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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 312339" data-attributes="member: 5079"><p>I've had a tumultuous relationship with the WANDAVISION finale. I was deeply dissatisfied with it on first viewing, and it tanked my opinion of the series as a whole. There were a few reasons for this disappointment; some perhaps unfair, others very much so.</p><p></p><p>The ending was typical-ish for MCU films: a big CGI slugfest. These are inevitabilities in superhero films, and sometimes better than others. For a show that had been so clever and careful, I had not really expected it to devolve into mere fisticuffs. Yes, I give it bonus points for the battle of philosophy between the two Visions; incidentally, that's the "cerebral" conflict I mentioned some time back. I will admit too that the fights are surprisingly well done, and far better than any other TV superhero shows done elsewhere. But regardless of the details, this was a serviceable ending to an engrossing mystery. I'm reminded of those movies of the 80s that, regardless of their genre or type (GHOST; THREE MEN & A BABY),<em> always</em> ended with a chase scene or shoot out because apparently audiences are too stupid to accept any other resolution. If any MCU project should have gone a different route, it's WANDAVISION.</p><p></p><p>The weeks of hype also kind of backfired. Maybe this was a self-inflicted shot by the fandom by expecting too much, but this series had been littered with clues and hints. Obviously not all of them were going to pan out, but <em>none of them</em>?!? There's a big difference between misdirection and overt manipulation. Compared to what had been tantalized, what was delivered was, again, serviceable. There was an awful lot of resentment on Twitter that whatever the outcome of "Quicksilver" was going to be, safe to say no one expected it to be nothing more than a penis joke.</p><p></p><p>I thought the morality of the episode was a total muddle. Now I don't particularly mind that Wanda herself was the villain; presumably a redemption arc is pending or, perhaps, she's going full Dark Wanda. I do, however, resent the manipulation of trying to make me think Wanda was simultaneously the hero. She was a terrorist who kidnapped and tortured an entire town; that makes her one of the worst villains the MCU has introduced to date. Maybe it was unintentional at first, but she had a pretty good idea of what was happening midway and continued on. That she eventually let go of her fantasy to stop torturing people for real just doesn't land with me. Call me old fashioned, but if there's one genre I expect relatively clear morality from its superhero fiction; this is why I loathe Zach Snyder's films. The MCU has always been sure footed with its morality. Nuanced? Sure. But characters always try to do the right thing. I can live with Wanda being a monster, but the episode trying to spin it into a sob story on her behalf was sour. (To translate this into the real world: if a terrorist kidnapped and tortured people, no I would not care that he had a sad childhood or even eventually released his victims.)</p><p></p><p>And maybe this is a nitpick but ... is her name now the Maroon Witch? She finally gets her name and a pretty good costume, and the designer doesn't know the difference between scarlet and reddish brown? Sheesh.</p><p></p><p>So, I wasn't thrilled with the finale and for a while that wrecked my opinion of the series. For a while, I had WV at the bottom of my ranking (yes, I include the TV series). Over time, I have reconciled the ending and have focused more on everything the series did that was so right in the first eight episodes. Despite what was, for me, something of a dud ending, WANDAVISION is the most adventurous, creative and detailed projects the MCU has taken on to do and I will ultimately give it credit for taking those chances. Eight brilliant episodes and one that is kind of <em>meh</em> still averages out pretty darn good!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>What little enthusiasm I have for this upcoming film is entirely due to Monica. Carol Danvers is easily among my least favorite characters in the MCU and this version of Ms. Marvel means nothing to me; she was introduced long after I stopped reading comics. </p><p></p><p>Anyway, it's been fun revisiting this series with you!</p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Captain America: The Winter Soldier</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Captain America: Civil War</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Thor: Ragnarok</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Avengers: Infinity War</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Avengers</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Avengers: Endgame</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Iron Man</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Captain America: The First Avenger</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Spider-Man: Homecoming</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">WandaVision</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Black Panther</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Spider-Man: Far From Home</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Doctor Strange</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Avengers: Age of Ultron</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Thor</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Incredible