Ok
Lol
At least I'm not the only one looking for Easter eggs in every corner. I swear though, those suits in the commercial look like movie designs.
I guess if Space Force can rip off Star Trek, Elon can 'borrow' from MARVEL.
WandaVision
- Thread starter firesprite
- Start date
Lol
At least I'm not the only one looking for Easter eggs in every corner. I swear though, those suits in the commercial look like movie designs.
I guess if Space Force can rip off Star Trek, Elon can 'borrow' from MARVEL.
Noeland
Master Member
Well . . . that all just seems odd. So very odd. If you go to the wiki page for the man funding the mission, Jared Isaacman, well, it seems fake. I can't find an active link for him under videos or photos that is more than 7 days old. Anything I click on that a few years old seems to be a broken link. And most of the photos of him look like an actors head shot or some kind of catalog photo.
Hmmmmmmm.
Hmmmmmmm.
firesprite
Master Member
Speaking of Reed Richards, did anyone see this ad last night & think it could be some viral marketing for the Fantastic Four?
This Super Bowl ad will invite you to join a billionaire's 'Inspiration4' launch on a SpaceX rocket
It's directed by Bryce Dallas Howard.www.space.com
I mean, it's called Inspiration4, with a circle around the 4, talking about taking 4 civilians into space for the first time?
Things that make you go "hmmm".
EDIT: Here's the actual website for the mission. IDK y'all...
Tell me if I'm crazy. Lol
I don't know, I think you MIGHT be on to something...
So, 19 days is the day after the penultimate episode of WandaVision, which would be a GREAT time for them to put in a reveal like that. Plus, Bryce Dallas Howard directed that ad, and she's been doing a lot with Disney of late.
It COULD be coincidence... but I'm not so sure.
Gimpdiggity
Master Member
I don’t know guys...the company that this dude runs, Shift4 Payments, is traded on the open market under FOUR.
So if it’s a viral ad campaign, it will be the most insane one ever seeing as they will have set up a fake company and started trading it publicly on the stock market.
So if it’s a viral ad campaign, it will be the most insane one ever seeing as they will have set up a fake company and started trading it publicly on the stock market.
Bloop
Sr Member
Sorry I'm coming to this a little late. I wanted to weigh in on the series so far. I'm going to be critical, but please don't mistake my criticisms for "hate." This show is subject to the same critiquing as any other work of fiction. I'm going to try not to get too bogged down with the minutia of how "believable" it all is- after all, this is a universe built on super hero comics. I definitely take it all with a grain of salt as to living in the reality that has been set up. But we've also had two dozen MCU movies that have generally established the rules and tone of these connected works, even if there is some variation. I think it's fair to judge the "reality" of this show by comparing it to how it fits in with those previous works, as well as on it's own merits.
Okay, here goes.
I don't find the sitcom parody aspect particularly interesting. This isn't just my personal preference, but from a critical point of view, we've seen these types of parodies done to death in other TV shows and works of fiction over the last several decades. It isn't new or fresh to me, despite the tonal shift from how these characters were previously presented in the MCU movies. While the actual recreation of the different sitcoms is fine, it's not really exceptional to me. It's a fairly easy format to recreate, and some of the lighting and camera shots don't quite have the right look of the sitcoms and the era of television they were recreating. I realize I'm nitpicking, but others have commented on liking the recreations, so I feel it's fair to opine on the detail of it. The writing is also simple parody, and didn't offer enough to me to be interested in these full episode recreations. Maybe because I've seen decades of sitcoms, I've become jaded on seeing the same jokes and tropes regurgitated once again, but I still think they need to do something more with the premise in order to retain an audience's interest. It feels like lazy writing to me. And it just feels shoehorned into the MCU reality. A little of this goes a long way, and it's already been a lot. If the idea is to create a mystery by throwing the audience for a loop, having us wonder why these characters are now so different and in an obvious fantasy world, it really isn't effective to me. We all knew this wouldn't be the reality of this entire series, so it had no impact when it was revealed. The supposed dramatic elements when the sitcom trope is broken within Wanda's realty don't really work for me because the sitcom reality is too farcical. I can appreciate when comedies offer dramatic moments, but it doesn't always work (side note - HBO's Barry is a good example of a series that's been able to effectively swing widely from comedy to tragedy).
I do think Olsen and Bettany do a great job with the material, as does Hahn, and I appreciate their acting ability and getting to see a bit more of their range (though I've seen more of Bettany and know his range more than Olsen). And giving these characters more personality makes them more personable. But it's a lie, because the characters of Vision and Wanda really haven't changed. These are just facades. It doesn't add to anything of the personalities of the actual characters. Unless we see them retain some of these traits at the conclusion of this story, the characters have not developed in any appreciable way.
