WANDAVISION (Massive Spoiler Thread)

[Matt D]

The saving grace here is that there won’t be months/years to speculate. The hole can only grow so deep and the plan has to be very tight.

[JonnyLaw]

Re: Monica’s friend

Spoiler

I’ve seen a lot of people still speculating that Monica’s friend wasn’t actually Goodner or whoever and the person who actually built it has yet to be revealed, and it’s still Reed.  While I don’t buy it, the theory was that the shielding on the rover, which was the best they had, failed much like the shielding on the Fantastic Four’s ship fails, exposing them to similar cosmic radiation. I thought it was at least creative.

 

[EVA]

That is some QAnon quality goalpost shifting.

[John from Cincinnati]

I think this is of course one of the pitfalls of entertainment based around Easter eggs and puzzles. Sometimes viewers shrewdly get ahead of a show, which can be either fun or annoying depending on the situation. But sometimes, everything looks like an Easter egg or a mystery when it's not meant to be. Sometimes that's on the show -- I'll defend Lost as much as anyone, but they spent years digging that hole themselves. But sometimes fans go way out on a limb with some theories. 

Of course the big solution to all of this is to have an emotionally resonant core to the show. That way, even if the "mysteries" don't pay off satisfactorily there's still something worth holding onto. I felt Lost had this. Regardless of what people thought the resolution of True Detective's first season ought have been, nothing could really undercut all the track laid by the McConaughey and Harrelson characters. 

Blessedly, WandaVision has what people see to be a fairly emotionally resonant core, so no amount of being let down by wild fan theories should severely harm it in anyone's eyes. And Matt correctly points out that they don't have too much time to really dig themselves a deep hole. 

Re: Monica's friend

Spoiler

Having any of the Fantastic Four make their debut in a show starring characters this far down the pecking order feels like a wild choice to me. But this universe's Spiderman made his debut with two scenes in the middle of a crowded movie that featured every Avenger to that point minus Hulk and Thor, plus Ant-Man and an also debuting Black Panther (!!!). So the MCU definitely makes some choices and what do I know.

 

[EVA]

It also did not help matters that the PR side of things sent Olsen & Bettany out to the press to make promises of a “Luke Skywalker-caliber” appearance. That likely contributed to people’s imaginations running wild at the slightest hint of this Mysterious Friend.

But, again, I think you minimize the opportunity for imaginations to run wild like that if you just write the scenes differently.  Like, I don’t think the WV team were even intending for people to be wondering who the person was, so it wasn’t like something the audience just ran with in the wrong direction.  It was an accidental mystery caused by imprecise writing*, not fully understanding the audience they were creating early on in the show, etc.

 

 

*In fairness, one of the interesting things I’ve learned from reading showrunner interviews is that they didn’t know whether the show would be dropped all at once or week by week when they were conceiving it.  It seems like the weekly model may have been a late decision.  So, it’s entirely possible that, as originally conceived, the idea was you’d find out this Mysterious Friend was really nobody that interesting within, like, 10 minutes because you’d be binging it, as opposed to there being this week for fan theories to run wild.

[Eivion]

2 hours ago, EVA said:

It also did not help matters that the PR side of things sent Olsen & Bettany out to the press to make promises of a “Luke Skywalker-caliber” appearance. 

I always figured this is happening at the end of the show, not the middle or second to last episode, but like the last five minutes of the show, maybe even a post credit scene.

[The Natural]

8 hours ago, EVA said:

It also did not help matters that the PR side of things sent Olsen & Bettany out to the press to make promises of a “Luke Skywalker-caliber” appearance. That likely contributed to people’s imaginations running wild at the slightest hint of this Mysterious Friend.

But, again, I think you minimize the opportunity for imaginations to run wild like that if you just write the scenes differently.  Like, I don’t think the WV team were even intending for people to be wondering who the person was, so it wasn’t like something the audience just ran with in the wrong direction.  It was an accidental mystery caused by imprecise writing*, not fully understanding the audience they were creating early on in the show, etc.

 

 

*In fairness, one of the interesting things I’ve learned from reading showrunner interviews is that they didn’t know whether the show would be dropped all at once or week by week when they were conceiving it.  It seems like the weekly model may have been a late decision.  So, it’s entirely possible that, as originally conceived, the idea was you’d find out this Mysterious Friend was really nobody that interesting within, like, 10 minutes because you’d be binging it, as opposed to there being this week for fan theories to run wild.

When you talk something up, expectations increase and it's a let down if it isn't what you wanted it to be. We'll see soon enough.

6 hours ago, Eivion said:

I always figured this is happening at the end of the show, not the middle or second to last episode, but like the last five minutes of the show, maybe even a post credit scene.

This.

[JonnyLaw]

I can see them introducing the Fantastic Four, or some of them, early in another show or movie. The Fantastic Four movie is probably two years out, and announcing the casting of one of them via surprise cameo would get a lot more press/talk going than the typical convention mass reveal.  That’s not to say it’s likely to pop up here, as I think Dr. Strange 2 is most likely for such a cameo, either F4 or X-related.

I finished my rewatch of the first 7 episodes in light of the last one, and I’ve no idea what’s really going on. 

Spoiler

 I don’t think Wanda knows what’s going on. She seemed generally confused about what’s going on in the first few episodes, up until the twins’ birth and Geraldine mentioning Ultron. She knows she has some control over things, obviously, but I believe it when tells Vision during their fight that she doesn’t know how it started.

Also, whatever Agatha is up to, fucking with Vision is a major part of her plan. She brought up Geraldine not belonging, which prompted Vision to say something was wrong in Westview, she did the “take it from the top” bit which led to another fight, and then the car bit at Halloween pushed Vision to try to leave. That’s one of the only consistent things throughout the show.

