more on satirizing shows of the past instead of pushing for a well-rounded story.
While the story structure of the show is messy, there will hopefully be a stronger effort in a long-form narrative. Disney is basically the only studio that could pull something like this off and get the majority of their viewership on edge to see what’ll happen in the next episode. There are going to be nine episodes in this series that will amount to a total of two hundred sixty-one minutes, so the next couple of episodes will probably just take their time in telling this ambitious, but ultimately static narrative.
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