Hulk</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Ant-Man</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Ant-Man and the Wasp</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Captain Marvel</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Iron Man 3</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Iron Man 2</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Thor: The Dark World</li> </ol><p></p><p>Updated: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g-4ddvnoKiXP-GKSDUJM-e0Fu1nCdyv6Kf-VyMeokpU/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">MCU Ratings on Google Sheets</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 312339, member: 5079"] I've had a tumultuous relationship with the WANDAVISION finale. I was deeply dissatisfied with it on first viewing, and it tanked my opinion of the series as a whole. There were a few reasons for this disappointment; some perhaps unfair, others very much so. The ending was typical-ish for MCU films: a big CGI slugfest. These are inevitabilities in superhero films, and sometimes better than others. For a show that had been so clever and careful, I had not really expected it to devolve into mere fisticuffs. Yes, I give it bonus points for the battle of philosophy between the two Visions; incidentally, that's the "cerebral" conflict I mentioned some time back. I will admit too that the fights are surprisingly well done, and far better than any other TV superhero shows done elsewhere. But regardless of the details, this was a serviceable ending to an engrossing mystery. I'm reminded of those movies of the 80s that, regardless of their genre or type (GHOST; THREE MEN & A BABY),[I] always[/I] ended with a chase scene or shoot out because apparently audiences are too stupid to accept any other resolution. If any MCU project should have gone a different route, it's WANDAVISION. The weeks of hype also kind of backfired. Maybe this was a self-inflicted shot by the fandom by expecting too much, but this series had been littered with clues and hints. Obviously not all of them were going to pan out, but [I]none of them[/I]?!? There's a big difference between misdirection and overt manipulation. Compared to what had been tantalized, what was delivered was, again, serviceable. There was an awful lot of resentment on Twitter that whatever the outcome of "Quicksilver" was going to be, safe to say no one expected it to be nothing more than a penis joke. I thought the morality of the episode was a total muddle. Now I don't particularly mind that Wanda herself was the villain; presumably a redemption arc is pending or, perhaps, she's going full Dark Wanda. I do, however, resent the manipulation of trying to make me think Wanda was simultaneously the hero. She was a terrorist who kidnapped and tortured an entire town; that makes her one of the worst villains the MCU has introduced to date. Maybe it was unintentional at first, but she had a pretty good idea of what was happening midway and continued on. That she eventually let go of her fantasy to stop torturing people for real just doesn't land with me. Call me old fashioned, but if there's one genre I expect relatively clear morality from its superhero fiction; this is why I loathe Zach Snyder's films. The MCU has always been sure footed with its morality. Nuanced? Sure. But characters always try to do the right thing. I can live with Wanda being a monster, but the episode trying to spin it into a sob story on her behalf was sour. (To translate this into the real world: if a terrorist kidnapped and tortured people, no I would not care that he had a sad childhood or even eventually released his victims.) And maybe this is a nitpick but ... is her name now the Maroon Witch? She finally gets her name and a pretty good costume, and the designer doesn't know the difference between scarlet and reddish brown? Sheesh. So, I wasn't thrilled with the finale and for a while that wrecked my opinion of the series. For a while, I had WV at the bottom of my ranking (yes, I include the TV series). Over time, I have reconciled the ending and have focused more on everything the series did that was so right in the first eight episodes. Despite what was, for me, something of a dud ending, WANDAVISION is the most adventurous, creative and detailed projects the MCU has taken on to do and I will ultimately give it credit for taking those chances. Eight brilliant episodes and one that is kind of [I]meh[/I] still averages out pretty darn good! What little enthusiasm I have for this upcoming film is entirely due to Monica. Carol Danvers is easily among my least favorite characters in the MCU and this version of Ms. Marvel means nothing to me; she was introduced long after I stopped reading comics. Anyway, it's been fun revisiting this series with you! [LIST=1] [*]Captain America: The Winter Soldier [*]Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1 [*]Captain America: Civil War [*]Thor: Ragnarok [*]Avengers: Infinity War [*]The Avengers [*]Avengers: Endgame [*]Iron Man [*]Captain America: The First Avenger [*]Spider-Man: Homecoming [*]WandaVision [*]Black Panther [*]Spider-Man: Far From Home [*]Doctor Strange [*]Avengers: Age of Ultron [*]Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 [*]Thor [*]The Incredible Hulk [*]Ant-Man [*]Ant-Man and the Wasp [*]Captain Marvel [*]Iron Man 3 [*]Iron Man 2 [*]Thor: The Dark World [/LIST] Updated: [URL='https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g-4ddvnoKiXP-GKSDUJM-e0Fu1nCdyv6Kf-VyMeokpU/edit?usp=sharing']MCU Ratings on Google Sheets[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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