WANDAVISION (SPOILERS, SWEETIE!)

[LadyTevar]

Seriously, I can't believe there isn't already a thread for this. Spoilers for the first two episodes below.



Ok. My take, and remember I'm an old fart that remembers "I Love Lucy", "Bewitched", and "I Dream of Jeanie".

Their take on those old shows are exactly dead-on. The corny situations, the crazy neighbors, the way everything ties up with a bow at the end, all faithfully reproduced. Yes, some of the jokes were groaners, have you ever SEEN what was said/done on those old shows?
But, it's also expertly skewered. The Twin Beds in the bedroom, that Wanda shoves together, and then they hide under the covers. TV Censors of the day would have had an apoplexy! The snotty town socialite (Dottie, played by Buffy's Anya), Agnes the Noisy Neighbor, those are great tropes, but then you have the racially diverse cast, which again, Was Not Done!

And then we have The Mystery.
First Episode, they have no idea why a date was circled. They have no memory of where they'd come from, of why they moved there, even no memory of getting married. No rings (Wanda solved that). Vision does Data Entry, but doesn't know what or why. Even with the Boss's explanation it's not clear.
Then comes the Commercial for Stark Toaster. More on that later*
Back to the dinner, all done "Bewitched"-style, and the Boss starts choking on a chocolate-covered strawberry. His wife thinks he's playing up... and then the boss and his wife seem to get stuck, repeating the same actions. Wanda has to tell Vision to do something to break it.
And, instantly, All Is Well, Boss Loved Dinner, Happily Ever After so suddenly it's a 180 from his original views.
Boss and Wife leave, cue sappy/happy ending...
... and we see a much more modern computer setup straight out of NASA, with the S.W.O.R.D Logo** on the screen and on the notebook. We don't see the man's hand, or see what he wrote, but the WTF is real.

2nd Episode:
Time's moved on. Against the backdrop of the Town Talent Show (and Vision's adventure with Big Red Gum), we have Wanda meeting the Town Socialite and her Stepford Wife ladies. Again, please note that Wanda, Agnes, and the two non-whites, Monica and Beverly, are not in Dottie's little circle, but in a real sitcom of the time you'd not have them there at all.
The Commercial for the Perfect Men's Watch. More on that below *
Again, MUCH weirdness. The noises outside the window. The *BRIGHT* Red/Gold helicopter in the B/W rosebush, with the SWORD logo**. The song on the radio "Help me Rhonda (Wanda?)", interrupted by a man's voice asking "Wanda, who is keeping you there?". The *BRIGHT RED BLOOD* where Dottie cuts herself. At the end, the sudden burst of color, revealing the wallpaper behind them is a mosaic of stylized Hydra logos!! The SUDDEN PREGNANCY.
And, the noise starts up again as it's suddenly NightTime outside, and the "Beekeeper" emerges, with a beesuit marked with the SWORD Logo **, surrounded by buzzing bees (?), and the quick look at the face (Vision?) before Wanda REWINDS TIME back to the "Hey, I'm pregnant" Happy Ending.

Now, let's cover a few things.
* The Commercials. No clue who the man and woman are, but I'm betting they'll be important later. However, both of the commercials are EasterEggs.
The first one, for the toaster. Do I really need to explain Vision is Stark's dolled up toaster? Also, the ominous beeping before it popped up, exactly like a bomb counting down. Maybe, like the Stark Bomb that took out Wanda's home that she wound up trapped beside, wondering when it'd go off and kill her and her brother?
The second one, for the Watch Every Man Should Have. The STRUKER Watch, with the nice Hydra symbol on the face. Struker was the Hydra Doctor who mutated Wanda and gave her powers.

** S.W.O.R.D. That nice sword and circle logo is for the "Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division", the mate to SHIELD, concerned with Extraterrestrial Threats to the Planet. Why are they tied into this? Are they trying to reach Wanda?
Oh, S.W.O.R.D. was created by Joss Wheldon in his run with Marvel. It *might* have been where Fury was taking his 'vacation' in the EndCredit of Spiderman: Far from Home.

One last thing, that I'm not sure about. Monica, the young black lady, **MAY** be the young girl in Captain Marvel, all grown up. She **MAY** be the head of S.W.O.R.D.
These are internet rumors, so I have no clue if it's Fanboys going nuts, or an actual EasterEgg/PlotPoint.
And Agnes *MAY* be just a reference to Agatha Harkness, Wanda's comic-book mentor. She is definitely acting as a mentor here.

