The long anticipated Marvel show starring Elizabeth Olson’s Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision has arrived on Disney+. New episodes will be released on a weekly basis and I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
So here is the first recap of the new show! Second recap should follow shortly and then I’ll hopefully do the rest as they are released.
It’s the Wanda and Vision SPOILERS!
Don’t adjust your TV! The show is supposed to be in black and white – we’re back to the 50’s!
We start with an opening theme song explaining how Wanda and Vision have moved to the quiet town of Westview to live normal lives as husband and wife. They get a house and move in, though they now have to hide the fact he’s an android and she’s a witch from everyone they know.
You know, typical newlywed hijinks!
The happy couple get ready in the morning. Wanda offers to make Vision a delicious if artery-clogging breakfast but he reminds her that he doesn’t eat. She opens the fridge to reveal it’s empty and quips that that explains why they don’t have any food.
Vision then notes that there’s a heart on that day on their calendar. Wanda has no clue what it means and asks if he’s forgotten. He insists he can’t forget so she asks what’s special about the day. Vision says he’s not going to tell her if she forgot. She insists she hasn’t and they pretty much bluff each other that they remember what the day is. Vision gets ready to go to work and Wanda reminds him to turn on his human disguise. He does so and leaves as she tries to figure out why there’s a heart on their calendar.
We then visit Vision at work as “Yakety Sax” plays on the radio. He’s busy typing on a calculator and his hands are just blurs. When he’s done, he brings a stack of folders over to his coworker Norm (Asif Ali), who praises how fast Vision is. Vision then tries to figure out what exactly they do at their company. Norm doesn’t seem to know either. All they do is computations and fill out forms all day. That seems odd to Vision.
His boss, Mr. Hart (Fred Melamed), emerges from his office and tells Vision that he’s looking forward to dinner with Vision and Wanda that night. Vision realizes the heart on the calendar was code for Mr. Hart. Mr. Hart and Norm warn him that the dinner could affect his career – it’s why Phil (David Lengel) has been sacked. Apparently six courses and a string quartet did not impress Mrs. Hart and if she’s not impressed then say goodbye to your career. Vision promises that dinner will be impressive and Mr. Hart goes back into his office as Vision realizes he needs to call Wanda to warn her.
(I recognized David Lengel and tried to figure out which Marvel movie I had seen him in but it turned out I just recognized him from the Disney show Bizaardvark).
Back at home, Agnes and Wanda plan the perfect anniversary dinner – though Wanda realizes she and Vision don’t even have a song. Agnes promises to give her records and they can find one. They also talk about seduction as the phone rings. Wanda answers and Vision tries to warn her about the real purpose of the dinner but she cuts him off, insisting she’s figured it out and it’s all handled. So they end the call and he thinks she’s preparing for a nice dinner with his boss and his wife while she’s excited for a romantic evening with her husband.
We then have a commercial break. It’s for a Stark Industry product – a futuristic toaster that cooks anything. There’s a moment where a red light blinks – the only color in a sepia toned commercial – and both the spokesman and the housewife model just stand there, as if devoid of thoughts and feelings. But then the toaster ding and they finish the commercial.
Creepy but interesting.
Vision brings Mr. Hart and his wife (Debra Jo Rupp) home and finds the lights lowered. Everyone is confused as Wanda enters in a white outfit that was the 1950s version of lingerie. She covers someone’s eyes before realizing that Vision is not alone. The Harts are startled but Vision insists that it’s a traditional Sokovian greeting, calling back to the fact that Wanda is from Sokovia in the MCU. Mr. Hart expresses a distrust of communism, which would’ve had a hold of most of Eastern Europe during the 50s and 60s but Vision and Wanda assure him she isn’t a communist.
Wanda pulls Vision into the kitchen and he reveals that the date was a dinner with his boss, not an anniversary. He tells her that his job rides on the dinner going well and she realizes they can’t share the single chocolate-covered strawberry she had out. Vision agrees to distract the Harts while Wanda changes into a more appropriate dress to start preparing a great dinner.