Moving on: now we have other "real world" characters. But Monica Rambeau is not an interesting character to me. Maybe it's the actress, maybe it's the writing, or a combo of both, but I'm not interested in her. It's probably also because the character has barely been in the MCU, only seen as a child (who, honestly, wasn't very good or interesting) in Captain Marvel. Even the mother of her character doesn't evoke strong feelings, being a side character in just one film. It's evidenced to me by the lack of emotional impact when it's simply announced that the character died offscreen. They didn't even tie things together by having the character actually pass away onscreen - it's just a footnote. Monica, who we're aware of in her adult incarnation for the first time, simply moves on with barely a tear shed. The show could've spent more time on her story and cut some of the sitcom parody material.
Since I've rambled on a bit, I'll wrap up this part of my comments here. Basically, I'm not getting a strong emotional draw to the characters, and I blame that mostly on the writing. I still am interested in Wanda's trauma, and how she broke from reality and apparently created an entirely false one on her own, using a real town and real people in her delusion. I'm hopeful we'll get more of a connection to her "real" character in subsequent episodes. But if we just keep popping back into "TV Land," it's going to feel like we're treading water, that the show is drawing out the story just to fill eight episodes (or more, if this happens to extend into a second season or more).
Okay, here goes.
I don't find the sitcom parody aspect particularly interesting. This isn't just my personal preference, but from a critical point of view, we've seen these types of parodies done to death in other TV shows and works of fiction over the last several decades. It isn't new or fresh to me, despite the tonal shift from how these characters were previously presented in the MCU movies. While the actual recreation of the different sitcoms is fine, it's not really exceptional to me. It's a fairly easy format to recreate, and some of the lighting and camera shots don't quite have the right look of the sitcoms and the era of television they were recreating. I realize I'm nitpicking, but others have commented on liking the recreations, so I feel it's fair to opine on the detail of it. The writing is also simple parody, and didn't offer enough to me to be interested in these full episode recreations. Maybe because I've seen decades of sitcoms, I've become jaded on seeing the same jokes and tropes regurgitated once again, but I still think they need to do something more with the premise in order to retain an audience's interest. It feels like lazy writing to me. And it just feels shoehorned into the MCU reality. A little of this goes a long way, and it's already been a lot. If the idea is to create a mystery by throwing the audience for a loop, having us wonder why these characters are now so different and in an obvious fantasy world, it really isn't effective to me. We all knew this wouldn't be the reality of this entire series, so it had no impact when it was revealed. The supposed dramatic elements when the sitcom trope is broken within Wanda's realty don't really work for me because the sitcom reality is too farcical. I can appreciate when comedies offer dramatic moments, but it doesn't always work (side note - HBO's Barry is a good example of a series that's been able to effectively swing widely from comedy to tragedy).
I do think Olsen and Bettany do a great job with the material, as does Hahn, and I appreciate their acting ability and getting to see a bit more of their range (though I've seen more of Bettany and know his range more than Olsen). And giving these characters more personality makes them more personable. But it's a lie, because the characters of Vision and Wanda really haven't changed. These are just facades. It doesn't add to anything of the personalities of the actual characters. Unless we see them retain some of these traits at the conclusion of this story, the characters have not developed in any appreciable way.
Moving on: now we have other "real world" characters. But Monica Rambeau is not an interesting character to me. Maybe it's the actress, maybe it's the writing, or a combo of both, but I'm not interested in her. It's probably also because the character has barely been in the MCU, only seen as a child (who, honestly, wasn't very good or interesting) in Captain Marvel. Even the mother of her character doesn't evoke strong feelings, being a side character in just one film. It's evidenced to me by the lack of emotional impact when it's simply announced that the character died offscreen. They didn't even tie things together by having the character actually pass away onscreen - it's just a footnote. Monica, who we're aware of in her adult incarnation for the first time, simply moves on with barely a tear shed. The show could've spent more time on her story and cut some of the sitcom parody material.
Since I've rambled on a bit, I'll wrap up this part of my comments here. Basically, I'm not getting a strong emotional draw to the characters, and I blame that mostly on the writing. I still am interested in Wanda's trauma, and how she broke from reality and apparently created an entirely false one on her own, using a real town and real people in her delusion. I'm hopeful we'll get more of a connection to her "real" character in subsequent episodes. But if we just keep popping back into "TV Land," it's going to feel like we're treading water, that the show is drawing out the story just to fill eight episodes (or more, if this happens to extend into a second season or more).
Bloop
Sr Member
Here's a few specific critiques I wanted to mention:
- Monica was abducted and seemingly mind controlled. Yet when she returns and there are abnormalities with her medical tests, she brushes them off and Woo just allows her to return to duty, saying "she does that." The idea that no one would quarantine her until they found out what happened to her, what the lasting effects there may be, what danger she might present to others, is poor writing simply to advance the plot. I'm assuming we'll see some resolution to this. (Okay, I just Googled the character name to make sure I got her name right, and found out:
So now I at least understand her inclusion in the show. I now assume this scene might be a catalyst for her. It's still poor writing, though).She was one of the super heroes to bear the name Captain Marvel in the comics.