[Broomstick]

Ok. My take, and remember I'm an old fart that remembers "I Love Lucy", "Bewitched", and "I Dream of Jeanie".

Their take on those old shows are exactly dead-on. The corny situations, the crazy neighbors, the way everything ties up with a bow at the end, all faithfully reproduced. Yes, some of the jokes were groaners, have you ever SEEN what was said/done on those old shows?

Dick Van Dyke was a consultant on the series. I'm sure that has something to do with the spot-on homage to the 1950's and 60's sitcom genre.

[LadyTevar]

Dick Van Dyke was a consultant on the series. I'm sure that has something to do with the spot-on homage to the 1950's and 60's sitcom genre.

I did not know that. Excellent idea pulling him in. I'll bet he helped with the physical comedy as well.

[Majin Gojira]

What sucks for me is that those goofy comedy/social awkwardness moments hit my anxiety dead on. Stupid generalized anxiety disorder.

I actually find the intrusions of the weird and other-ness comforting.

So far the show has been hard for me to watch, but things seem to be escalating in that regard, so I look forward to future events in this series.

But just from a craftsmanship standpoint, not only did they get the writing down, they got the FX down too! Gotta give props for that.

[Crossroads Inc.]

I have still not figured out whether the FX are ACTUAL dishes and cloths on strings being moved around like they did in the 50's
Or if they went though the trouble of making high end CGI Effects.... that simply LOOK Like they are being carried by strings like in the 50's/

[LadyTevar]

I have still not figured out whether the FX are ACTUAL dishes and cloths on strings being moved around like they did in the 50's
Or if they went though the trouble of making high end CGI Effects.... that simply LOOK Like they are being carried by strings like in the 50's/

I vote "Why spend on CGI when you can do it cheap?"
Which would be another reason to have Dick Van Dyke there, he probably knew a few of those old tricks. That way they can save the FX budget for the stuff you can't do with strings, like passing a hat through your body.

And, did anyone catch the "My husband and his indestructible head" bit? That was one of those I had to look back and say "OOOF".

[Crossroads Inc.]

And, did anyone catch the "My husband and his indestructible head" bit? That was one of those I had to look back and say "OOOF".

I cringe at mentioning this, but someone already did an animated gift of that moment spliced directly with the "crunch" moment at the end of infinity war :..(

Also I find it amazing that legend himself, Mr Van Dyke is helping coordinate the show.

[Broomstick]

I have still not figured out whether the FX are ACTUAL dishes and cloths on strings being moved around like they did in the 50's
Or if they went though the trouble of making high end CGI Effects.... that simply LOOK Like they are being carried by strings like in the 50's/

I heard they actually went back to the old cheesy effects. But I'll also admit I haven't researched that thoroughly.

[Broomstick]

Also I find it amazing that legend himself, Mr Van Dyke is helping coordinate the show.

One reason Mr. Van Dyke is still tap-dancing on top of desks at 95 is because he keeps busy.

[wautd]

Saw the first two episodes and am liking the originality of it. Also, the plot tickens...

[Agent Fisher]

Loving it so far, and getting some House of M vibes with Wanda and this town.

[Galvatron]

I can't help but keep wondering if this is how the MCU will get mutants as a subversion of her "no more mutants" bit from House of M.

[LadyTevar]

EPISODE 3 IS OUT

Holy shit did they pull out the 70s for this one! Full-on "Partridge Family" intro, the makeup, the CLOTHING! The Afros and Sideburns! Hell, even Wanda's prego outfit with those gogo boots! And Geraldine's blue outfit! I LOVED IT! I want one like it now!

But.. MUCH MORE Weirdness, and not just Wanda giving birth in less than 24hrs with her powers going nuts. (Although the Stork stalking her was hilarious, especially when she couldn't get rid of it. Cue not-so-hidden reference to an old BirthControl advert)
We have the neighbor with an electric pruner that can cut concrete blocks, seemingly without him noticing.
We have Vision trying to tell Wanda there's something weird going on -- and glitching back to restart the conversation (for a second I thought the TV Signal actually Glitched!).
We have the commercial for HYDRA SOAK (the new version of "Calgon take me away!").
We have the Doctor wanting to go to Bermuda, but his car breaks down, and then heavily hinting "you can never leave small towns."
We have the neighbor whispering to Agnes, and them reluctantly informing Vision that Geraldine only showed up recently, has no husband/family nearby, and worst of all Doesn't Have A Home in Westview.