Agnes comes to her rescue, bringing in everything she needs to make a delicious dinner. She leaves some recipe cards for Wanda and offers to help but Wanda ushers her out. Instead, she uses her magic – though that does start to create some problems as she’s unable to regulate it properly to produce something edible.
Meanwhile, Vision struggles to entertain his boss and his wife. Especially when they keep hearing strange noises from the kitchen. Mrs. Hart keeps trying to go in to help Wanda so Vision intercepts her, checking on Wanda for a few classic hijinks, including tossing a lobster out the window. At one point, Agnes shows up with a pineapple for the upside down cake. And when Mrs. Hart comes close to discovering Wanda’s secret, Vision starts singing “Yakety Sax.” Mrs. Hart digs it and Vision grabs a ukulele to continue a singalong.
But the distraction only lasts so long. The Harts are hungry and getting angry. They are on the verge of leaving when Wanda gets an idea. She uses her magic to make the perfect breakfast, which impresses the Harts with its novelty. Mrs. Hart easily chalks it up to another Sokovian custom and they set down to eat. As they eat, Mrs. Hart presses Wanda and Vision with typical questions – how did they meet? When were they married? Where did they live before Westview? – but neither can answer. They try evasive nonanswers but Mrs. Hart is persistent and they start to panic as they can’t figure out the answers.
Mr. Hart then starts gagging before it becomes clear that he’s choking. Mrs. Hart, though, thinks he’s just being dramatic. She tells him to stop it while he continues to choke. Wanda and Vision exchange looks as Mrs. Hart continues to say “Stop it” over and over, growing more and more upset. Mr. Hart collapses and Wanda finally grows calm as she tells her husband to help him. He kneels down and puts his hand through Mr. Hart to remove the piece of sausage lodged in his throat.
Once the danger passes, everything goes back to normal. The Harts are grateful and make their excuses to head home. Mrs. Hart thanks Wanda for a great meal and then covers her eyes, wanting to be polite in the “Sokovian” manner. Mr. Hart tells Vision that he sees great things for him and tells him to stop by the office on Monday so they can discuss a promotion. Vision thanks him and they head out. The lobster thrown out the window is now clinging to the door but thankfully Mrs. Hart just assumes it’s their doorknocker and compliments them on it.
Alone at last, they collapse on the couch and take some deep breaths. They are glad they lived through that and agree they make a good time. Wanda notes they are an unusually couple. He agrees – after all he’s made of metal and she has magical powers. She says yes but also because they don’t have an anniversary or a special song or even wedding rings. Vision says they can fix all of that. They decide that day is their anniversary, their song is “Yakety Sax” and Wanda creates rings for them. They share a kiss and then pose, smiling into the camera as credits start to roll.
We pull out into a ominous looking control room. We see a gloved hand taking notes before turning off the TV watching the WandaVision show, showing someone is monitoring what’s going on as someone tries to call out to Wanda.
But who is it? What are they doing? And why?
Well, I’m hooked now. I’m intrigued by the mystery surrounding all of this. Why is Vision there after his death at the hands of Thanos? Why are he and Wanda living in American sitcoms? And the three questions I asked above the line.
The cast, of course, is amazing. Olsen and Bettany have been playing these roles for years but they’ve adapted to portraying them in a different light very well. Because this series so far naturally has a lighter tone than the Marvel movies since they are playing up the sitcom aspect. Still Olsen and Bettany easily feel like they are in an actual sitcom. The title of this recap is a play on the Dick Van Dyke Show because it could’ve been an episode of that show – Rob and Laurie forgetting an important dinner and then getting their wires crossed about what the event actually is. And I felt like Olsen and Bettany did channel Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in their performances while also staying true to their own styles and characters.
Hahn is a brilliant actress, especially comedic, and she stole the scenes she was in. I look forward to seeing more from her. The same is true of the other actors we’ve already met. And I wonder if we’ll ever meet Agnes’ husband Ralph or if he’s always going to be unseen to make her jokes about him even funnier.
I have to give a shoutout to everyone who worked to get the feel of this episode just right – from set design to costumes to music to even how it was written. It really did feel like an episode of a show you’d catch on Nick at Nite.
Next time: Vision and Wanda try to hide their secrets at the community talent show.
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