VisionQuest Episodes 3 “Reboot” and 4 “Malware” feel more like the ones that deliver the meat of the story, which means a lot of setup and now much payoff. But these kinds of episodes are necessary to establish the few truths that make VisionQuest work: 1) Vision (Paul Bettany) is way more human than he gives himself credit.
2) He is, no matter how much he tries to deny it, Tommy’s (Ruaridh Mollica) father. And 3) Sadly, he is also, in a lot of ways, Ultron’s (James Spader) son. If you can accept all of those three things, which the show uses various, often complicated metaphors to establish, then you’re probably on the right path towards understanding not just what this show is, but where it’s going.
And you’re probably really, really excited about the possibilities, too.
NO MORE SACRIFICE
After Jarvis’ sacrifice, and his “family is forever, and it’s worth the fight,” we see the rest of his AI companions in a very difficult position. Like Vision, FRIDAY and EDITH, D.U.M-E.(Henry Lewis) and U. (Jonathan Sayer) are… well, they’re not fully human. But they’re not machines, either. One could say they have not had the chance to become fully realized individuals like Vision, but it’s been a while since they’ve been just machines.
We see that very clearly when FRIDAY (Orla Brady) expresses remorse at not being able to save Tony (Robert Downey Jr.), and a certain level of nostalgia for the times when she had purpose. We see that in Edith’s (Emily Hampshire) kind of childlike wonder at basically everything that’s going on. And we saw it with Jarvis’ (James D’Arcy) sacrifice. In a way, these people (machines, whatever) have been the difference for Vision when he was deprived of the family Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) created for them in the hex.
If we learn something from this episode, it is that family can be the deciding factor. Vision has one in Wanda (who, at this point, has to be alive somewhere, or there has to be a way to bring her back), Tommy and Billy (even if he doesn’t know yet that Billy (Joe Locke) survived). But when he lost them, and when retreating inside himself, inside a shell with no “feelings” was safer, Vision still had a family.
And that, well… that’s always made all the difference. No matter what Ultron has to say about it.
EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WANDA MAXIMOFF
Vision is keeping Tommy at bay, not because he doesn’t feel anything, but because it’s easier. Simpler. If he accepts that he is Vision and that Vision is Tommy’s father, then he has to accept not just what that means for him, what he’s gained, but also what he’s lost. Billy. Wanda. The family he always dreamed of and, for a brilliant, beautiful moment, got to have.
And yet Vision cannot help but act like Tommy’s father, even while pretending he’s not Tommy’s father. From the turn signal comments to worries about what kind of things could have a lasting effect on his values, to the sage advice when Tommy needs it, Vision just embodied the role of Tommy’s father even without realizing it. No one’s born knowing how to be a father. Fatherhood, like a lot of other things, is a muscle. You learn by doing. And Vision now has a chance to do just that.
But make no mistake, as Tommy noticed when Vision points out that Wanda used to tell him that saying sorry and being sorry are not the same thing, he and the man who was Tommy’s father are not two different people. He just isn’t ready to accept that. And until he is, we’re still stuck on the denial face of grief. And anyone who’s ever been through grief knows you cannot start the process of healing until you accept what has happened.
THERE ARE NO STRINGS ON ME
Or at least, that’s what Ultron believes. But the most interesting part of this Ultron, as played by James Spader, is that he is in many ways the Ultron we expected him to be: ruthless and always looking out for himself, but he is also at this point way more human than he believes himself to be. He has, after all, doled out pretty good advice from his tower and at times, has seemed truly invested in at least Vision’s well-being.
What does that mean for the journey Vision is about to go through? Well, if this is about generational trauma as much as it is about grief, it stands to reason that we don’t just need Vision to accept his son, but his dad. What parts of Vision are Ultron, and what parts of Vision can grow beyond what Ultron is or can be?
Isn’t that the journey we all go through, trying to figure out how we can be better than our parents? And the one truth about that journey is that it’s never, ever straightforward.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of VisionQuest Episodes 3 and 4? Share with us in the comments below!
The first four episodes of VisionQuest are available to stream on Disney+.