- To show that Monica's sitcom clothes still had the same properties of the clothes and bullet proof vest she wore prior to going into the town and sitcom reality, she grabs Woo's weapon and fires several shots at the clothes to prove it. I shudder to think that any government law enforcement agent would allow his side arm to be taken and just be okay with it, especially since SHE'S JUST BEEN MIND CONTROLLED IN A MYSTERIOUS ALTERNATE REALITY. Even if she had just used her own weapon, that's an extremely dangerous thing to do and (I assume) against protocol and should get her removed from duty. Yes, it's a movie trope that we've seen before (like in Captain America: The First Avenger), so it's understandable why it's been used once more, but again - it's lazy writing. Also, that's really not how Kevlar works.
- This is partly a question as much as a criticism, but why is the sitcom reality that Wanda supposedly created to live in as an escape from her trauma being broadcast over analog television signals? What reason would she have to broadcast the events of her new life to the world? It's one thing to create a fantasy world based on TV to live in, it's another to actually broadcast it to the world, and also edit the content to remove "glitches" in her reality (even if the signal was a bit hidden). I'm assuming we might actually get an answer to this question, but it still feels like the only reason is that it allows for the outside world (and us as viewers) to see the sitcom world Wanda is living in. If Wanda truly wanted to retreat from reality, there's no reason for her to televise her fantasy. Again, maybe we'll get a reason for it, but as of now, it seems questionable.
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ScourgiousJinx
Master Member
I was under the impression that Wanda said or hinted that she wasn't entirely in control of everything that was happening in Westview? If that's the case she may not be the source of the broadcast. But I could very well be wrong or have misunderstood something.
Bloop
Sr Member
Yeah, I assume we may find out more about this. There may be an in-world explanation that Wanda isn't totally in control - I mean, she obviously isn't - but whether it's her own mind or something else that will explain why it's being broadcast remains to be seen. As of now, it seems far-fetched to me, even in the fantasy world of the MCU. I keep thinking about Mojoworld from the Marvel comics - if I remember correctly from the 80s and 90s comics, it revolved around TV broadcasts. But I don't know if this show would try to incorporate it since it's pretty weird. But I guess they've already done some weird stuff, so who knows.
I think the 'broadcast' element is this-
Although it seems that Wanda isn't entirely 'in control', she IS the one whose powers are creating the illusion. Her powers come from the Infinity Stones. They were created at the Big Bang, therefore, they're emitting the the radiation picked up in episode 4 by Darcy. Since the illusion is powered by that radiation, it can be picked up by an OTA receiver like an old-school TV.
The opening & closing credits are just what's in Wanda's head, like if you were to create a theme song for yourself, but with her imagining what the credits would look like if her life was a show, which is exactly what she's projecting.
In other words, I don't think anything is being 'broadcast', but rather her illusion is just able to be picked up. Could be wrong, but that's what I'm thinking.
Just caught up with episode 5 - and I was finally able to catch up with this thread (I've been avoiding it for weeks).
No critique - I just like the show so far, and all the comments/reviews/theories it has generated over here!
No critique - I just like the show so far, and all the comments/reviews/theories it has generated over here!
Or more likely she watched them growing up in Sokovia where access to foreign TV was limited to older sitcoms.
I hear that a lot of Europeans can learn english by watching old american TV series, it's why you often hear they have a slight american accent when they speak english or use american colloquialisms.
Add to that the poignant likelihood that Wanda never had a normal childhood and no real experience with a stable nuclear family. I can only imagine how sitcom reruns might have seemed so alluring with what they represented. While I don't think she is so naïve to think they represent real world suburban life - they do represent an ideal. To a person who lost her homeland, parents, twin brother and her first and only love, this fantasy would have become that much more distant. And, in the wake of Endgame, where most people's lives and loved ones are restored/repaired, Wanda's is one of the few for whom nothing really changed. I don't blame her for using her powers to create some semblance of solace.
And even if a sitcom world seems ludicrous to us, I think it makes total sense that Wanda might retreat into a complete sitcom world, if that is her fantasy. Wouldn't you? Heck, if I had Wanda's power I would join the Firefly crew (pre-Serenity) and be a part of that family.
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I agree.
Riv
Well-Known Member
Not to derail the thread but that's a fascinating thought.
What show would I want to 'move into' and live in as if it were reality (taking away the conceit that it is a TV show)? And why? Hmm... Weirdly, Farscape was the first thing that jumped into my head. The world of Star Trek seems like a utopia, but I'd lack the desire to be a part of Starfleet, so it'd be even more boring to be an Average Joe there.
Gimpdiggity
Master Member
Star Trek TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT for me.
