The 9-Part Mystery Series That Reshaped the MCU Is the Perfect Weekend Binge

Before the MCU branched into television and captured viewer attention with shows like Loki and Wonder Man, any answer to the question “what’s your favorite Marvel TV show?” would most likely have included Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and other shows from the Netflix era of Marvel television. After Avengers: Endgame, any foray into TV on Disney+ needed a flagship project, and Marvel certainly found it with WandaVision, which launched a completely new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the small screen. With a unique premise that leads to a constantly shifting format, it’s a compelling binge that gets better with every episode.

What is ‘WandaVision’ About?

As the title suggests, WandaVision follows everyone’s favorite witch/synthezoid couple, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), who have moved into a seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood called Westview — but from the beginning, something is clearly not right, not least because of the dramatic irony. Since Vision died in Avengers: Infinity War, the immediate question WandaVision raises is just how he has been resurrected. The tension only increases in the first episode, as strange, spooky occurrences hint that Westview isn’t all it appears to be. An early dinner with their neighbors quickly goes awry, and Vision directly confronts Wanda about where they are and what is really going on.

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“Pizza time!”

As the first post-Endgame project, WandaVision represented a massive step for the MCU. Not only did it lend credence to Marvel’s move into television with a more subtle and cinematographically distinctive approach, but it also solidified Wanda as one of the most fascinating, powerful, and dangerous superheroes in the MCU. By delving into her past, her tragic relationship with Vision, and her reality-warping powers, WandaVision finally explores the depths that fans had only glimpsed in Avengers: Age of Ultron and other projects where Wanda was a supporting character. Watching her character evolve over nine episodes, as she descends deeper into an obsessive need to protect her loved ones, makes it clear why she was such a pivotal figure in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and why fans have remained eager for Olsen’s Scarlet Witch to return.

‘WandaVision’s Shifting Format With Every Episode Makes it a Consistently Entertaining Binge

A great binge isn’t just determined by whether a story is good or not. It needs to be dynamic to make the viewer desperate to learn what happens next. WandaVision takes this strategy beyond the twists and turns of Westview and its dark origins, and applies it to its overall visual language. Each of WandaVision‘s episodes is based on a different era of TV, from the 1950s to the present day. The premiere takes a page from series like The Dick Van Dyke Show, for example, while a later episode embodies 1990s sitcoms such as Malcolm in the Middle.

For the viewer, this means that binging WandaVision not only pushes the narrative forward but also freshly reinvents the series with every new episode. As the story develops, more typical MCU elements appear outside Westview, but because they arrive later, contrasting what occurs inside the town, they successfully add another layer to WandaVision‘s mystery rather than overshadowing the series’ unique style. Binging WandaVision isn’t like watching one season of television; it’s more akin to flipping through several different shows that somehow all tie together. With VisionQuest seemingly finally on the way to answer more lingering questions, now is the perfect time to refresh your memory with the series that kicked off a whole new era for the MCU.

Release Date

2021 – 2021-00-00

Network

Disney+

Showrunner

Jac Schaeffer

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  Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

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  Grey DeLisle

  Commercial Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

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