WandaVision episode 1X3, “Now in Color,” is the best episode of the series yet. So much so, it should have dropped with the others last week. Creepy beekeepers and ominous S.W.O.R.D. notebooks are reason enough to watch the next episode, but “Now in Color” makes waiting another week for more WandaVision unbearable. It shows cracks in the stylized sitcom format by allowing the tension of reality to bubble to the surface. The first two episodes of WandaVision force us to lean into to our ability to trust suspension of belief. “Now in Color” finds all of our questions matched by similar ones by the residents of Westview. Most importantly, Wanda and Vision are more aware than ever that something is amiss. Things are starting to come apart, and it’s only the third episode of the nine-episode season.
Billy & Tommy
It’s easy to pick up on all the clues from the TV spots and trailers that Wanda and Vision’s children from the comics would appear on the show. We still have to wait and see if they’ll have the same powers as Wiccan and Speed do in the comics, but that’s something we are excited to see develop. It’s also really nice to see the MCU take advantage of a love story and spend the time with it that the movies seem to not want to make room for. Wanda and Vision’s love story is full of tragedy. There’s something so refreshing about Wanda and Vision celebrating a happy milestone, since those are so few, far, and between for them.
The moment of Vision meeting Tommy as himself is a special one. It’ll be a standout for me for the entire season, we’re sure.
Plus, there’s so many great comedic moments surrounding Wanda’s record-setting pregnancy. Our favorite has to be the ways Wanda tries to cover up her bump in front of “Geraldine.” That’s how you know Wanda has seen American sitcoms before, because those tricks aren’t new. Actually, the odd circumstances of Wanda’s pregnancy are where the jokes work best in this episode. Whether it’s Wanda silently judging the slightly misogynistic doctor or Vision flying when he gets stressed about becoming a father, the humor feels at home there.
On the other hand, Wanda’s pregnancy is also the first step at ripping open the stylized sitcom format. Wanda being a mother to twins brings up too much for it to be denied any longer that not everything is fun and games. As much as Wanda (and us) wants to live in a blissful utopia, this new, massive life development changes everything. That, and Wanda and Vision are well aware that it’s only been 12 hours and she’s already 6 months pregnant. The fact that they’re even aware that time is moving faster than it should is a big enough sign that the show can’t push these odd occurrences under the rug with humor any longer.
Too Close to Home
A lot of that has to do with the fact that “Geraldine” takes things a little too far this week, which results in her getting thrown out of Wanda’s suburb. It’s so nice to see “Geraldine” and Wanda connect in such an intimate way. This is why it cuts so deep to see Wanda feel betrayed when “Geraldine” brings up Ultron. Wanda is finally being open with someone who isn’t Vision about her past — her real past. As a result, Wanda comes face to face with a personification of her utopia slipping into something else — something darker.
We haven’t heard Wanda mention Pietro in years. She’s been dealing with that traumatic loss on her own, off-screen for all we know. That’s why this vulnerable moment with “Geraldine” takes our breath away. We keep coming back to it and rewatching it because it’s brilliant. It unlocks so much about “Geraldine,” Wanda, and Westview all at once. It also makes us think of all the ways Pietro influences Wanda even now. Vision’s super speed appears to be heavily influenced by that of her brother’s.
Just as that’s happening, WandaVision pairs the building tension with Vision having quite the confrontation with Agnes and Herb. It appears that Herb wants to tell Vision the truth and can’t, where as Agnes doesn’t want Vision to know the truth. Those are two very different approaches to whatever is going on in Westview. Each of them has to be targeted towards some kind of endgame, or what was it all for? If you piece that together with Doctor Nielsen saying small towns are hard to escape, then it’s a safe bet that the residents of Westview are stuck and Monica was sent there to help Wanda and them.
Who’s in Control?
All of this contributes to the growing anxiety surrounding who has control of Westview. Monica’s expulsion paints Westview as less of an alternate reality and more of a suburb locked in a magical force field that only the most powerful Avenger could influence. Wanda’s ability to control who’s in Westview makes us wonder if WandaVision is setting up Wanda as the antagonist and the protagonist. We are sure her and Vision will come up against an adversary by the end of the season that results in the epic fight sequence. It wouldn’t be a Marvel project without it.
It would be a powerful move for the largest conflict to boil down to one between Wanda and herself. Meaning that she created this bubble as a coping mechanism but it’s having effects that she’s not completely aware of. We don’t want to believe someone is using her powers against her. We also don’t want to believe that Wanda is knowingly holding people in Westview against their will. Like she told Dottie in WandaVision Season 1 Episode 2, “Don’t Touch That Dial,” Wanda doesn’t mean anyone any harm. We believe her. We also believe that Wanda will do anything to protect this life she’s created.
This is why WandaVision will have to confront her trauma more directly, like it hints at doing with Pietro in “Now in Color.” This show is dedicating time to a love story that never got the screen time as it should’ve since, for some reason, Marvel thinks that romance doesn’t sell in superhero blockbusters. WandaVision proves that it does, that people do care about those stories. At the same time, WandaVision proves with every layer it pulls back that Wanda’s mental health is just as important as every other part of her.
Other Dazzling Moments:
- We need to know more about Dottie and Norm’s relationship.
- We can tell you that we will not be using Hydra Soak. Thank you, next.
- It’s so funny that Wanda has to calm Vision down and not the other way around.
- Why didn’t Monica try to hide the S.W.O.R.D. symbol?
What did you think of this episode of WandaVision? Let us know in the comments below!
New episodes of WandaVision drop weekly on Disney+!
