Newlywed superheroes Wanda Maximoff and Vision move into their new home in the small town of Westview. But something is wrong; something to which they are oblivious. I mean, for one thing, we last saw vision getting his head torn apart by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. So he's very, very dead. Also, there's the fact that their life is in black and white and has a 50s sitcom laugh track.
Welcome to the weird and wacky fever dream that is much of Wandavision, as these two super-powered lovebirds navigate dinner with the boss, neighbourhood politics, sudden parenthood and oh yeah - the fact that their world is spiralling through a series of TV's best known sitcom settings, from I Love Lucy to Bewitched and The Brady Bunch and then on to Family Ties and Full House.
The true story of what is happening here is an intriguing one, which is revealed only slowly, as we get to see more and more of what is happening outside Westview. Secrets aplenty will be uncovered, and new villains - and heroes - revealed. The truth is also not exactly a 'sunshine and rainbows' kind of thing, and I think that the fact that it is revealed through the lens of sitcom silliness is a genuinely very clever storytelling device. The madcap antics and slapstick situations help balance the show, preventing it from becoming too grim without undercutting the emotional heft of what's actually happened. Clever stuff.
It also helps, of course, that the show has a very good cast, who all do good jobs in their roles. And then there's the weight and connectivity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind it, too. WandaVision is not afraid to bring back familiar faces from the wider MCU, such as Kat Dennings's well liked Darcy Lewis - frequently the most entertaining person in the first two Thor films - and to trust that its audience are sufficiently familiar with the wider setting that they'll get that little thrill of recognition from realisations like "Oh! This is the grown up version of the little girl from Captain Marvel!".
Even if you don't have that thrill though, the show still works. My wife is a casual fan of the MCU, enjoying most of the films and shows as we watch them but not at all familiar with the comics or really paying attention to 'oh this is that person from a movie they made ten years ago', and she enjoyed this.
Another solid MCU offering. I look forward to seeing how the repercussions play out in future films and TV shows.
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