We’re only a third of the way through “WandaVision,” but if this recent episode is any indication, we can expect an avalanche of strange occurrences and sudden twists to occur every single week. Episode 3 of “WandaVision,” aptly titled “Now in Color,” comes to Disney+ with another 40 minutes of laughs, love, and absolute madness. The show starts off how the second episode ended, in brand spanking new technicolor!
The change in lighting skyrockets us to a new age in sitcom history. Gone are the references to “I Love Lucy” and other Desliu-style programs. Instead, “WandaVision” pays homage to the family sitcoms of the late 60s and 70s, even starting off with a theme song reminiscent of “The Brady Bunch.” So for those worried that the show might be shedding its sitcom-style format already, “Now in Color” puts those worries to rest immediately. However, if the ending of this episode is anything to go off of, we might be leaving behind the quaint little town of Westview pretty soon.
Episode 3 starts off with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) talking to a doctor because, in case you forgot from last week’s cliffhanger, Wanda’s pregnant. Fans of the comics know what this means, but even viewers who tend to stick mainly to the movies can guess right away that hers isn’t a normal pregnancy. To start off, there’s the fact that the nine month process seems to be happening in a matter of days for the anxious couple. Couple that with the fact that Wanda’s powers seem to be extremely uncontrollable during her pregnancy, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Or in the case of “WandaVision,” a recipe for some pretty hilarious situational comedy.
I genuinely love how much Marvel is leaning into this sitcom idea. Since the first episode it hasn’t felt like a parody or satire, but rather an honest attempt at making a funny, heartfelt tribute to sitcoms of the past. It’s incredibly entertaining an interesting to see these characters in this kind of setting, and it’s a format that I hope Marvel doesn’t just abandon after the curtain falls on “WandaVision.”
There are legitimately hilarious hi-jinks that ensue as Wanda and Vision try to keep their neighbors from finding out about her accelerated birthing process, and while some of it might be a bit too similar to situations in the first two episodes, they are nonetheless funny. It’s great to watch Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany exercise their comedic chops. These two are exceptional actors and it’s nice to see them have fun portraying familiar characters in a new way.
That’s really one of the biggest draws “WandaVision” has going for it at the moment, the familiarity. I touched upon it before in my review of last week’s episodes, but it’s truly something to be admired this week as well. It’s hard to remember just how long and detailed the MCU is. That U stands for “Universe” after all, and everyone behind the MCU has worked hard to create a seamless universe for us to explore in different ways.
Like I said last week, “WandaVision” reminded me how much I missed these characters and how long it had been since I’d seen them on-screen. But the show doesn’t just reunite viewers with older Marvel characters, it puts them in an entirely new light. Wanda and Vision are in a new environment, both literally and figuratively. For the first time in a long time, they aren’t facing off against a large threat like an alien invasion or an evil robot trying to kill all humans. Right now, the biggest challenge they have to face is the miracle of childbirth and the ups and downs of parenthood.
These are sitcom tropes we’ve seen before, timeless clichés that you can predict from a mile away, but what makes them better is how they involve two characters we thought we had all figured out. We see these two extraordinary beings, who struggled so hard with being “normal” in the past, finally get to settle down and contend with completely ordinary obstacles. Or, at least, somewhat ordinary.
Of course, all good things must come to an end, and as I mentioned before, it seems like Wanda’s perfect paradise might be falling in on itself. Just like in the first and second episode, there are little instances of weirdness sprinkled throughout “Now in Color,” but the strangest moment has to do with Wanda and Vision’s cheerful neighbor, Geraldine (Teyonah Parris).
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 3 OF WANDAVISION FROM HERE ON OUT.
Geraldine, who we already know is actually Monica Rambeau (the daughter of Maria Rambeau from Captain Marvel), pays Wanda a visit while she’s dealing with her sudden pregnancy. Wanda does a hilarious job keeping her at bay for a moment, but the neighbor eventually discovers what she’s hiding. The episode then features a dramatic and admittedly cliché home-delivery scene with Geraldine helping Wanda deliver two baby boys (who I’m sure have absolutely no comic significance whatsoever).
Things start to get really weird afterward, though, if you can believe that things can get any weirder than they’ve already been. As Vision goes outside to chat with Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) and Herb (David Payton), Geraldine and Wanda spark up a conversation about twins. The conversation ultimately leads into talk of Pietro, a.k.a. Quicksilver, Wanda’s ill-fated brother who we last saw in Avengers: Age of Ultron before he sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye and an innocent bystander.
Geraldine mentions her brother’s untimely death, causing Wanda to look at her in shock. These events, which Geraldine should definitely not know about, tether us to the rest of the MCU, and seemingly confirm that Wanda and Vision’s happy life is nothing more than a construct. Whose construct is the question, and judging by Gerladine’s sudden disappearance and the terrified look the neighbor’s give Vision just before it happens, Wanda most definitely has something to do with it.
Of course, it doesn’t take long for us to find out what happened to Geraldine. After Wanda tells Vision that she just had to “run home,” we see the future crime-fighter get shot out of what looks like an invisible portal into the real(?) world. What’s interesting to note is that she’s wearing what looks like a necklace with the symbol for S.W.O.R.D. on it, further confirming the secret organization’s involvement in whatever it is that’s going on. I have my theories, but for now, I’m just going to keep watching the madness unfold.
Episode 3 of “WandaVision” was, in many ways, a success for me. It holds onto the momentum of the first two episodes and moves the story along quickly without missing any chance for twists or moments of suspense. I am going to miss the sitcom aspect of the show when it inevitably starts to take a backseat to the mystery of everything. But one thing I hope they take away from these episodes so far, for the rest of “WandaVision” and future MCU shows/movies, is the weirdness of it all. “WandaVision” is probably one of the most bizarre and creative things Marvel has put out in a while. They’ve experimented with genre-bending before, but with “WandaVision” supposedly leading right into the third Tom Holland Spider-Man movie and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, I expect Marvel to fully embrace its weird side in the years to come. And quite honestly, I’m here for it.