Last, I don’t remember if it’s been mentioned, but when Hayward led Monica through SWORD HQ to his office in ep4, they were likely repairing the damage from Wanda’s attack. If he was tracking Vision, then he knew Vision was in Westview when he asked Monica to take on the missing person case.

 

[Leonidas]

I might be stretching here but:

Spoiler

Dottie = Dorothy from Wizard of Oz and she's Woo's lost witness. 

 

[The Natural]

WandaVision Ep7:

Spoiler

Kathryn Hahn sings in It Was Agatha All Along!

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by The Natural

[Pete]

2 minutes ago, The Natural said:

WandaVision Ep7:

  Hide contents

Kathryn Hahn sings in It Was Agatha All Along!

 

Amused they blank out the spoiler in the title for people who just saw the spoiler in the episode.  

[The Natural]

3 minutes ago, Pete said:

Amused they blank out the spoiler in the title for people who just saw the spoiler in the episode.  

Yeah, made me chuckle also.

[Log]

55 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

I heard people in a local shop last weekend complaining that they didn’t release them all at once. I don’t think the show would have nearly the buzz it’s gotten if it had all been dropped for binge watching. 

I think you're right.  I was a little disappointed when Disney+ did that with The Mandalorian, but I've come to like it better.  I just find that I don't retain as much from the shows I binge.  Also, it gives fans a week to build interest/speculation on what's going to happen.  Definitely benefits a show like WandaVision that's got all kinds of mysteries.

[Craig H]

On 2/20/2021 at 4:24 PM, Eivion said:

I always figured this is happening at the end of the show, not the middle or second to last episode, but like the last five minutes of the show, maybe even a post credit scene.

The obvious money is on Dr. Strange considering this ties in to the Multiverse of Madness.

And yeah, I'll mark the fuck out to see Dr. Strange and hear the Michael Giacchino theme music for him.

[Craig H]

Regarding airing this weekly, the Boys was the first series I really liked to do the weekly airing thing when I was used to getting everything all at once. At first, I found that I hated waiting, but after that 4th episode and every episode after I loved talking with friends about the Boys every week. Then we did that again with season 2 of the Mandalorian, again with the Expanse, and now Wandavision.

It's at least convinced me that there is strength in airing stuff weekly.

[John from Cincinnati]

12 minutes ago, Log said:

I just find that I don't retain as much from the shows I binge.  

Agreed. And on this same subject, it should be illegal to drop an entire season of a show without the option for a recap before every episode. 

[The Natural]

26 minutes ago, Craig H said:

The obvious money is on Dr. Strange considering this ties in to the Multiverse of Madness.

And yeah, I'll mark the fuck out to see Dr. Strange and hear the Michael Giacchino theme music for him.

On the subject of Doctor Strange, we've had such a long wait for the sequel, Multiverse of Madness to come out. Normally it's two or three years. Longest to date was four years, Thor: The Dark World (2013) to Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

Edited February 22, 2021 by The Natural

[The Natural]

WandaVision Ep7:

Spoiler

We're with you, Darcy Lewis.

 

[JonnyLaw]

On 2/22/2021 at 11:03 AM, Pete said:

Amused they blank out the spoiler in the title for people who just saw the spoiler in the episode.  

This made me go check Spotify to see if the song is on there. It’s not... yet. They have been releasing the songs from each episode though, and 7 should be up soon. I’m guessing the blank is part of the official title of the song to avoid spoilers. 

[Zimbra]

Just now, JonnyLaw said:

This made me go check Spotify to see if the song is on there. It’s not... yet. They have been releasing the songs from each episode though, and 7 should be up soon. I’m guessing the blank is part of the official title of the song to avoid spoilers. 

That's very nice of them.  I'm still pissed about the Star Wars Episode 1 soundtrack spoiling the end of the movie for me.

[John from Cincinnati]

24 minutes ago, Zimbra said:

I'm still pissed about the Star Wars Episode 1 soundtrack spoiling the end of the movie for me.

I've never seen this before. They released THAT on disc fifteen days before the film hit theaters? Talk about running a sloppy shop. 

[Zimbra]

25 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

I've never seen this before. They released THAT on disc fifteen days before the film hit theaters? Talk about running a sloppy shop. 

Episode 1 was leaky in a way that would be shocking today.  A whole-ass workprint got leaked like a month before the movie came out!

I was a senior in HS, working at a movie theater, at the height of my Star Wars fandom when Episode 1 came out and I was way, way too invested in the hype.

[JonnyLaw]

4 hours ago, JonnyLaw said:

This made me go check Spotify to see if the song is on there. It’s not... yet. They have been releasing the songs from each episode though, and 7 should be up soon. I’m guessing the blank is part of the official title of the song to avoid spoilers. 

Nope.

Spoiler

 

 

[RIPPA]

Quick note to address something that @Hayabusasaid

For the last two weeks I have planned on splitting the Wandavision stuff out (especially because of how much F&WS stuff is coming out) but real life has prevented me from getting to it and then Friday hits and I don't dare go into the thread until I watch the episodes. (Part of this is because the spoiler boxes don't maintain their integrity when doing admin work)

I only got to Episode 7 just now. (And thank God my son had already watched the episode because he reminded me there was the mid-credit scene)

Anyway - I am off tomorrow to address some family things so if I get everything done in a relatively tidy time frame I can get to work.

[RIPPA]

FYI - the reported run time for Episode 8 is 47 minutes

That will make it the longest episode so far