We see why Geraldine doesn't 'fit in'. Not only is she NOT terrified by Wanda's powers going nuts, she's wearing a SWORD logo. She also knows Wanda had a twin, and that Ultron was involved in his death.

The eeriest part was the look on Wanda's face when she told Vision that Geraldine went home...
... then we see Geraldine getting thrown out of Westview. Very Literally.

So, who set up the containment zone around Westview? Is the military presence SWORD or HYDRA? Will we see Geraldine again inside Westview, or will she be our "outside view" from now on?

Oh, I'm going to speak to a Slavic friend of mine to see if he understood the Lullaby. I want to know if it's real, or something they made up for the show. It was pretty, and I want to know how it sounds in English.

[Broomstick]

You forgot to mention the 70's Blue Eye Shadow Geraldine had on.

It's getting creepier in many ways, more of the weird soaking through.

They are really capturing the essence of each decade's sit-coms. Also subtle stuff, like the inside of the house not matching up with the outside, and those colored panels at the top of the screen in the living room where in reality you'd have a second floor or a ceiling which tips you off it's a studio set. Wanda and Vision's house exterior where people where filmed (as opposed to the stock image street view) was also very obviously indoor studio shots with false backdrops.

[GuppyShark]

I very much enjoyed the matte painting backdrops in the 'exterior' sets.

Has SWORD been established in the MCU at all?

[Elheru Aran]

Has SWORD been established in the MCU at all?

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom. ... /S.W.O.R.D.

It had a mention in a deleted scene in Thor, and was hinted at in Agents of SHIELD but never pursued. This is the first time it's appeared in a MCU work proper.

That wiki, incidentally, seems to confirm that Geradine is Monica Rambeau.

[GuppyShark]

"S.W.O.R.D

There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page."

Someone nuked it.

[LadyTevar]

I very much enjoyed the matte painting backdrops in the 'exterior' sets.

Has SWORD been established in the MCU at all?

Wikipedia SWORD page

[GuppyShark]

"S.W.O.R.D. had an undercover operative in the X-Mansion. In Astonishing X-Men vol. 3, #17, the identity of this undercover operative was revealed to be Lockheed."

I hope they do something better with it in the MCU.

[LadyTevar]

On a different note:

Early 70s sitcoms were light and breezy, "The Partridge Family", "The Brady Bunch".
Late 70s sitcoms took a different turn. "Sanford and Son", "All in the Family", "The Jeffersons", "One Day at a Time", "Good Times", "Alice". Family Units now had divorcees or widowers with grown children. The humor was sharper, and there were more POC. Language was sharper too (KISS MY GRITS!). And don't forget "Mork and Mindy"!

I don't know if WandaVision will show that part of the 70s, before moving onto the 80s family sitcoms. I wish they would, it was a big twist that came in less than 5yrs.

But, I guess they'll skip those and go straight to the 80s for "Family Ties", "Growing Pains", "My Two Dads", and most importantly "Full House". After all, that's her sisters' show.
With a touch of "Alf", and some of the weirder shows like "Manimal" and "Automan". There's also "Starman" and "The Phoenix" that hit in the late 80s.

[Grand Moff Yenchin]

Whoa, big reveal episode going from "Ok....interesting" to "HOLY HOUSE OF M FUCKUP BATMAN!" and before you're get more the episode ends!

I like the part that at least some of the world had contingency plans in case people were snapped back, but still doesn't make me like the solution in Endgame.

[Broomstick]

I did like they handled the "undusting" of people coming back. I mean, it wasn't fun for the characters involved, I just like the way they did it.

[Galvatron]

So "The Blip" refers to both the disappearance and the reappearance now? I thought the disappearance was "The Snap" and "The Blip" was just the reappearance.

Does the world even know it was Thanos who did it?

[Broomstick]

Probably a lot of people DON'T know what happened. Why would they? Can't imagine governments publicizing their total inability to defend against an alien threat.

[Galvatron]

I think that ship already sailed when the Chitauri invaded New York City in the most public way imaginable.